I'll add one thing here. Marta and a hand full of other concerned Venetians put a lot of time and effort into rewriting the VNC bylaws and getting them enacted. It's a long story with enough twists and turns to make an interesting book or TV drama. The end result was an even playing field, as even as humanly possible with all rules that are in place for the NCs. If you're interested you could put together a slate and make a run for control of the VNC. It's a very real possibility. 

In addition to resident perception that the VNC is ineffective, we are up against People for Westside Renewal (http://www.power-la.org/), a Sol Alinksy-style grass roots organization, which in recent years has been in bed with Clare, Lucks, St. Joseph, Venice Family Clinic, etc.  This group has effectively organized many of the residents in the numerous affordable housing projects in Oakwood and is able to turn them out in droves for whomever they recommend.  To amplify this vote, the VNC makes a point of holding the VNC elections at the Oakwood Recreation Center, which is within walking distance for most of this constituency, while it is not so convenient for residents of the Silver Triangle, Presidents Row, Oxford Triangle, Beach Walkstreets, Penmar, Canals and Venice Peninsula. These two factors alone would easily explain why the Lucks faction has been able to prevail in neighborhood council elections: a non-profit advocacy group that turns out low income residents who perceive an economic interest in supporting POWER's candidates and a polling location favoring Oakwood voters over Venice voters in other areas.  I don't think it was an accident that more moderate residents won the OPD vote when POWER decided that it did not have a stake in that vote and somehow, maybe at Mike Newhouse's direction, the polling was held at the more central location of the Venice Library.  I know about all of this because Marta Evry arranged for me to sit down with one of POWER's senior organizers a year or two ago, after the OPD vote.  With the Lincoln Place issue resolved and the affordable housing projects in Oakwood not currently threatened with reversion to market rents, POWER may or may not feel quite the need to turn out its members to support of Lucks, et al, but my guess is that since they remain allied in the mission of maintaining "diversity" and affordable rents in Venice, that they will be active.  We also face a dearth of candidates who are willing to step up and put in the time.  That's not surprising when everyone sees that the VNC members put in a lot of time but it is not clear they can show much result for all the effort.  The one exception might be the Land-Use and Planning Committee which seems to be taking its role seriously, putting in the time and appears to be on a learning curve that will strengthen its ability to be an effective and fair arbiter of questions of development and parking. 

I wonder how  Lucky  you need to be to hit one of POWER lotteries for low income housing?