Joy Picus

Joy Picus
Picus in 1989
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 3rd district
In office June 1, 1977 –June 30, 1993

• In the first year of her service, Picus was said to have "naively" slashed into "City Hall's flock of sacred cows, for example trying to delete funding for the Watts Parade and the Police Band from the city budget. ^[13] Later, though, she was successful in ending the city practice of "paying for city employees attending veterans' conventions on city time, the full-time salaries of seven police and fire union lobbyists at City Hall and performances of the Police Band and motorcycle drill team on city time." ^[2]
• Picus became popular among local conservationists, pushing builders to create more open space for parks, supporting transportation projects, and her drive to address waste recycling. ^[3] She also opposed oil drilling in the Pacific Palisades. ^[13]
• She was active in developing policies and programs on behalf of working parents and their children. She authored the city's Childcare Policy, "which made Los Angeles one of the first cities in the country to hire a full-time child-care coordinator." She also drove the opening of a child-care center for Civic Center employees in Downtown Los Angeles, financed by the city and federal governments. In 1989, she persuaded the City Council to create preferences in city contracts for companies that offered child-care benefits to their employees. ^[3]
• Picus was critical of Police Chief Daryl Gates because she did not believe he told the truth when he denied knowing that a member of the Police Department's Intelligence Division "was taking files out of Parker Center and using them for political purposes." She supported a plan to make department heads—including the chief—"subject to review and possible removal at periodic intervals." ^[3]
• She pushed for a successful 1978 ballot measure that limited veterans' advantage points on Civil Service tests because the practice discriminated against women and non-veterans. ^{[2] [13]}
• According to a Los Angeles Times interviewer, Picus was dubbed by some as a "Mary Poppins," from the " 'flighty impression' she sometimes conveys." She replied that her "preparation for political life came from activities primarily with other women," and so she was not "taken as seriously" as men. She emerged, the reporter wrote, "as a woman of enormous ego and drive, with tremendous energy and determination." ^{[2] [14]}
• Along with two other council members and the city itself, she was sued by the developers of a proposed office complex on Warner Ridge in Woodland Hills for their efforts in attempting to block the development. The developers won, but "unrelated factors led them to abandon the project." ^[15]
• A Picus proposal to set up four independent planning commissions to make decisions in different parts of the city was rejected 10-3 by the City Council. ^{[16] [17]}

Ms. magazine

Picus was named a "Woman of the Year" by Ms. magazine in 1985 as a result of her successful drive to include an historic "pay equity" plan in the city's collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Also known as "comparable worth," the effort refers to upgrading pay rates for jobs that were paid lower wages because they had traditionally been held by women. The magazine credited Picus with "helping bring about a $12 million pay equity agreement between the City of Los Angeles and 3,900 of its employees, most of them women." ^{[1] [3]}

Legacy

In 1996 the City Hall South Childcare Center was renamed the Joy Picus Learning Center in her honor. ^[15]

The Joy Picus Archives covering her years as a Los Angeles City Councilwoman are held at the University Library at California State University, Northridge. ^{[18] [19]}

References

1. Allan Jalon, "Only Politician Among 12 Honored," Los Angeles Times, December 28, 1985
2. Penelope McMillan, "Picus Goes From Novice to Adviser," Los Angeles Times, March 22, 1981, page C-1 With map of district.
3. "Spotlight on . . . Third District Councilwoman Joy Picus," Civic Center NewSource, June 24, 1991, pages 1 and 2
4. Los Angeles Public Library reference file on Joy Picux
5. "AAUW Announces Projects for the Year," Los Angeles Times, August 13, 1971, page SF-8
6. Eric Slater, "Temple Aliyah Will Honor Joy Picus," Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1994
7. Marc Porter Zasada, Architecture: The Stars Go Hollywood," Los Angeles Times, February 12, 2006, page E-1
8. Sid Bernstein, "Joy in Picus Camp," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1977, page E-1
9. "Incumbent Councilman One of Three in 3rd District Race," Los Angeles Times, March 28, 1965, page SF-C-4
10. Richard Simon, "Antonovich Asks Supporters to Give Money to Picus Foe," Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1989
11. John Schwada, "Valley Voters May Witness Spirited Race for Council," Los Angeles Times, January 2, 1993
12. Greg Krikorian, "Joy Picus and Joan Milke Flores Had Almost 30 Years Experience," Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1993
13. Pat Anderson "Picus: A Year Learning the Game," Los Angeles Times, July 30, 1978, page SF-C-1
14. On another occasion, a Times headline read "Picus Drops Her 'Mary Poppins' Image to Give Bitter Medicine to Chief."February 9, 1983, page C-1
15. Angie Chuang, "Picus Found Her Niche in Valley Causes," Los Angeles Times, July 18, 1997
16. Richard Lee Colvin, "Council Split Over Local Planning Panels," Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1991
17. "Council Rejects Proposal for Regional Planning Panels," Los Angeles Times, December 17, 1992
18. "Joy Picus Collection". February 7, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
19. Walsh, Philip (2016). "Guide to the Joy Picus Collection". Online Archive of California. California Digital Library. Retrieved 2025-02-10.

Preceded by Donald Lorenzen	Los Angeles City Council 3rd District 1969–77	Succeeded by Laura Chick