Arthur N. Rupe Debate Series in LA
Video shot by Adam Episcopo, www.shotbyae.com
ProCon.org CEO Kamy Akhavan introduces the panel
Trevor Potter, speaking, former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, Pete Peterson, Dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, and Leslee Sherrill, former Vice President at ABC News
Ralph Neas, speaking, former CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Bob Shrum, presidential campaign manager for John Kerry and Al Gore, and co-moderator for this debate, and Adam Grushan, Student Vice President of the Unruh Associates Executive Board and co-moderator of this debate
The panel: Trevor Potter, Pete Peterson, Leslee Sherrill, Ralph Neas, Bob Shrum, and Adam Grushan
Pete Peterson, Leslee Sherrill, and Ralph Neas
The panel for our electoral reform discussion
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Does your vote really matter?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 63.6% | 7.8 | 36.4% | 4.3 |
| After | 36.8% | 5.0 | 63.2% | 5.8 |
| % Change | -42.1% | -35.9% | 73.6% | 34.9% |
ProCon.org CEO Kamy Akhavan introduces the debate
Sunny weather for our Sep. 18 debate
Alex Cohen, moderator for this debate, and KPCC host of NPR’s Morning Edition
Brian Calle, Vice President of Opinion for the Southern California News Group
The sun setting during our debate on the middle class
Joseph Sanberg, Co-founder and Chair of Aspiration.com
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Do we need more government involvement to keep the middle class from disappearing?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 73.7% | 6.4 | 26.3% | 6.2 |
| After | 66.6% | 7.3 | 33.3% | 6.5 |
| % Change | -9.6% | 14.1% | 26.6% | 4.8% |
America’s Shrinking Middle Class: Do We Need More Government Involvement to Keep the Middle Class from Disappearing?
Arthur N. Rupe Debate Series in LA
featuring Brian Calle, Mike Gatto, Silvia Barcellos, David Hadley, and Alex Cohen
Photos courtesy of USC Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics
Brian Calle , Vice President of Opinion for the Southern California News Group, speaking, with Mike Gatto, former 4-time California Assemblyman
Silvia Barcellos, Economist at the Center for Economic and Social Research at the University of Southern California
David Hadley, former California Assemblyman
Alex Cohen, KPCC host of NPR’s Morning Edition and moderator for this debate
USC students populated the audience 
The panel: Brian Calle, Mike Gatto, Silvia Barcellos, David Hadley, and Alex Cohen
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Do we need more government involvement to keep the middle class from disappearing?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 75.0% | 5.6 | 20.5% | 3.7 |
| After | 66.6% | 7.3 | 33.3% | 5.0 |
| % Change | -11.2% | 30.4% | 62.4% | 35.1% |
Jason Spencer, Principal Advisor to the California State Superintendent of Public Education
Maureen Langan, speaking, comic and former PBS and Bloomberg TV journalist, and moderator of this debate
Nick Melvoin, Vice President of the LAUSD Board of Education
Jason Spencer and Nick Melvoin during the debate
Our debate location: the Santa Monica Pier 
The sun sets over our debate
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Is public education broken in Los Angeles?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 92.9% | 8.2 | 7.1% | 6.3 |
| After | 80.0% | 7.0 | 20.0% | 7.0 |
| % Change | -13.9% | -14.6% | 181.7% | 11.1% |
Public Education: Is It Broken? If So, How to Fix It?
Arthur N. Rupe Debate Series in LA
featuring Nick Melvoin, Jason Spencer, Micah Ali, and Howard Blume
Micah Ali, President of Compton Unified School District
Nick Melvoin, Vice President of the LAUSD Board of Education
Jason Spencer, Principal Advisor to the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Howard Blume, Education reporter for the Los Angeles Times and moderator for this debate
The panel for our education discussion
USC students listen to the panel discussion
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Is public education broken in Los Angeles?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 91.3% | 7.8 | 8.7% | 3.0 |
| After | 76.9% | 8.9 | 23.1% | 4.7 |
| % Change | -15.8% | 14.1% | 165.5% | 56.7% |
Jill Stewart, former Managing Editor of LA Weekly and campaign manager for “Yes on S” 2016 ballot measure
Dana Cuff, Director of cityLAB-UCLA and Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA
Gary Toebben, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Jill Stewart, Dana Cuff, and Gary Toebben debate Los Angeles housing issues
The Arthur N. Rupe Debate Series in LA
ProCon.org CEO Kamy Akhavan welcomes the audience to the debate
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Does Los Angeles Need Significantly More Development to Bring Down Housing Costs?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 80.0% | 8.3 | 20.0% | 9.0 |
| After | 89.0% | 8.6 | 11.0% | 10.0 |
| % Change | 11.3% | 3.6% | -45.0% | 11.1% |
LA Housing Crisis: Gentrification, Densification, and Why the Rent Is Too Damn High – Does Los Angeles Need Significantly More Development to Bring Down Housing Costs?
Arthur N. Rupe Debate Series in LA
featuring Richard Close, Christine Rangel, Sudha Reddy, John P. Wilson, and Bob Shrum
Our panel on housing: Sudha Reddy, John Wilson, Christine Rangel, Richard Close, and moderator Bob Shrum
Sudha Reddy, Managing Principal of Haven Reality Capital, LLC
Sudha Reddy and John Wilson, speaking, USC Professor of Sociology and Spatial Sciences, and Director of USC Spatial Sciences Institute and Geographic Information Science & Technology Graduate Programs
Christine Rangel, speaking, Director of Government Affairs for Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, and Richard Close, attorney at Gilchrist & Rutter and President of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association
Richard Close and Bob Shrum, speaking, moderator of this event and Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC 
The Oct. 3, 2017 housing panel at USC
At each debate, we ask attendees to vote pro or con based on our question that week, and also to indicate the intensity (1-10) of their opinions. Below are the results of this week’s voting on the question, “Does Los Angeles Need Significantly More Development to Bring Down Housing Costs?”
| PRO | Intensity | CON | Intensity | |
| Before | 80.0% | 5.3 | 20.0% | 3.6 |
| After | 100.0% | 9.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 |
| % Change | 25.0% | 69.8% | -100.0% | -100.0% |
Participants (in alphabetical order)
Micah Ali – President of Compton Unified School District; former President of the Los Angeles Schools Trustees Association; former Compton Personnel Commissioner
Silvia Barcellos – Economist at the Center for Economic and Social Research at the University of Southern California; former Professor of Economics at RAND corporation
Howard Blume – Education reporter for the Los Angeles Times; co-host of Deadline: LA on KPFK
Brian Calle – Vice President of Opinion for the Southern California News Group; English Instructor at Chapman University; Editor-in-Chief of CalWatchdog.com; published in Forbes, Bloomberg News, Fox News, and many other media outlets
Richard Close – attorney at Gilchrist & Rutter; President of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association; Commissioner of the Local Agency Formation Commissions for “Yes on S – End Development Control”
Alex Cohen – KPCC host of NPR’s Morning Edition; former producer and director for NPR’s Weekly Edition and All Things Considered; former afternoon host and reporter for Pasadena’s KPCC “All Things Considered”
Dana Cuff – Director of cityLAB-UCLA; Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA
Mike Gatto – former 4-time California Assemblyman; candidate for California State Treasurer; former lawyer with O’Melveny & Meyers and Mayer Brown LLP; founding partner of Actium LLP law firm
David Hadley – former California Assemblyman; former Los Angeles Republican party chairman; founder of Hadley Partners Inc
Maureen Langan – former PBS and Bloomberg TV journalist; Host of a weekly radio show for ABC; Comic
Nick Melvoin – Vice President of the LAUSD Board of Education; attorney, former seventh and eighth grade English teacher; director of Camp Harmony
Ralph Neas – former CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; former CEO of People For the American Way; and Senate Republican legislative director who left the Republican Party in 1996
Pete Peterson – Dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy; 2014 Republican nominee for California Secretary of State; former Executive Director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership
Trevor Potter – former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission; former general counsel to Senator John McCain’s Presidential campaigns and President George H.W. Bush 1988 campaign, and lawyer for late night host Stephen Colbert and his Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Super PAC, and currently President of the Campaign Legal Center
Christine Rangel – Director of Government Affairs for Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California
Sudha Reddy – Managing Principal, Haven Realty Capital, LLC
Joseph Sanberg – Co-founder and Chair of Aspiration.com; Founder of CalEITC4Me; founding investor in Blue Apron and board member for companies such as Bright Funds and IVY.com
Leslee Sherrill – former Vice President at ABC News, former publicist for Diane Sawyer; former White House staffer
Bob Shrum – presidential campaign manager for John Kerry (2004) and Al Gore (2000); Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC; columnist for The Week, Slate, and many other publications
Jason Spencer – Principal Advisor to the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jill Stewart – former Managing Editor of LA Weekly; campaign manager for “Yes on S; Neighborhood Integrity Initiative” 2016 ballot measure
Gary Toebben – President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
John P. Wilson – USC Professor of Sociology and Spatial Sciences; Director of USC Spatial Sciences Institute and Geographic Information Science & Technology Graduate Programs
