The Smith -Weiss Honorees in 2005 were, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), US Senator Alan Lowenthal, Los Angeles City counilmember Eric Garcetti, and LA City Councilmember Jan Perry.

The ILWU's motto is "An injury to one is an injury to all." Serving the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, Local 13 has been finding much to improve regarding the working conditions, safety, health and environment of its workers. Union organizers, with help from local legislators and environmental activists, worked for years to cover the piles of toxic coke dust at the ports, worked to get funding to increase parks and recreation opportunities throughout the local communities as mitigation for increased shipping and trucking traffic, and negotiated for more reasonable working hours and quotas. Currently, ILWU Local 13 is keeping its eye on legislation that will authorize a $100 million grant program to help companies replace older trucks with newer, less-polluting rigs or to retrofit older trucks with pollution-control devices.

PUBLIC SERVICE HONOREES

US Senator Alan Lowenthal represents California's 27th Senate District and has made protecting public health through environmental protection a benchmark of his legislative career. During his six years in the Assembly, Lowenthal authored successful legislation to require covering the coke storage piles at the port that had been the source of toxic dust blowing into the nearby communities of San Pedro and Wilmington. He also had legislation signed into law to reduce diesel emissions at the ports by limiting idling time for trucks, and to establish a grant program to provide financial incentives for purchasing or leasing electric vehicles. This session, Senator Lowenthal has presented a compreshensive package of bills to further deal with the environmental impacts of California's major ports. Senator Lowenthal serves as Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee as well as the Select Committee on California Ports.

City of Los Angeles Councilmember Eric Garcetti, a fourth-generation Angeleno, is a committed environmentalist. In addition to driving an EV and appointing a dedicated "green" deputy, Councilmember Garcetti has consistently pushed for strong policies that clean up our water and air, for which he was honored with the Green Cross/Global Green "Green Cross Millennium Award" by Mikhail Gorbechev. Relying on his background in urban planning, Garcetti supports the creation of small urban parks and green spaces, and worked tirelessly to promote and raise money for the infrastructure-improving Proposition O campaign that resulted in a pivotal water bond being passed by the residents of Los Angeles. LALCV endorsed both Proposition O and Councilmember Garcetti.

City of Los Angeles Councilmember Jan Perry chairs the Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee; is vice-chair of the Conventions, Tourism, Entertainment Industry and Business Enterprise Committee; serves on the Public Works, Ad-Hoc River, and Ad-Hoc Stadium committees; and represents the City on the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Councilmember Perry is an advocate for increasing park opportunities in her heavily urban council district which encompasses much of downtown LA's business district, and was a staunch supporter, lead fundraiser and articulate spokesperson for the City's landmark water bond, Proposition O. Proposition O will result in infrastructure and policy implementation improvements that will reduce the flow of trash and other pollutants into the LA River and the Santa Monica Bay. LALCV endorsed Jan Perry for LA City Council.