The Thorn West is a state and local news roundup compiled by members of DSA-LA. Our goal is to provide a weekly update on the latest developments in state and local politics, and to track the issues that are most important to our membership.

Issue No. 189 - January 26, 2024

State Politics

• CalMatters covers this week’s California senatorial debate, the first debate that featured Republican candidate Steve Garvey alongside Democrats Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff. Full video here.

City Politics

• The city addressed staffing and budget deficits this week, following a memo written by Chief Administrative Officer Matt Szabo. The CAO’s memo anticipates that the city is $400 million over budget, and recommends cutting hundreds of unfilled positions — while preserving unfilled positions “critical to public safety”: LAPD, correctional nurses, the fire department, and sanitation services. Controller Kenneth Mejia suggested thinking about the budget more long term. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez pointed out that the city's budget problem was the inevitable result of its extravagant police contract from last year. When the council took up the issue this afternoon, Councilmember Soto-Martinez proposed an amendment that could end up shifting some of the cuts to perennially unstaffed LAPD positions.

• Councilmember Nithya Raman received a strong endorsement from the Los Angeles Times, which also endorsed Measure HLA last week. Raman was also endorsed by the Los Angeles Sentinel, alongside senatorial candidate Barbara Lee.

• Former Los Angeles councilmember Jose Huizar received a 13-year federal prison sentence for racketeering and tax evasion. Former councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas has filed an appeal of his conviction for fraud and bribery.

Housing Justice

• The west side’s Barrington Plaza is currently the site of Los Angeles’ largest-ever eviction under the state law known as the Ellis Act. Though the eviction, filed by corporate landlord Douglas Emmett, appears to many to be in bad faith, city attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto has advised the city that it has no legal recourse to prevent or deter the eviction. Capital & Main spoke with several attorneys who disagree.

• As live-tweeted by Knock LA: LA City Council approved a motion preventing landlords from filing evictions against tenants who have applied for, but have not yet had their applications processed by, the city’s rental assistant program. Earlier this week the council voted unanimously to allow tenants who adopted pets during COVID to keep them, even if it goes against their lease.

Transportation

• A newly proposed state law from state Senator Scott Wiener would require all cars and trucks sold in California to be built with speed governors, which physically prevent them from traveling more than 10 miles above the speed limit.

• LA Public Press has continued coverage of LA Metro’s plan to award the contract for its bike share program to Lyft instead of Bicycle Transit Systems, the unionized company that currently holds the contract.

Labor

• A strike of nearly 30,000 workers within the California State University system obtained nearly immediate results. The California Faculty Association announced (statement here) that a tentative agreement had been reached one day into the planned one-week walkout. The contract is not finalized until a vote by the CFA membership, anticipated in the coming weeks.

• The Los Angeles Times announced plans to lay off 115 journalists, nearly a quarter of its newsroom. “Young journalists of color have been disproportionately impacted,” noted a statement from the LA Times Guild. Last week the guild held a one-day walkout to steer management toward more humane cost-cutting.