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. 194 - March 8, 2024

State Politics

• The California Senate open primary has narrowed to two top vote getters: Representative Adam Schiff (D) and former Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey (R). Katie Porter (D), who gave up her congressional seat to run and finished in third place, called out Schiff for deliberately raising Garvey’s profile to box out the candidates to his left from the runoff election. Schiff’s victory speech was disrupted by activists demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Barbara Lee (D), the only candidate to support a ceasefire, finished fourth.

• Governor Gavin Newsom called opponents of Measure 1 – his signature measure to issue $6.4 billion in bonds to build mental health treatment facilities and supportive housing – “extremists.” Supporters of the bill outspent opponents by millions, and yet the measure holds only a narrow lead. Naturally, the right opposed the measure, but so did disability rights activists and many on the left, who say it would needlessly tie resources to a carceral model of forced institutionalization.

City Politics

• Results are still not final in many citywide races, as ballots continue to be counted. The LA County Registrar has also released a schedule of when ballot updates are expected over the next week.

• Per the most recent ballot drop from this afternoon, DSA-LA endorsed candidates for City Council Ysabel Jurado (CD 14) and Nithya Raman (CD 4) would advance to the November runoff election, with Raman still having a chance to win outright. DSA-LA has called the race for LAUSD school board candidate Karla Griego (to advance to the runoff). In CD 2, Jillian Burgos, whom the DSA-LA voter guide strongly recommended, entered the top two after mail-in ballots – which, as in recent elections, favored progressive candidates – continued to be counted.

Housing

• There are growing calls for an audit of Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe Program, which provides unhoused people at targeted encampments with rooms indoors. But there is a developing controversy over who will perform the audit, with Controller Kenneth Mejia asserting his office’s intention to conduct a limited audit, and the Mayor’s office appearing to prefer an outside auditor.

• Did city officials deliberately try to hide their own damning study on the inefficacy of displacing unhoused people? One year ago, at City Council’s request, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) conducted a study on municipal code 41.18, which creates zones where it is illegal to sit down, sleep, or bring one’s belongings. The report found that 41.18 does not help connect unhoused people with resources or have any measurable positive effect. LAist recently covered allegations that city officials may have been suppressing the report for months. The report has since been made available by the press. In a statement, Paul Krekorian, a vocal supporter of “41.18 zones,” alleged that the LAHSA study was “clearly faulty and incomplete at best, and perhaps even deliberately misleading,” though he was unable to point to any facts in dispute.

Labor

• CalMatters covers the progress of 2023 legislation that raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour. Bloomberg reports allegations that a Panera Bread franchise owner close to Governor Newsom lobbied for the legislation’s carveout for chains that bake bread and sell it as a standalone item.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• During the Civilian Oversight Commission’s 11th special hearing on deputy gangs, former Los Angeles County Undersheriff Tim Murakami acknowledged the truth of a longstanding allegation: he’d at one point had a tattoo representing the Cavemen, a deputy gang affiliated with the East Los Angeles station.

• Reformer District Attorney George Gascón will advance to the runoff in November. He will face former federal prosecutor and former Republican Nathan Hochman, one of the most conservative of the eleven challengers who attempted to unseat Gascón with a more carceral platform.

Transportation

• Measure HLA, which aims to spur the production of more bus and bike lanes by compelling Los Angeles to add these features to streets whenever they are repaved, has passed by a wide margin.