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. 195 - March 15, 2024

State Politics

• [Content warning, violence] Protesters occupied the San Francisco Airport on Wednesday morning. The next day, Holly Mitchell became the first member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to call for a ceasefire. The same day, in Gaza, Israeli forces fired at civilians who were seeking aid at a food distribution point, killing over 20.

City Politics

• As ballot counting functionally concluded this week, Councilmember Nithya Raman surpassed the 50% threshold required to win the race in CD4 outright, with a double digit lead over the second place candidate. In CD14, Ysabel Jurado has made the runoff and will compete against disgraced incumbent Kevin DeLe?n. In the past week, Jurado has pulled into first place ahead of DeLe?n. DSA-LA endorsed both Raman and Jurado.

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• Karla Griego, a DSA-LA-endorsed school board candidate, has taken first place and will officially advance to the runoff. In closely-watched school board races in Glendale, two high-profile candidates who ran on extremist anti-LGBTQ+ platforms were both defeated. In Orange County, a recall of two similarly bigoted right-wing school board members was successful.

Housing

• Tenants rights activists are celebrating a legal victory in a prominent eviction case in Echo Park. LA Public Press covers this victory in the context of the shortage of tenant lawyers in Los Angeles.

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• For months, a coalition of tenant groups led by the Hillside Village Tenant Association has demanded the resignation of Ann Sewill, the general manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department.. Sewell andhe city have stalled on promises to acquire the Hillside Villa Apartments via eminent domain, which would spare tenants? from imminent eviction. This week, Sewill announced that she will step down.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• This election was the second in which the Defenders of Justice slate ran progressive candidates for Los Angeles County Superior Court judgeships. All three candidates on the slate have advanced to the runoff elections.

Labor

• In Long Beach, Measure RW, which raises the minimum wage for workers at large hotels to $23 an hour, has passed.

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• Workers at Touchstone, which owns five climbing gyms in the Los Angeles metro area, have voted to form a union! Send it.

Transportation

• Waymo (a Google/Alphabet subsidiary) intends to launch a pilot fleet of 50 driverless taxis in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Similar programs in San Francisco face ongoing opposition. The power to regulate driverless cars lies with statewide agencies, such as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Late last year, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez filed a motion urging Los Angeles to join the city of San Francisco in suing the CPUC for greater oversight.? SB 915, proposed state law introduced this year, would expand the abilities of municipalities to regulate self-driving taxis.