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.
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Issue No. 56 - April 23, 2021
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- This week Mayor Garcetti delivered his State of the City address and released the first draft of next year’s budget, which he is calling a “justice” budget that he claims lowers the LAPD budget. In a talk with BLM-LA, Kenneth Mejia, a candidate for LA Controller in 2022, drills into the numbers to show how Garcetti is obscuring the truth. (@21:35)
- Also in the above video, BLM-LA cofounder Melina Abdullah lists the numerous successes that the defund-the-police movement has had in the last year. She also encourages supporters to once again participate in the budgeting process by taking the People’s Budget survey on what items they would like to see prioritized. The survey can be found here.
- The mayor’s budget also includes nearly $1billion to combat homelessness. However, a ruling this week from Judge David Carter demands that this money instead be set aside in escrow and reallocated. The Carter ruling demands an immediate shift in priorities from the building of long-term housing to the construction of short-term emergency shelters, which would then permit the city to legally displace encampments, specifically in Skid Row. A statement from LA CAN supports some of the ideas contained within the ruling while pointing out that it is nothing more than an effort to further criminalize poverty. The city will appeal the decision. Garcetti’s spending proposal also includes more money for encampment sweeps — so it's a clash between two deeply flawed approaches.
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- An ordinance that would phase out oil drilling in the city of Los Angeles was approved this week by the Planning and Land Use Committee, and will next be heard by the full city council. A timely article in the LA Times examines the failure of the city’s oil well inspection program. To stay informed on this issue, follow Stand-LA, a coalition of local environmental justice activists.
- A natural gas leak in the city of Downey necessitated some evacuations. Alerts warning about the leak were sent to phones all across Los Angeles County, which officials from Downey have said was an error.
- Governor Newsom has declared a drought emergency order, but for now it is restricted to a small area spanning Mendocino and Sonoma counties.
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Police Violence and Community Resistance
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- A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order, requested by BLM-LA, against the LAPD. The order restricts the LAPD’s ability to use “less lethal” projectile weapons against protesters. A similar request was rejected in June, though since then a report was released clearly documenting some of the LAPD’s over-aggressive tactics during last year’s uprising against police brutality. Mike Feuer, city attorney and 2022 mayoral candidate, has sided with the police.
- A lot is at stake in the Culver City Council next week. On Monday afternoon the council will vote on legislation that would set in motion substantial cuts to the scope and size of the Culver City Police Department. Local activists urge supporters of defunding the police to contact the council ahead of this vote (before 3pm on Monday) using this toolkit!
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