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. 138 - December 16, 2022

City Politics

• This Tuesday was the first City Council meeting for DSA-LA’s endorsed candidates (and members) Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez! Both of them recapped their first day’s motions, (Soto-Martinez here and Hernandez here), while this write-up in Bolts comprehensively recaps the political situation they’re entering. The council now enters winter recess and will next meet on January 10, 2023.

• Tuesday’s council meeting was disrupted by Kevin de León’s second attempt to rejoin council proceedings; he has remained absent from meetings for months amid widespread calls for his resignation. His return was signaled by the organized bloc of De León supporters who also attended, several of whom were recorded chanting “all lives matter” at Black Lives Matter activists, as covered in L.A. Taco. Several councilmembers honored their commitments to vacate chambers while De León was present, though he came and went confusingly, and was able to register a vote at one point while not in the room.

• An LA Times opinion piece decries the city council’s increasingly violent hostility towards activists. Friday, Kevin de León body-slammed an activist, an action caught on videotape. City Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez quickly defended their colleague’s violence, blaming the activist he assaulted for provoking him.

Housing

• Karen Bass fulfilled her campaign promise to declare a state of emergency over homelessness on the first day of her mayorship. The declaration, which can be read here, was passed unanimously by council on Tuesday. How Bass might exercise those powers is still largely hypothetical at this time. Writing in The New Yorker suggests some possibilities.

• On Tuesday, Councilmember Soto-Martinez introduced an amendment reversing last week’s council action that triggered the end of COVID-era eviction protections on January 31. The ultimate goal would have been to delay the end of eviction protections until a package of renter protections, championed by Councilmember Nithya Raman (who explains in detail here), could be locked in place. However, though Councilmembers Heather Hutt and Katy Young Yaroslavsky joined in with the renters coalition, the amendment failed 6–5, two votes shy of the threshold for action. These tenant protections may still be put in place before January 31, and Soto-Martinez has promised to try. More coverage in the LA Times.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• [Content warning: graphic police violence.] The District Attorney’s office will not file charges against any of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies responsible for the killing of Frederick Holder. Coverage from Cerise Castle in Knock LA.

Environmental Justice

• Los Angeles and San Diego voted on Tuesday to ban the distribution of expanded polystyrene, the foamy plastic that’s used in disposable coffee cups and takeout food containers.

• The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has declared the whole region, comprising 26 member agencies, to be in a drought emergency. Last April, the agency declared a drought emergency for only six of its member agencies, including the Los Angeles DWP, triggering the current mandatory outdoor watering restrictions.