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. 145 - February 17, 2023

State Politics

• California Senator Dianne Feinstein has formally announced that she will not seek reelection when her term expires in 2024. Oakland Representative Barbara Lee filed candidacy paperwork this week. Lee is perhaps best known as the only member of congress to vote against authorizing the use of military force in Afghanistan in 2001.

City Politics

• The LA City Council voted 11 – 2 to voice opposition to a proposed state law that would mandate independent redistricting in California’s charter cities, with the opposition stating a preference for crafting similar legislation in Los Angeles and putting it on the ballot in 2024. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez was among those who called out Councilmember Kevin de León for participating in the discussion after being caught on tape in October conspiring to gerrymander districts along race and class lines during the 2020 redistricting process.

• San Fernando Valley Young Democrats hosted a forum for the candidates in the upcoming CD 6 special election.

Labor

• At a vote held this week, student workers at the University of Southern California voted overwhelmingly in favor of unionizing! More here.

• As they negotiate to get paid a living wage, 30,000 non-teaching workers at LAUSD schools, represented by SEIU Local 99, have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if talks fail.

• After voting to unionize last November, cast workers at the Medieval Times in Buena Park have gone on strike. Workers are demanding a resumption of negotiations with ownership, over issues including low wages, unsafe working conditions, and a copyright claim made against the union’s social media account.

Housing Rights

• Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Traci Park both requested new 41.18 enforcement zones in their districts this week. The motions each passed 9 – 4, with Councilmember Katy Young Yaroslavsky speaking against the entire concept of 41.18 zones, and announcing her plan to file a motion to study the effectiveness of the city’s year-old policy.

• A coalition of councilmembers signed onto a motion (here) introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman that takes the first step toward implementing a right to counsel for renters facing eviction. As LAist notes, the passage of multiple new tenant protections has coincided with wins for renters in local elections, such as Councilmember Soto-Martinez and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

• KCRW launched a podcast this week that will tell the story of Veterans Row, the tent city outside the West LA Veterans Affairs campus in Brentwood, which became a shelter for many unhoused veterans following years of corruption and neglect from the VA.

Environmental Justice

• California’s largest and most expensive environmental cleanup has failed to properly remove lead pollution from some homes and neighborhoods near a notorious battery recycler in southeast Los Angeles County, leaving residents at continued risk, an LA Times investigation shows. Additionally, LA Times provides a tool for homeowners who live nearby to see if the cleanup at their property met state standards.

• Governor Gavin Newsom, facing criticism over the amount of rainwater that flowed out to sea after January’s storms, has asked the water board to waive rules designed to protect salmon and other endangered fish. Environmentalists call it “a breakdown of law and order” while growers laud it as a way to ensure more water is delivered this year.

• A proposal to severely limit the use and sale of all balloons in the beachfront city of Laguna Beach is up for a vote by the city council next Tuesday. The council approved the measure unanimously in a preliminary vote last month. The idea for a ban was begun by an ocean conservation activist and is supported by several environmental groups.