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Oakland, California, Mayor Election Results 2022
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Los Angeles official involved in racism scandal caught fighting activist on video
Los Angeles official involved in racism scandal caught fighting activist on videoKevin de León, who has resisted resigning after the debacle, was involved in an altercation in which he appears to push an organizer00:52Kevin de León, the embattled Los Angeles city council member involved in a racism scandal that threw city hall into upheaval, is facing criticism again after video footage captured him in a physical fight with an activist.De León, who has resisted calls to resign, made his first in-person appearance at a council meeting in nearly two months on Friday. Hours later he was involved in an altercation at a holiday toy giveaway in which video appeared to show him shoving a local organizer.Biden calls for resignation of LA city council members over racist remarksRead moreIn a short clip, organizer Jason Reedy and other activists can be seen following the official, demanding his resignation, and crowding around him when De León appears to push Reedy into a table, the councilman’s Santa hat falling off amid the chaos. De León claims the activist headbutted him and that he was acting in self-defense while Reedy’s attorney told media his client was assaulted.The incident comes as the councilman tries to rehabilitate his reputation after widespread outrage and protest over a leaked recording that revealed De León and other Latino Democrats making racist comments as they plotted to expand their political power at the expense of Black voters during a realignment of district boundaries.De León, a former state legislator, is the only council member still resisting calls from top Democrats, including Joe Biden, to step down. Meanwhile, he has continued to collect his annual salary of nearly $229,000.Gil Cedillo, another councilman involved in the scandal over the leaked recording of racist insults, had refused to resign, but vanished from public view within days of its disclosure in October. His term expired Monday at 12.01am, after he lost a re-election bid earlier this year.De León, who has been stripped of his ability to participate in council meetings and faced widespread pressure to resign, has been maneuvering in private to emerge from political purgatory despite being reviled by colleagues who say they cannot work with him.In a statement issued after the Friday night altercation, Paul Krekorian, the council president who has called on De León to step down, said the councilman, one of his staff members and a volunteer were attacked, calling the incident intolerable. The Los Angeles Times reported that activists said De León was the aggressor.“This city has endured horrendous division and toxicity in recent months,“ Krekorian said. “We need to reject hatred in all of its forms and we need to reject the atmosphere of intimidation, bullying and threats.”De León has said he acted in self-defense: “Once we were able to push open a door and try to get out, Reedy launched a pelvic thrust, followed by a headbutt to my forehead,” he said to media. “My response, in defense of myself, was to push him off of me.”The attorney for Reedy, Shakeer Rahman, told CNN that the councilman initiated the assault.“Video footage clearly shows him and his supporters initiating this assault while Mr Reedy stands with his hands up. Not only has Kevin de León lost all political legitimacy, his claims that he was the one attacked here simply underscores how he’s lost touch with reality,” Rahman said in a statement.De León appeared on Friday at his first council meeting since mid-October, setting off a chaotic protest between competing factions in the audience. About a dozen protesters bellowed at De León to leave the ornate chamber, while his supporters chanted: “Kevin, Kevin.”Some council members walked out and police ejected two people, fearing they might fight.“Leave, Kevin!” one protester shouted at de León. “This is why these meetings need to be shut down.”De León has apologized but said he will not resign, arguing that he wants to continue working on homelessness, fallout from the pandemic and the threat of evictions for renters in his district.There is no legal avenue for his colleagues to remove him – the council can only suspend a member when criminal charges are pending.Krekorian, the council president, has said: “The only way we can begin to heal as a city is for Mr de León to take responsibility for his actions, accept the consequences and step down.”While De León has largely stayed away from city hall, he has continued to quietly conduct business, including attending holiday events and meeting officials on pending homeless projects and illegal dumping problems.With his appearance at the council meeting on Friday, it is clear he is trying to gradually step back into the public sphere. Meanwhile, organizers behind an effort to recall him from office have been cleared to collect petition signatures needed to qualify the proposal for the ballot.TopicsCaliforniaLos AngelesUS politicsDemocratsnewsReuse this content More
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Karen Bass starts as Los Angeles mayor with plan to address homelessness crisis
Karen Bass starts as Los Angeles mayor with plan to address homelessness crisisKamala Harris gave Bass, the first female mayor of Los Angeles, the oath of office and Stevie Wonder gave a surprise performance Karen Ruth Bass, a former physician assistant who shattered glass ceilings with her rise to a leadership post in the California legislature and later a prominent spot in Congress, took a ceremonial oath of office on Sunday as mayor of Los Angeles.A progressive Democrat, Bass becomes the first woman and second Black person to hold the city’s top job and will formally assume her duties on Monday amid multiple crises in the nation’s second most populous city.She was sworn in ceremonially by Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, former California attorney general and a longtime friend. The formal oath was administered privately by the city clerk.Bass will be tasked with easing rising crime rates, restoring trust in a City Hall shaken by racism and corruption scandals and addressing the issue of more than 40,000 people living in trash-strewn encampments or rusty RVs that have spread into virtually every neighborhood.Striking a tone of unity, Bass said the many, disparate arms of government must come together to confront homelessness.To move in a new direction “we must have a single strategy” that brings together government, the private sector and other stakeholders, Bass said, speaking in a downtown theater near City Hall.She said if people link arms rather than point fingers, lives will be saved. She called that “my mission” as mayor.She also urged residents to become involved in city government, echoing John F Kennedy’s presidential inaugural address in which he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”“I call on the people of our city to not just dream of the LA we want, but to participate in making the dream come true,” Bass said.Bass, who was on Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice-president,claimed the post last month after overcoming more than $100m in spending by rival Rick Caruso, a billionaire developer and Republican-turned-Democrat who campaigned as a centrist and promised a strong emphasis on public safety.Caruso would have represented a turn to the political right for the heavily Democratic city. Bass swayed voters by arguing she would be a coalition builder to help heal a troubled city of nearly 4 million.“We are going to build a new Los Angeles,” Bass had promised at an election night rally.A marquee outside the theater featured a photo of a beaming Bass with the slogan “A new day for Los Angeles”. The backdrop for the stage, topped by US flags, was an oversized shot of the steps and columns of City Hall.In a surprise appearance, Stevie Wonder got the crowd dancing, playing Living for the City. He and Bass shared a hug.Bass, 69, ran as the consensus pick of the Democratic establishment and was endorsed by Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.Despite her close ties with the Democratic political community, she has described herself as a change agent who plans to declare a state of emergency on her first day in office to deal with homelessness. She has signaled she will seek to marshal “all of the resources, all of the skills, the knowledge, the talent of the city” to get homeless people into housing.Details on the emergency order have yet to emerge, though she has said she intends to get over 17,000 homeless people into housing in her first year through a mix of interim and permanent facilities.She also will contend with entrenched urban problems that include a housing shortage, crumbling streets and some of the nation’s worst traffic.“The mayor’s first priority and likely the main one for some time to come is homelessness,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles.“The voters don’t expect a miracle but will be looking for a clear and credible path toward measurable and visible improvement,” Sonenshein said. “It’s an opportunity for an energetic reset on a crisis that has seemed stuck, and also a chance to restore confidence in local government in Los Angeles.”TopicsCaliforniaUS politicsDemocratsnewsReuse this content More
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US vice-president Kamala Harris will swear in Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass
US vice-president Kamala Harris will swear in Los Angeles mayor Karen BassThe ceremony will be a nod to the barriers broken by the two most powerful women in California politics and beyond US vice-president Kamala Harris will swear in Karen Bass as Los Angeles mayor, marking the historic election of the first Black woman to lead the second largest city in the country.The swearing-in ceremony on Sunday will bring together two elected leaders who have repeatedly broken barriers in California politics and beyond. In 2020, Harris became the first woman, first Black person and first Asian person to be US vice- president. In 2008, as a California state assemblymember, Bass became the first Black woman to serve as the speaker of any US state legislature; she was elected to represent Los Angeles in the US congress in 2010 and later became chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.The mayor-elect asked Harris to administer the oath of office as a way to recognize their positions as two of California’s most powerful Black women, the LA Times reported, citing an aide to the vice-president. Harris was honored to participate, the aide told the paper. The vice-president tweeted that it was “an historic moment for the people of Los Angeles”.This is an historic moment for the people of Los Angeles. I look forward to swearing in Mayor-elect Karen Bass this weekend. https://t.co/uzV29F9PZv— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) December 5, 2022
The inauguration will take place on the steps of LA’s city hall and will include musical and other performances, according to a Bass spokesperson.Bass, the first woman to lead LA and second Black mayor in the city’s history, defeated her opponent, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, in the closely watched race in November. Caruso had spent more than $100m (£87m) of his own funds on his campaign, which spent roughly 10 times as much as Bass’s campaign.It took a week for the race to be called, with Bass ultimately earning 55% of the vote and Caruso earning 45%.Bass is stepping up at a pivotal moment in LA politics after a leaked audio recording captured three councilmembers making racist and bigoted remarks about colleagues and marginalized communities in the region, prompting an ongoing scandal. Several progressive candidates defeated more moderate opponents in key LA races this year.The congresswoman is also taking over city hall at a time when LA county has recorded 69,000 unhoused people, including more than 48,000 living outside. On the campaign trail, Bass pledged to move 17,000 people indoors in her first year.TopicsCaliforniaKamala HarrisLos AngelesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More - in US Politics
From homeless to city hall: the Hmong American mayor making history in Oakland
From homeless to city hall: the Hmong American mayor making history in OaklandSheng Thao says her experiences will help her lead the city through its severe housing crisis At the steps of city hall, surrounded by supporters and a gaggle of press, Oakland’s new mayor-elect Sheng Thao exhaled.“It’s been a long journey,” she began. “We’ve been through a lot to get to this moment right here.”Just 15 years ago, Thao was living in her car with her infant son. She had just escaped an abusive relationship and had nowhere to go. This week Thao, 37, became the first Hmong American woman to lead a major US city, the youngest Oakland mayor in 75 years and the first renter to hold the position.“There have been so many people in this beautiful city that have held our hands and lifted us up,” she said on Wednesday, in her first press conference since her history-making victory.The daughter of of refugees who fled Laos during a genocide, Thao was born and raised in Stockton, California, the seventh of 10 children. She left home at 17, and in her early 20s fled an abusive partner while pregnant with her son Ben. She spent months sleeping in her car or on stranger’s couches before she was able to secure a shelter.Now, as she steps into the role of mayor, Thao said her experiences with poverty and homelessness will help her lead the city through its own severe housing and homelessness crisis, and increasing gun violence. Over the past five years, Oakland saw a steeper rise in homelessness than any other city in the Bay Area.While many other Democratic midterm candidates across the state and country have responded to voters’ worries about homelessness and community violence with harsh, tough-on-crime rhetoric, Thao has promised policies that will treat unhoused people with dignity and investment in public health and violence prevention programs.Thao’s victory is a sign that voters “don’t want to vilify and punish poor people”, said Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, a national network elevating the political power of women of color.Allison, who lives in Oakland, said she has known Thao since she was an intern for Oakland vice-mayor Rebeecca Kaplan. Thao eventually became Kaplan’s chief of staff, before successfully running for city council herself. “Her values are clear,” said Allison. “It makes her very popular amongst lots of different people, because they feel seen and heard with her.”And Thao has built a long reputation of community involvement and action. At UC Berkeley, she organized the Bear Pantry – named after the university’s mascot – which collected food donations from local restaurants and grocers to help feed students in need. While working for Kaplan, she created a food delivery program for seniors and homebound residents. And amid the pandemic, she helped establish a mutual aid collective to distribute masks, hand sanitizer and public health information to underserved communities.“Sheng is a down to earth candidate who actually knows what it’s like for people who are marginalized in this city,” said Pamela Drake, a local activist who advised Thao’s campaign. “She’s not as progressive as I am,” Drake said. “I won’t always agree with her. But I do think what she’ll do is listen. And she won’t just ignore the people that are really in need.”Thao has hopes to see at least 30,000 new housing units built over the next eight years, provide safe RV parking sites for those who live in their vehicles and trash and sanitation services for encampments. Ultimately, Thao said, she wants the city to offer “adequate housing and shelter to all 3,300 unhoused residents in Oakland” over two four-year terms. She has also suggested stronger protections for renters, including rent controls, to keep people from ending up unhoused in the first place.The proposals had earned her the support of social justice group Oakland Rising, as well as a coalition of unhoused Oaklanders and homelessness advocates.To address public safety issues, Thao said she would like to fill vacancies in Oakland’s police force, which has been under federal oversight for nearly two decades following a corruption scandal. But she said she would also like to see more investment in education and violence prevention programs.In a ranked-choice election, she narrowly secured a victory by just 682 votes over the more moderate Democratic frontrunner Loren Taylor after nearly two weeks of ballot counting. Thao’s victory is considered something of an upset; while she had the backing of the local Democratic party, labor unions and progressive figures including California congressman Ro Khanna, her opponent Taylor was endorsed by key figures in Bay Area politics including Oakland’s outgoing mayor Libby Schaaf and San Francisco mayor London Breed.She is one of several newly elected progressive officials in Oakland, which will have a progressive majority in city council starting next year. And progressive civil rights attorney Pamela Price became the first Black district attorney of Alameda county, with encompasses Oakland.“We finally have the opportunity for progressive policies and changes to actually happen for the city,” Allison said.TopicsOaklandCaliforniaUS politicsUS midterm elections 2022DemocratsfeaturesReuse this content More
