NOTE: This interview first aired last summer, before the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.

Maebe A Girl is currently serving as Treasurer and At-Large Representative for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles. Upon her election in 2019, she became the first drag queen elected to public office in the United States. Maebe is responsible for forming the Silver Lake LGBTQIA Advocates Committee -the first queer-focused committee in the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council system. She is also co-founder of the LGBTQ+ Alliance of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils, which is recognized as the first city-backed initiative for the LGBTQ+ Community in the City of Los Angeles. On the committee level, Maebe serves as Co-Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, Co-Chair of the Reimagining Public Safety Committee, and Co-Chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Housing and Homelessness for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council.

You can learn more about Maebe here: https://maebeagirlforcongress.org/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Who will unseat disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León? That’s the question a lot of people are asking as we head into the March primary. There is a big and impressive field of candidates   – and on this episode I talk with Lalo Vargas.

Vargas is science teacher at Franklin High School in Highland Park. He is the son of immigrants, a community organizer, and a gay man. A former firefighter/EMT, he is running to the left of a pretty progressive field of candidates. He is an avowed socialist, and is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation You can learn more about him here: https://www.laloforcd14.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

For fourteen years, Paul Krekorian has represented the 2nd council district on the Los Angeles City Council. He has been a powerful leader, chairing the Budget & Finance Committee for several years, and serving as City Council President since October 2022. But in less than year, he will be termed out of office, and it is time for voters to choose a new representative for the neighborhoods of North Hollywood, Studio City, Sun Valley, Toluca Lake, Valley GLeb, Valley VIllage and Van Nuys.  There is large field of candidates running for the seat, including today’s guest, Sam Kbushyan.

Kbushyan is an immigrant to Los Angeles, and describes himself as a social and economic justice advocate. He operates Sam Kbushyan Group (SKG), which consults with small businesses and non-profits. He serves on the L.A. Community Alliance and Immigrants Charitable Foundation. In 2023, Sam was appointed to serve on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s advisory transition team.  You can learn more about him here: https://samforcd2.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Since 2020, L.A.'s 10th council district has had a revolving cast of councilmembers, both elected and appointed. Now, voters finally get to choose a permanent, voting representative on the council.There is a big and impressive field of candidates   – and on this episode I talk with Rev. Eddie Anderson.

Pastor Eddie is a civil rights activist and ordained minister with degrees from Morehouse College and Claremont School of Theology.  He is an organizer for LA Voice(PICO),advocate for  Black Lives Matter, Co-Founder of Clergy4BlackLives, a convener and former Co-Chair of the New Poor People's Campaign in California. He served as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Redistricting Commission (2020-2021) and is on the board of the ARDI Advisory Body of Los Angeles County and the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Committee for LAHSA and LA County.

He has the endorsements of the Los Angeles Times, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and the California Working Families Party.

You can learn more about him at: https://anderson2024.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Who will unseat disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León? That’s the question a lot of people are asking as we head into the March primary. There is a big and impressive field of candidates   – and on this episode I talk with Ysabel Jurado.

Jurado is a tenants rights attorney, affordable housing activist, single mom, daughter of undocumented Filipino immigrants, and lifelong Angeleno. She is running as a strong progressive, with the backing of Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and City Controller Kenneth Mejia. We talked about personal story, and her thoughts on a range of issues, including homelessness, housing, public safety and a lot more.

You can learn more about her at: https://ysabeljurado.la/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Who will represent South Los Angeles in the California State Assembly? That’s a big question facing voters of the 57th Assembly District,  which includes  South Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, West Adams, University Park, Florence, Watts, Downtown Los Angeles and Skid Row.

Greg "Baba" Akili is a longtime community, civil rights,  and labor organizer and a well-respected leader in Black Lives Matter movement in Los Angeles.  Akili, as he likes to be known, is a senior advisor to the Black Worker Center at UCLA and one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles. He has worked for the United Farm Workers, the Obama presidential campaign, and campaigns to protect voting rights and social security. I first met him in 2008 when he was training people –including me – to be organizers for the Obama campaign.

He has the endorsements of:

• Sen. Lola Smallwood Cuevas
• Assembly Member Buffy Wicks
• LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia
• Hon. Herb Wesson, Jr., 65th Speaker of the State Assembly
• Dr. Daniel Lee, Mayor of Culver City, retired
• Dolores Huerta, American Civil Rights leader
• Danny Glover, American Actor, Film Producer and Activist
• Dr. Cornel West, American philosopher and political activist
• Carl Douglas, Civil Rights Attorney
• Dr. Melina Abdullah, Civil Rights leader, BLMLA & BLM Grassroots

You can learn more about him at: https://akili4thepeople.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Who will represent South Los Angeles in the California State Assembly? That’s a big question facing voters of the 57th Assembly District,  which includes  South Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, West Adams, University Park, Florence, Watts, Downtown Los Angeles and Skid Row

Dulce Vasquez currently serves as Assistant Vice President for  Arizona State University in Downtown Los Angeles. She was previously the Managing Director of Zócalo Public Square, L.A.’s civic forum.  She was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve as a Commissioner to El Pueblo Historic Monument, Los Angeles’ birthplace.     

Born in Tampico, Mexico, she's lived all over the country, but has called LA home for the last 15 years. After spending half of her childhood undocumented, she attended Northwestern University, The Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and earned a Master’s in Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

She has the endorsements of incumbent Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Equality California, and Abundant Housing LA.

I spoke to Sade at length shortly before Christmas. about her life and her agenda . Her website info  is here; https://www.dulcevasquez.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Who will represent South Los Angeles in the California State Assembly? That’s a big question facing voters of the 57th Assembly District,  which includes  South Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, West Adams, University Park, Florence, Watts, Downtown Los Angeles and Skid Row

One of the first candidates to jump into the race was Sade Elhewary, an educator, organizer and advocate who worked for years for the South LA based multiracial community organization, Community Coalition.

Sade is a first time candidate, but has been endorsed by tons of political heavyweights, such as Mayor Karen Bass, Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis, Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

I spoke to Sade at length shortly before Christmas. about her life and her agenda . Her website info  is here; https://sadeforassembly.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

 Lots of big news to kick off 2024. Late last week, LAPD Chief Michel Moore announced a sudden retirement, putting Mayor Karen Bass in the hotseat as she begins to choose a replacement. Meanwhile Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva denies the existence of deputy gangs while under oath.  The Supreme Court has decided to take up a draconian anti-homeless law, and people who usually call themselves progressives are hoping the right-wing court will criminalize homelessness. Meanwhile, is LA backing away from affordable housing in wealthy neighborhoods? And what is the fate of local journalism as Kevin Merida leaves the LA Times? Guest co-hosts Alissa Walker and Godfrey Plata return to the podcast and discuss it all with Mike.

Chief Moore Resignation
LA TIMES: LAPD Chief Michel Moore to step down at end of February
ERICKA SMITH: Column: LAPD’s Michel Moore is (finally) leaving. Here’s what L.A. needs in a new chief
LA TIMES: Detectives claim LAPD chief sought investigation of Mayor Bass over USC scholarship 

LASD
LATIMES: Villanueva denies existence of deputy gangs as L.A. County officials seek accountability 
LAIST: Former Sheriff’s Deputy Convicted In Fatal Shooting of Ryan Twyman; First Such Conviction In Two Decades In LA 

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR HOMELESSNESS CASE
LA TIMES: Supreme Court to rule on clearing homeless encampments in California and the West
COURTHOUSE NEWS: Oregon city trying to take blankets, pillows from homeless loses appeal
NEWSOM: Governor Newsom Statement on Court Ruling Obstructing Encampments Clearing 

LA Backing Away from Affordable Housing in Wealthy Areas?
LAIST: Housing Advocates Sue City Of LA For Stalling Affordable Housing Near Single-Family Homes:
REAL DEAL: YIMBY challenges LA’s denial of affordable housing in Winnetka:
OP-ED: Housing needs to go into highly resourced wealthy neighborhoods or else none of this matters: 

Kevin Merida Ouster
NYT: Editor of The Los Angeles Times Steps Down
POYNTER INSTITUTE:: Major surprise shakeup at the Los Angeles Times
POLITICO:

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

As part of a series of in-depth, one-on-one interviews with candidates on the March ballot, I talk with Serena Oberstein, who is running to unseat incumbent Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee to represent the 12th District in the northwest San Fernando Valley. It is a fascinating race, pitting Oberstein, former president of the city's Ethics Commission, against an elected official who is under investigation by the commission for his alleged role in a scandal that sent his predecessor to federal prison.

Oberstein, who is currently head of Jewish World Watch, would be the first Democrat to represent the 12th District, and the first person in decades to hold the seat without first serving as chief of staff to a previous councilmember.

Serena Oberstein Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

LA Daily News: Ex-ethics commissioner Serena Oberstein challenges John Lee in LA council race

LA Times: Six years after lavish Vegas trip, Councilmember John Lee faces ethics allegations

LA Public Press: LA City Councilman John Lee sues Ethics Commission

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.