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.

Does our criminal justice system work? Does it really provide for public safety? Or is it a broken, racist system that makes society’s troubles even worse? I talk with leaders of La Defensa, a nonprofit working to end our reliance on jails, cash bail, and a system that throws people away.

Guests:
Ivette Alé-Ferlito, executive director and co-founder, La Defensa
Megan Castillo, ReImagine LA Coalition Coordinator, La Defensa
Gabriela Vázquez, Deputy Director, La Defensa

La Defensa: https://ladefensa.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladefensx/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladefensx/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcJNyAax_3VApe5qtRExmWw


Re-Imagine LA: https://reimagine.la/
Defenders of Justice judicial slate: https://www.thedefendersofjusticela.com/
Court Watch LA: https://courtwatchla.org/

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

"Sorry, Not Sorry!" 

That's essentially the message of Nury Martinez, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, who spent the past week on a faux apology tour, trying to rewrite the history of the racist Fed Tapes scandal, and portray themselves, ridiculously, as the victims. Mike talks about it with Jelani Hendrix, former president of Black Los Angeles Young Democrats, Dr. Diandra “Dr Dee” Bremond, former board member of BLAYD, and Marco Santana, Democratic activist and former candidate for Council District Six.

Important Commentary:

Mike's Substack Column: The Racist Tapes, What I Heard
Gustavo Arellano on their BS excuses and use of Spanglish
Jasmyne Cannick’s column on KDL
Sahra Suleiman on the Seething Anti-Black Racism of KDL
NewsOne coverage of Nury's spin

Background Reading:
Summary of Nury’s LAist podcast interview
KDL and Gil sue over the leaked tapes
Nury’s Interview with NBC4 (10/12)
New Nury La Opinion interview
Gil’s Telemundo Interview
Gil’s La Opinion interview

Mike's Guests
Marco Santana - @marco4la on IG/threads, @MarcoforLA on X
Jelani Hendrix - JHendrix_4Prezident on IG
Dr. Dee Bremond- @mlkofthenewday on IG

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

With Adam Schiff running for U.S. Senate, his Los Angeles area 30th district congressional seat – which stretches from Burbank and Glendale and Sunland Tujunga down to Hancock Park and West Hollywood – is up for grabs for the first time in twenty years. There is a wide field of candidates running for the seat in next year's election, and we are going to talk with the major candidates, one on one and in-depth, on What's Next, Los Angeles.

In this episode, Mike talks with Nick Melvoin, a member of the member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education since 2017. Before taking office, he was a school teacher in Watts, worked in the Obama White House with the Domestic Policy Council and worked with the U.S. Attorney’s office,

You can find more on Nick at his website: https://www.nickmelvoin.com/

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

LOTS to talk about this week. Big wins for workers in the state legislature, and now Gavin Newsom needs to be decide whether to sign or veto a bunch of important bills. Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced a run for the board of Supervisors in what will be a very busy election cycle.  And huge LAPD police raises have killed a golden opportunity to keep Los Angeles safe. 

All that and more as Brittany Nichols (SAG strike captain and Emmy-nominated writer of Abbot Elementary) and Godfrey Santos Plata of LA Forward join Mike. You can follow Brittani at @BisHilarious on TwitX, and Godfey at @GodfreyPlata

Some further reading:

Wins for Workers in Sacramento

California Senate Passes Bill To Give Striking Workers Access To Unemployment Insurance; Now It’s Up To Gov. Newsom

Will California health workers get a $25 minimum wage? Legislature sends bill to Newsom after long fight

California bill that would increase number of mandatory paid sick days to 5 is sent to Gov. Newsom

California domestic workers may finally get OSHA protections

California lawmakers want to protect actors from being replaced by artificial intelligence

A fight between fast-food chains and unions in California is over, for now – what to know

Villanueva

Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva to run for LA County Board of Supervisors' seat

Hahn campaign reacts to Villanueva announcement

LAPD Raises

LOS ANGELES COMMITS ANOTHER $1 BILLION TO LAPD DESPITE FALLING VIOLENT CRIME

Bass-backed LAPD pay hike passes, despite flack from progressives

WATCH LA FORWARD CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUMS

Council District 4 - Sign up here
Council District 14 - Sign-up here

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