Thorn West: Issue No. 112
Elections
- A significant number of ballots remain to be counted from the June 7 primary, with ballot count updates scheduled into next week.
- In CD1, the race between DSA-LA-endorsed Eunisses Hernandez and incumbent Councilmember Gil Cedillo, which will be decided in this primary, remains too close to call, with today’s update cutting Cedillo’s lead to 720 votes.
- In CD13, today’s update puts DSA-LA-endorsed candidate Hugo Soto-Martinez ahead of incumbent Mitch O’Farrell! The two will head to a runoff election, but a first-place finish against an incumbent would already be a rare accomplishment.
- Progressive candidates in other city races have fared well (all current results here). Erin Darling in CD11 and Faisal Gill, who is running for city attorney, are currently leading their races, with Darling more certain to finish in the top two for a runoff. In the controller race, Kenneth Mejia heads to a runoff having cruised to first place. DSA-LA-endorsed Fatima Iqbal-Zubair will head to the runoff of her State Assembly race. All four members of the Defenders of Justice slate are also currently in the top two of their respective races for judgeships. Knock LA recaps a promising result for “grassroots progressives and socialist organizers.”
- These local results are important, as the story receiving the most nationwide attention is the successful recall in San Francisco of reformer District Attorney Chesa Boudin. CalMatters is already deflating the heavily-promoted myth that the recall, extremely well-funded though it was, represents a popular rebellion against humane criminal justice reform. The LA Times confronts this as well.
- As expected, the Los Angeles mayoral race heads to a runoff between Rick Caruso and Representative Karen Bass. The Los Angeles Times editorial board notes that, thus far, both campaigns have been defined by making impossible promises to reactionaries.
- Sheriff Alex Villanueva, plagued with scandals throughout his first term in office, will face a runoff election. His opponent will likely be Robert Luna, who was endorsed by the LA Times; Luna’s own scandals as chief of the Long Beach Police Department were reported on by Knock LA. State law requires a law enforcement background for all candidates for sheriff, making it difficult for a left candidate to emerge. LASD Lieutenant Eric Strong, who most clearly identified as a reformer, finished solidly in third place in a crowded field.
- Though voter turnout in the statewide primary election was widely reported as low, UnrigLA argues that this was not the case in Los Angeles County.
Environmental Justice
- CNN reports on how the failure of California cities to curb water usage is impacting rural areas, with some having their groundwater supply near being tapped out. On Wednesday, California’s Water Resources Control Board announced cutbacks that will affect about 4,500 water rights in the Delta watershed, including 400 or more held by 212 public water systems.
- The California Air Resources Board continues to agonize over the feasibility of instituting a ban of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.