Sen Feinstein’s future on Senate uncertain + CM Hutt reappointed

Thorn West: Issue No. 153

State Politics

• After a nearly two-month absence from the US Senate due to health concerns, California senator Dianne Feinstein has asked to be replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee, while resisting increasingly prominent calls to resign. The committee has been unable to move forward with judicial appointments in her absence, as she is the tie-breaking vote.

City Politics

• The special election in CD6 will officially head to a runoff between Imelda Padilla and Marissa Alcaraz, two of the most conservative candidates in the field, both of whom heavily benefited from independent expenditures from outside groups.

• Heather Hutt was reappointed as representative of CD10 on the Los Angeles City Council, over calls to hold a special election. The appointment passed 11–1, with only Councilmember Monica Rodriguez in opposition. Further recap (and argument against the appointment) here. Both CD10 and CD6 will hold elections again in 2024.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• The council passed a revision to the municipal code that makes it a crime to possess a detached catalytic converter without being able to provide proof of ownership. Several councilmembers spoke in opposition, arguing that the law would expand police powers without curtailing theft. The motion passed 8–4, with councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and Hutt in opposition. Councilmember Soto-Martinez wasn’t present for the floor vote but summed up his opposition here.

• The Intercept continues coverage of the nuisance lawsuit filed against a journalist by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto, verifying that the LAPPL’s claims that photos of  “undercover officers” were included in a public records request was actually an attempt to expand the term to include any officer who might one day conduct work out of uniform. “They’re openly calling for a secret police force.”

Anti-Gentrification

• Knock LA speaks with business owners in Inglewood whom the city plans to displace – in order to make way for a people mover connecting SoFi Stadium to the K LIne – about the uncertainty and potential disaster they face.

Labor

• A new contract between LAUSD and education workers represented by SEIU 99 was approved this week with 99% membership approval. The contract agreement was reached after a strike in March that closed schools for three days.

• A motion introduced by councilmembers Curren Price and Soto-Martinez would immediately raise the hourly minimum wage for many tourism industry workers to $25, and to $30 by 2028.

Environmental Justice

• The Biden administration will intervene in the apportionment of Colorado River water allocations among Southwest states, and this week introduced three differing plans for apportioning water rights, featuring high-leverage distinctions for Southern California. A final decision is expected in August.

• The blog Heated measures the climate costs of the LAPD and LASD helicopter fleets.