Where We Stand!

Please see our recent work!

We stand firmly and proudly in our advocacy for transparency, accountability, due process, and the presumption of innocence.

Yes, it is true that the past several weeks have been filled with plenty of civic drama. In other words, “Democracy is a messy business.” Equally true is that our expression of civic engagement has been both empowering and consequential.

For example, among the most significant revelations has been the deficiencies in the Los Angeles City Charter magnified by the events in CD10. We have begun to raise several critical questions about the Charter and Council practice, and the more we probe, the more concerning it gets.

As we know, the suspension of Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas has prompted calls for another round of charter reform, especially related to the “suspension” and “temporary appointment” processes, compensation of suspended members, the duration and powers of a temporary appointee, the duration and powers of the Council President’s role as “acting” mayor in his/her absence and the authority of the City Controller to unilaterally revoke compensation.

In other words, how can this mini-constitutional crisis be avoided in the future?

As you will learn from these two KBLA 1580 Talk Radio interviews hosted by “unapologetically progressive” Tavis Smiley, featuring Pulitzer Prize winning editorial writer Robert Greene from the Los Angeles Times and Dr. Raphael Sonenshein, Executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State LA, the origins of this crisis have been simmering for the past decade.

Please take the time to listen, they are excellent and there will be more. We stand solidly in the tradition of pushing for a Charter that meets the moment.