November 8, 2021
Many of you have asked me where I stand on the effort to Recall Mike Bonin. I’ve made the petitions available at my events for several months now, but I’ve been honest about the difficulties it creates for me as a candidate. Because of the recall, he is allowed to collect unlimited, uncapped donations, but I have a max of $800 per donor. Plus, he was able to repurpose more than $70,000 from a committee he opened back in 2016 to support Measure HHH. I don’t have a separate slush fund with thousands of dollars. I understand the timing is awfully close to a regular election, and recalls aren’t pretty. But, here we are.
Among the many offenses he has committed against his own constituents, let us remember just a recent few. Each of these, standing alone, is enough to recall him, but cumulatively, his actions are so reckless and detrimental, we have no other choice:
- The councilmember promised constituents that he would bring more police officers to neighborhoods, then voted to defund LAPD and posted “F*ck the police” while crime was spiking all over our District.
- He promised that the Venice Bridge Home would alleviate encampments and make our neighborhoods cleaner and safer. It did not. Things are actually worse than ever.
- He said he would keep our schools safe, but dangerous RVs and encampments line school perimeters. The Councilman won’t lift a finger, despite desperate calls for help from parents. He even voted against efforts to keep schools and neighborhoods safe all over LA.
- His policies have come at great cost. Neighbors have been murdered. Workers have been brutally attacked. Businesses have been robbed and vandalized. Many have simply closed up and left. The Ballona Wetlands, Ocean Front Walk, and the Palisades have burned. Kids can’t play outside. The Councilman has been silent on all of it.
- He tried to take away our beloved beaches and parks to bring more of his mismanaged, dangerous encampments to our District. Don’t think he won’t try to do it again.
- Mike Bonin doesn’t care what constituents have to say. Unless you agree with him and his failed policies, he won’t meet with us, or return calls or emails, you might as well not exist. If you dare speak out against him, he’ll call you names and spread lies about you.
- For those of you concerned about the recall being so close to the June 7th primary, I hear you. Consider, even if defeated in the primary, he would remain in office until the end of his term in December 2022. This means the recall would save us from him 7-8 months early, which is well worth the effort and cost.
I am beyond impressed with the civic activism and engagement across CD-11 that it took to build the momentum and see this effort through. The recall team has put heroic effort into building their multi-partisan coalition, and I couldn’t be more proud of their dedication.
If you haven’t signed the petition yet, you should. And you need to do it today. Find a location to sign, or download the petition here: https://www.recallbonin2021.com/
Keep doing your best, and I will do the same.
