Reason 79 Mayor Sam’s Sister City is Racist

When will the ethnic, racist politics come to end? I would hope the day would come when a Jew would be elected CD14 Council Member beacuse they love their community and they are the most qualified person or perhaps a Latino would be elected in CD5 for the same reasons or an African American in District 12, etc., etc., etc.
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 5/20/2008 08:18:00 AM 4 Comments Links to this post

Sidenote: Why is it that the most pervasive blog documenting LA city politics has a narrow-minded view of the demographic contours of the city and its history of exclusion and racism in public policy? Everytime I visit the blog, I find something new that is so disconcerting, considering we both wake up to the same city: a city of immigrants, globalization, diversity, and police brutality. Sure LA politics are corrupt, and maybe the race card isn’t playing in the white man’s favor-but I will argue he has all the cards in his hand. This comment ignores the history of oppressive politics that have forced disenfranchised communities to the off-set of policy decisions and to be represented by officials that have no stake in the quality of their daily lives. To argue that council districts should be color bling forgoes the fact that up until 25 years ago, this city was dominated by white politicians with the occasional Black elected, who put up a hard fight to overcome the city’s legacy of night curfews, redlining, and outright racism. Never have we seen the rise of the Latino politician in a major metropolis and the growth of the Asian political base. Why can’t we embrace it, and stop advocating for this nonsense color blindness that ignores the recent history of this region, and the larger political atmosphere that defines the U.S.

Mayor Sam-stop gerrymandering.