LA Podcast - For Mayor Consideration

LA Podcast - For Mayor Consideration

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey track a third week of ICE raids that are more violent, more brazen, and raising more questions about how LAPD is assisting with these kidnappings. The Olympic Wage coalition strikes back with a new referendum to raise the minimum wage for *all* LA city workers. Plus, Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary win is huge news for New York City — and maybe for LA?

ICE says 1,600 detained in Southern California, with data showing the majority are men with no criminal records, randomly taken off the street

In an LA Taco video it certainly looked like LAPD was protecting ICE in downtown LA Tuesday

The statement from LAPD only seemed to confirm this: “At one point, a partially handcuffed woman approached and stood near a LAPD officer. After several minutes, a Federal agent approached and assumed control of the woman. LAPD was not involved in her detention or arrest”

As Ron Gochez of Union del Barrio told LA Taco during a ride-along: “They’re not going to call the police to defend them, they’re going to call us”

motion put forth by LA Councilmembers is asking for more clarity on: “to ensure the safety of City personnel and to prevent unlawful entry by Federal entities”

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Huntington Park, Arturo Flores, formally directed the Huntington Park Police Department to enforce rules about federal agents self-identification, including unmarked vehicles: “We cannot allow Wild West-style bounty hunter tactics to unfold unchecked on our streets… Our residents deserve to know who is operating in their neighborhoods and under what authority”

The hotelworkers union filed a state complaint about misleading signature gathering for the anti-Olympic Wage referendum — here’s the complaint letter and the state leaders they’ve gotten to sign onto it

Now the union is trying to gather signatures for its own ballot measure which basically uses the misleading talking points in proposing to raise the minimum wage for all workers

Zohran Mamdani won a convincing victory against the establishment, as a result of an unusual confluence of reasons, writes Josh Marshall

Mamdani masterfully grabbed public attention, as Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes discuss

Ranked choice voting helped, particularly in the context of the partisan primaries, which we don’t have in California

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander’s cross-endorsement with Mamdani was especially powerful

Watch Anand Giridharada’s interview with Brad Lander about the election results and where things go from here (featuring strategist Waleed Shahid and messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio too)

NYC is the most Jewish city in the country and Mamdani’s ability to win many Jewish New Yorkers’ votes despite massive spending by AIPAC-aligned funders has to be understood in the context of extensive, locally-rooted Jewish-Muslim coalition building, as Peter Beinart, Arielle Angel, Mari Cohen, and Alex Kane discuss

Listen to Mike Bonin speak with Ami Fields-Meyer about “Being a dissident in the United States” on the latest What’s Next, Los Angeles?

On July 1, Reclaim the Streets marches against ICE are taking place all over the city: EastsideSELACrenshawSouth LA

Become a paid subscriber to LA Podcast at thinkforward.la

Produced by Sophie Bridges

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