YO!
VENICE www.yovenice.com
June 25 – July 22, 2021
Councilmember Mike Bonin Served Recall Papers Bonin served recall papers Tuesday, over 27,000 signatures must be obtained from constituents B y S am C atanzaro “Our streets have become de facto campgrounds,” reads recall papers served to Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin this week. Bonin, who represents Council District 11 encompassing much of the Westside including Venice, was served the recall notice on Tuesday. “Councilmember Mike Bonin has consistently made promises to his constituency and failed to follow through on these promises since he took office,” reads the recall’s Statement of Reasons. “In summary Councilmember Mike Bonin does not engage with the district and did not improve our quality of life or clean up our neighborhoods. Our streets have become de facto campgrounds, sanitation policies are failing, crime is rising, and Mike Bonin remains unresponsive.”
In a statement, Bonin called the recall waste of tax dollars. In addition, the councilmember claimed that the campaign is backed by rightwing forces. “A recall election, held right before regularly scheduled city elections, would be a waste of millions of dollars of taxpayer money — dollars that could be better invested in addressing our homelessness crisis,” Bonin, who has announced a run for a third and final term in 2022, wrote in said. “This recall has been championed by the same right wing forces that are trying to erode our democratic process and take down progressive officials across the state.” In addition to the recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom, last week recall papers were served to Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents neighborhoods including Silver Lake and Hollywood. A recall effort is also underway against LA County District Attorney George Gascón. Under City of Los Angeles recall rules, once the recall paperwork is verified, campaigns have 120 days to collect signatures from 15 percent of registered voters in the district, which in District 11 is at least 27,387 signatures. If sufficient signatures are obtained and verified, a presentation to recall will be made to the City Council at some point in
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Councilmember Mike Bonin speaking at the groundbreaking for Via Dolce Park in 2018. December. Council would then have 14 days to call for an election. If Council does not act within those 14 days, LA County election officials would call for an election. Bonin has faced backlash in recent months since introducing a motion to explore the
possibility of bringing more temporary homeless shelters to a range of public spaces on the Westside, including Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades. The motion, which
Bonin Recall, see page 7
Sheriff Villanueva’s Plan to Clear Boardwalk Encampments Divides Venice Organizations Plan to clear Boardwalk by Fourth of July met with applause, condemnation B y S am C atanzaro Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s plan to clear encampments on Ocean Front Walk by the Fourth of July has been met with markedly different reactions from Venice organizations and stakeholders. On June 7 Villanueva visited the Boardwalk to announce a plan to clear encampments there by Fourth of July. In his remarks, Villanueva took aim at City of Los Angeles officials, blaming them for the prevalence of encampments in the area.
“The city of LA created this problem. This is a failure of leadership from the very top, all the way down. If I go there to the end of Santa Monica, at the end of Santa Monica I don’t see any tents. There’s no stronger argument than the division between the two sides,” told a group of reporters. “I want to see the boardwalk full of tourists. I want to see the boardwalk full of all the wonderful people here that were selling their crafts that Venice was known for. That is what it needs to be. This is not Venice.” A day after Villanueva made these remarks, LASD’s Homeless Outreach Services Team came to the Venice Boardwalk to start the process of clearing encampments and connecting homeless individuals to housing. LASD Lieutenant Geff Deedrick, the head of HOST, told NBC 4 that cleaning Boardwalk encampments by July 4 is a goal, but not a deadline, and that it could take much longer. The Boardwalk falls under Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) jurisdiction, but the Department said in a statement to the Associated
Venice Beach, June 14, 2021. Press that it supports Villanueva’s plans and is willing to work with partner agencies to improve safety and support for the homeless community. “The Los Angeles Police Department is
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
committed to working with all of our public
safety partner agencies and elected officials
Boardwalk, see page 6