This week on The Signal, we examine the political shifts emerging from a consequential election, from Texas to Los Angeles. Lydia Camarillo discusses Latino voter turnout, changing coalitions and the challenges facing Texas’s incoming leadership. Then David Levitus breaks down Los Angeles’s mayoral transition, City Council races, the role of progressive organizing and the difficult work of turning campaign promises into effective local government.
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TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:10:13
MUSIC INTRO
Whole run by a handful of greedy bankers and CEOs who nobody elected can't possibly last.
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MUSIC INTRO
I'm going to tell you, going to that.
00:00:14:05 - 00:00:19:08
MUSIC INTRO
But you really only have to remember you're work words.
00:00:19:10 - 00:01:06:06
DINO
Good afternoon, Los Angeles. When I start this, you're listening to The Signal news, information and analysis here on Kpfk, 90.7 FM, public radio for the masses. I'm your host, you know. And welcome, welcome to all our listeners online Kpfk, Forgy, and of course, across Southern California, our friends over at 98.7 FM, Santa Barbara, 93.7 FM, San Diego County, and of course all the homies over at 99.5 Ridgecrest, China League who are listening right now and like you like me, like everybody online, including our guests, are wondering what the hell just happened across this country.
00:01:06:08 - 00:01:30:04
DINO
I can tell you what I, you know, listen, I'm going to take a crack at it, right? Because one of the things I've enjoyed, watching in terms of the coverage on again and again and again, we were joking about this just earlier, that there has to be one universal way in which we could describe this. And that was, you know, we came up with something silly, what do we call it?
00:01:30:06 - 00:01:50:21
DINO
Chuckle. I think we called it a, a, quake a name quake a name. It came where you combine earthquakes and army tornado, avalanche and hurricane. And that is what happened in this country, this packed this past week. You know, they handed me this, this funky name, and I'm pretty sure I messed it up, although I did try and rehearse it, but.
00:01:50:23 - 00:02:15:14
DINO
Yeah, listen, let's get into it a little bit because again, what happened this past week with the elections, is historic by every stretch, every metric and measurement. And that's something that we're going to be talking about for, years, decades to come. And today on this program, we're also going to be talking about it as well.
00:02:15:16 - 00:02:44:08
DINO
And we're going to go from a bit of a national, perspective. Stop overall effort, in Texas and then wrap up the hour in Los Angeles, but really focus in on Texas and our lame. Why? Because we're going to bring in two of our guests that we've had before. That includes Lydia Camarillo, president of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, who played a pivotal role in what happened in Texas.
00:02:44:14 - 00:02:51:02
DINO
And then later in the hour, we're going to have, David Lee with us live at this.
00:02:51:04 - 00:03:11:08
DINO
Levitt, us, who is, also has been on the program and is going to break it down like a fraction on what happened here in L.A. County. But let's put it in perspective, folks. Remember back when Barack Obama became president and white folks ran for the hills, got scared, right? We saw the rise of the Tea Party.
00:03:11:08 - 00:03:47:03
DINO
It started as a conservative backlash against Obama's government spending, his health care reforms. But there was also an unmistakable racial and cultural dimension that really led into that movement, that that led that movement was a part of that movement over the years. That political energy didn't disappear. It evolved, and it eventually became part of what drove this populist nationalist movement within the Conservative Party, within the Republican Party, and eventually helped fuel what what became and what we know today as MAGA.
00:03:47:05 - 00:04:07:21
DINO
And of course, MAGA. One could argue many on the right are now saying MAGA has officially died. We're going to get into that. Different movements, different leaders, but some of the same political grievances are running through them still even now. And what's going to happen next?
00:04:07:23 - 00:04:39:19
DINO
A strong black president drove white folks crazy, got more scared, turned him into this, tea Party movement that led to MAGA and as a result, eventually to the arms of a lunatic like the guy holding the white House. Now, the. What is it? The 34 time convicted felon who fanned the flames of division, fanned the flames of authoritarianism, fanned the flames of racism.
00:04:39:20 - 00:05:12:02
DINO
And then I think it's fair to say this individual thought, I can still do that and retain power. The electoral vote in my favor. And the country came out and said, you are that crap crazy. We're not going to do that. Let's get into it a little bit. Democrats didn't just win, ladies and gentlemen. They literally took control of Washington, captured both the House and the Senate by last, account, based on our researcher who's sitting right behind me.
00:05:12:04 - 00:05:34:05
DINO
We're at 54 houses, 54 seats in the house, seven seats in the Senate that were flipped. The last time a Republican president lost both chambers in a midterm election was George W Bush. And I remember that was at the height of my activism, maybe not at the height of my activism. I was already, I think, out of college, well, out of college and, and, you know, do another thing.
00:05:34:07 - 00:05:53:07
DINO
But here's the thing, folks. This wasn't make correction at the margins. Voters fundamentally changed the very balance of political, political power, not just in Washington, but across the country. In fact, let's go a little bit further south, Texas, maybe the biggest political story of the election. Quite frankly, I always think our ladies were the center of the world is.
00:05:53:07 - 00:06:18:10
DINO
And you can fight me on that. In fact, come to the studio with me. I'm right here in San Fernando Valley. Go. But here's the thing. James Talarico right. The charismatic, well-spoken preacher man, nice looking guy. You know, man of faith went up there, did his thing, became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988.
00:06:18:12 - 00:06:44:11
DINO
That means Democrats broke a 32 year Republican winning streak dating back to 1994. Republicans redrew congressional districts, hoping to pick up five additional House seats. Remember that? In fact, our guest, Lydia, who's going to be with us shortly, we brought her on to talk about that and remember what that spurred. Right. Texas said, we're going to change the rules at, midpoint.
00:06:44:13 - 00:07:16:17
DINO
And California said, well, we're going to meet you at the table. And, you know, across the country, folks started doing all the same. And guess what? They lost. They lost. Republicans redrew congressional districts hoping to pick up five additional House seats. And instead, Democrats won four of those targeted seats and took two. Republicans held elsewhere. Man, I mean, at some point, you just this is if there was ever a time where you were the the old adage screams, what is it?
00:07:16:17 - 00:07:42:13
DINO
You know, the home, the chickens came home to roost. We handed your butt to you. What else can we say? Well, what's another one? We we we, you know, man, you got you. But worked. The Republican redistricting strategy backfired across the country. Republicans redrew 15 Democratic congressional districts, hoping to flip them. Democrats held 11 of those districts.
00:07:42:15 - 00:08:14:16
DINO
11. In Iowa, Democrats captured three of the state's four congressional seats. Republicans tried to engineer a political advantage through redistricting. But you can we draw district boundaries all you want and try and buy an election. But when you turn your back on your own people, on your own white folk, guess what? They came back and said, don't take that.
00:08:14:18 - 00:08:47:10
DINO
A few more notes to share. Young and Latino voters helped drive this Democratic comeback. No surprise there. Young voters for Democrats up 54, percent from 2020 for Latino Democratic margin, plus 27 points up from Harris's three plus 3 in 2024. Two years ago, Republicans were celebrating their gains among young Latino voters. Well guess what? Not only did they lose those gains, the Latino shift alone represents a 24 point improvement in the Democratic margin.
00:08:47:15 - 00:09:16:20
DINO
That's not big. That's not large, that's enormous. I'm eight feet tall, weigh 375 pounds. That's bigger than me. Trump's endorsement wasn't enough, Trump told voters act as if, though I were personally on the ballot, folks were running away from that comment, much less going out there saying, yes, Bobby Trump is here. So here's the point, folks. History was made beyond party politics.
00:09:16:20 - 00:09:54:10
DINO
There was a transformative shift happening across the country. One more quick note, Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, the first black woman elected governor of the US state, Abdul El-Sayed and Michigan State's first Muslim U.S. Senator Deb Haaland, the first Native American woman elected governor. Peggy Flanagan, the first Native American woman elected to the Senate. And guess what? The two largest, most powerful states in the country that has in California are now going to be governed by Chicanos.
00:09:54:12 - 00:09:57:22
DINO
So do this.
00:09:58:00 - 00:10:22:17
DINO
We are literally going to start this next year. Would one of the most significant transformative changes in government prior you've ever seen? And we're going to ask our guests about that. Right. Because, yeah, let's bring it back to Texas. That's where the story is in my opinion. Right? I was we were talking about this on the lead up to the show.
00:10:22:19 - 00:10:49:17
DINO
And I think that's really the story that, that we need to follow while Democrats make gains across the country, folks, perhaps nowhere were those resorts more consequential than in Texas, a state long considered a Republican stronghold. And what our guest told us the last two times she was on this program is Charlie, man. That's changing. We are doing it in, quite frankly, in my, you know, here's where I'm going to put my political scientists hat on every once in a while.
00:10:49:17 - 00:11:08:13
DINO
I like to, you know, drop a little title here and there. Quite frankly, I think my next guest, Lydia, Camarillo, is one of the folks who has been instrumental in this. Lydia Camarillo, president of South Water Southwest Voter Registration education project. Lydia, welcome back to the signal.
00:11:08:15 - 00:11:11:13
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Gracias. Let's set aside if you can stand it. It's a pleasure.
00:11:11:19 - 00:11:37:05
DINO
And thank you for allowing me to, you know, just kind of get on my own little soapbox. Not that I have. Not that I don't have a soapbox every week. Once a week, every Saturday, 112 to 1 p.m.. Tune in 90.7. I am okay, that's my plug. Lydia, Democrats swept every statewide executive office on the ballot. Ousted Abbott, took the Texas House for the first time in more than two decades.
00:11:37:07 - 00:11:49:00
DINO
Tell me, man, I mean, what was your initial reaction to all of this at one point? You must have been there, like, you know, like like me and a taco stand. Super happy. Walk me through that.
00:11:49:02 - 00:12:23:16
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Well, first, thank you. Texas did surprise many of us, including yours truly. The the Latino electorate, the black electorate, the young voters, many of which were Latino and black, turned out in record numbers. I've been calling it the Brown tsunami, because if you look at the, Latino electorate in the ways that it came out, particularly if you listen to any political pundits, whether it's Chicano, Como nosotros or some of the establishment that's not Chicano.
00:12:23:17 - 00:12:30:23
LYDIA CAMARILLO
And so there's, have said that it's the valley that did it. Let's be very clear about a couple of things.
00:12:30:23 - 00:12:44:06
DINO
Stand up city, Lydia, for for those of us who don't know, about the Valley, because this has come up a lot in the last, what is it, 72 plus hours when we talk about, the RGV.
00:12:44:08 - 00:12:44:17
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Valley.
00:12:44:22 - 00:12:55:07
DINO
Right? Yeah, right. Tell us about the Valley. Give me a picture. Because, not all of us have been to Texas. I actually love the Valley, very much. But tell us what the valley is when you reference the valley.
00:12:55:09 - 00:13:23:14
LYDIA CAMARILLO
When I speak of the Texas Valley, I'm speaking about south of San Antonio all the way to the border, and it goes, east and west, because it's all of the, literally goes down. And it's basically the three congressional districts that were in play. I mean, if we start by saying that it really wasn't what people are saying, the redistricting happened as a result of five Latino seats that they redrew and took away.
00:13:23:16 - 00:13:46:10
LYDIA CAMARILLO
All five of the seats, stayed in the Democratic column. And I can break it down later if you want me to. The more then there were two that they withdrew as a result of the changes. It meant that one of the districts, helped by one of the white women in Dallas, it changed. The other one was the black, congressional member, that last, and then and then, they won it.
00:13:46:10 - 00:14:13:19
LYDIA CAMARILLO
So they did lose 32, which was held by Johnson in Dallas. When they changed the 33, it changed the other districts there. So it's really they redrew the five that are Latino. We kept the five. And then we also work meaning south as winter and others in 15 and 23, which is the valley and San Antonio to El Paso, which is, the 23rd.
00:14:13:21 - 00:14:36:16
LYDIA CAMARILLO
And those two were part of the first original lawsuit in 2021, not part of the 2025 redistricting. But all of those changed. All of that state either stayed with the Democratic column or flipped. The two flip the 15 and the 23rd, and the only one that the Texas held was the 32. And we didn't work that one because we were working the 33 and the other ones.
00:14:36:18 - 00:15:07:12
LYDIA CAMARILLO
I don't know if other groups were, but that's the only one that they gained. They could have had as many as eight seats given what they did, but they didn't. Then we want to thank California because California, as you know, with prop 50, decided to play along and respond to the Texas stealing of the Latino majority seats. And so the, prop 50 was on the ballot last year, you, as voters agreed to change the, the, the redistricting.
00:15:07:12 - 00:15:31:18
LYDIA CAMARILLO
And you gained five congressional seats as a result of that. So those those two things coupled with other states that we can get into that if we if we have some time later, and another time to break it down further is the result of what happened. The Valley in 2024 was expected, as a result of how they voted.
00:15:31:20 - 00:16:04:18
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Was expected to give the Republicans the, the at least the three seats, the 15, the 28 and the 34, because of how Latinos voted at that time, there's a conversation right now nationally by the pundits that the Latino vote is a is a swing vote. I don't believe that. That's the truth. Why what's what really happened is that Latinos down ballot voted Democrat like they normally do in the Valley, but they voted at the top of the ticket for Trump in 2024.
00:16:04:20 - 00:16:29:04
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Frankly, for a couple of reasons. It was the the men because of machismo. They thought it was a macho. We're one of them. Sure. And, two they work for Ice. They work for customs. They work for the I, oil industry. And they felt they felt that, the, current the Democrats, don't do a good job of keeping jobs in those areas, which is not true.
00:16:29:04 - 00:16:54:20
LYDIA CAMARILLO
But that's what they felt, and that's why they voted. Then they they were a lot of Latinos in the Valley who are tired of all the stuff that's happening in, in, in the Frontera and, within the border because of the drugs and all this stuff that's happening back there. So when Trump said, I'm going to close the borders and only pick up and deport criminals, they were like, okay, yeah, we don't want criminals here.
00:16:54:22 - 00:17:27:17
LYDIA CAMARILLO
But that's not what happened. So couple the, gas prices, the food prices, the affordability, the economy, the war, the the fight for democracy, corruption and ice, not only deporting people that look like me, that are patriots and marinas, but also who have an accent and worse, not just the undocumented and the immigrants that are here, but American citizens that are as white as they can be, being sure, not only being on the.
00:17:27:19 - 00:17:30:16
LYDIA CAMARILLO
That's right. Exactly. Shot and beaten.
00:17:30:19 - 00:18:06:13
DINO
So so, Lydia, it sounds like part of what you're describing is that there was a substantive change in how they operationalize this narrative that they build for the greater part of two years, and that in part led from what they were accurately described. They meaning the right Republicans and other pundits that Latino voters had drifted to the right, especially in South Texas, when they operationalized their draconian authoritarian policies, that narrative began to crumble on them.
00:18:06:19 - 00:18:15:08
DINO
And as a result, you've estimated that something like over 2 million Latino voters cast ballots. What are the numbers?
00:18:15:09 - 00:18:38:09
LYDIA CAMARILLO
We're estimating that 2.7 million. And there are some folks that are saying it's like 2.6 million. Frankly, we're still counting. And so and when I say we, I mean, the people that do this out there and we'll have a better idea of what happened, I think it's actually might be like something like 3 million. It's huge. But it changed what Texas looks like.
00:18:38:11 - 00:19:11:19
LYDIA CAMARILLO
This is part of what we were all shocked, including yours truly. We basically saw not only that the state House and the Senate moved not only in Texas, but in the governorship, but across the United States. And now, the Democrats are in control of the Congress in the US Senate. But we also saw that down ballot all the constitutional positions like the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, move from the R's to the De because the Latino vote and other voters that voted in favor of the Democrats.
00:19:11:21 - 00:19:45:15
LYDIA CAMARILLO
We also saw for the first time in a 9 to 0 state Supreme Court of Texas, because four were running, all four moved to the Democrats, same thing down other ballots, the state House. We expected that the state House would make Gina weak because it it was currently controlled by the Republicans, but they had 14 competitive districts, but they won 21, and they just elected the first African-American, like, speaker of the House.
00:19:45:15 - 00:20:08:02
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Yeah, in Texas, as a result of that. So you begin to look down ballot and and the only thing that they lost or didn't take control of is the state Senate. And that's because only one district was competitive. And a lot of the state senators are not do not run. They run, staggered leave. They won't run. They'll run again in 2028 but didn't run today.
00:20:08:07 - 00:20:20:16
LYDIA CAMARILLO
But but the one that did moved over. So no one was expecting this. Now, the question for Latinos and voters in Texas and the Democrats, is governance. How are they going to govern?
00:20:20:16 - 00:20:48:17
DINO
Right. And let me let me ask you about that, actually, because and before we go on, I'm my guest is Lydia Camarillo, president of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. And we're talking about the good old schoolhouse weapon that happened in in Texas, where, you know, after their redistricting ploy, after their, threats and intimidation, after their attempts to, preemptively influence, if not outright try and steal the election is.
00:20:48:17 - 00:21:17:17
DINO
So it turns out that the complete opposite not only were they not successful and their attempts, they meaning, the the party of the 34 time convicted criminal sitting in a white House, they, lost additional positions across the street, across the board. We touched briefly on, Gina and also becoming the first Latina governor in Texas history and the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards left office in 1985.
00:21:17:17 - 00:21:43:14
DINO
But before we go to Gina, how you know, to the question that we were just leading into not having won the state Senate, what is Gina to look forward to in this? How do you govern in that environment? Is it going to be similar to, you know, what is in the federal structure? You can pass something in the House, but if you don't get to the Senate, you kind of walk us through Texas politics a bit.
00:21:43:16 - 00:22:16:11
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Well, there's always a lot of that. But let me let me, put Texas in context to California voters think what they know California was super rat. Proposition 187 passed. Arizona was super red. The amendment ten 1070 passed, right. And they both changed. I think we are in the middle in Texas of our own prop 187, which means that all the seats, everyone in the Democratic sat in the division between that state House and the Senate is going to be a challenge.
00:22:16:11 - 00:22:44:12
LYDIA CAMARILLO
But there's immediate step that the next governor, Jane Idahosa, can do one is she's going to be now be able to appoint all the positions. She's going to be able to nominate, judges at the state level. She's going to be able to appoint presidents of universities that, got told us to get rid of di Chicano studies and African American studies, which, is extraordinary.
00:22:44:12 - 00:23:28:16
LYDIA CAMARILLO
She's committed to helping, elevate, people's wages, which I you are in Texas, but that minimum wage in Texas, I mean, in California, I mean, which in Texas is still $7.25, Jesus can pay me. So she's going to be able to do a lot. And yeah, she's going to have a couple of challenges. But frankly, if those Republicans that are now in the Senate and they're going to run in 2028, if they were to stay in that Senate or move up, they're going to have to start thinking about how they compromise on issues that matter to voters and all voters, including Republicans and independents, said in all the exit polls and surveys early on
00:23:28:20 - 00:23:41:06
LYDIA CAMARILLO
that they were worried about wages. They were worried about the economy, they worry about the expenses and the war and everything we talked about democracy and corruption. So they have to shape up or be ready to to leave.
00:23:41:08 - 00:23:44:16
DINO
But yeah, let me let me ask you something before we, we.
00:23:44:17 - 00:23:45:22
LYDIA CAMARILLO
We I know you're almost out of time.
00:23:45:23 - 00:24:18:15
DINO
Almost, almost out of time, but you've touched on something that, quite frankly, I want to take advantage of because there's a little tiny piece of me. Very tiny, as big as I am, that I feel vindicated. I had this conversation debate, really, with some colleagues and friends months, maybe a year ago on this issue of 187. Proposition 187 was the controversial California ballot initiative passed in 94 that sought to deny, undocumented migrants and other immigrants access to public education, on emergency health care, etc..
00:24:18:17 - 00:24:45:02
DINO
And I remember sharing this conversation, with folks saying, you know, there is a small opportunity that what's happening in the country today might be our 187 at a national level. And 48 hours after, the, the once the numbers started coming out, I kept saying to myself, you damn right. That's exactly what's happening. You touched on this right now.
00:24:45:04 - 00:25:10:02
DINO
And again, you know, self-preservation. If not, again, you know, soapbox moment. Is this something equivalent? 187 left Republicans obsolete in California. We're still to this day, I'm not I don't think that's going to be the case at a national level, but it certainly is. One could certainly argue that it's destroyed the MAGA movement, hopefully for good.
00:25:10:07 - 00:25:11:22
DINO
Am I off?
00:25:12:00 - 00:25:35:23
LYDIA CAMARILLO
No, you're not he. We need to remember that. We're just starting to learn all the victories around the country in the various states, like Kansas, who is also, again, and they they elected US senator as a Democrat. And it's also the Latino vote that was there in Georgia. And even though the black vote, turned out in stunning numbers, the Latino vote was there and has been there.
00:25:36:01 - 00:26:01:00
LYDIA CAMARILLO
So prop 187 was our defining moment for Latinos in California, saying to themselves, it's time we stand up for ourselves and we fight for ourselves because no one's going to do that for us. I'm going to do it in a number of ways, including through the vote. And obviously we support, Maldef on behalf of sued on behalf of of the California folks.
00:26:01:02 - 00:26:27:14
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Prop 187 and we won. It was lost, by, by the voters, in California, but not by the Latino vote. The Latino voted against it. There wasn't enough of us, but it is prop 187. And when I say when we say prop 187, it's really an anti-immigrant, anti-latino attack, which is what prop 187 was. It's also what prop ten prop up proposition 1070 was in Arizona.
00:26:27:16 - 00:26:51:01
LYDIA CAMARILLO
And we don't have any propositions in Texas. So that's how we can, embrace what's happening in in Texas. Now, listen to this. Talarico won his early vote. If he had not received one single vote during election day, he still would have won against Paxton. He still would have won against Paxton.
00:26:51:03 - 00:26:59:07
DINO
So let's let's go through that again. Had Talarico not received a single vote. And we're talking like mail in types and.
00:26:59:07 - 00:27:00:22
LYDIA CAMARILLO
So forth that I said had.
00:27:00:22 - 00:27:04:04
DINO
He not gotten any votes, he still would have won.
00:27:04:06 - 00:27:26:18
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Correct? He won an early vote. People were so motivated. And also the Republicans were depressed. But let's be very clear, the Latino vote voted in about 65% Democrat and the black voted about 90%, Democrat. It's a lesser number. We can get into that later if we want to. But the white vote continue to stay at about 45 Democrat.
00:27:26:20 - 00:27:45:18
LYDIA CAMARILLO
But it was the independents and the young vote voters who had never voted before. They didn't vote in 2024. They were newly registered, which is, by the way, the folks we were calling in all the congressional districts that were competitive, we were calling new voters that were just registered to vote. That has no voting history and no one else would touch it.
00:27:45:20 - 00:28:08:23
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Also, there was so much money in Texas because it's such a large market. Nobody wants to spend money here. We've always said Texans can, Latinos can turn out to vote. Everybody can turn out to vote. If you just spent a little bit of money letting people know. So a couple of things happened in Texas. The urban areas flipped.
00:28:09:01 - 00:28:30:13
LYDIA CAMARILLO
The cities like, San Antonio, Harris, they were all going to there. They all get are getting bluer. And then the valley, it was the cake. It was what ultimately delivered because more voters voted there than we have seen in any election. And even in 2024, which was a presidential election.
00:28:30:15 - 00:28:53:22
DINO
Right. But, Lydia, as we wrap up in our final minute, and as we continue to dissect, and look, folks, the FCC says, I can't I can't yes, I can't describe this as a good old school political ass woman. Lydia, what is the lesson here? What is it? What's the the key marker that we need to look at?
00:28:53:22 - 00:29:26:05
DINO
Keep looking at you know, clearly, you know, there is a transformative change happening, not just. We already talked about it, not across the country, but indeed, you know, Texas, this may be leading the way. We'll talk about what Lee is doing as well soon. How do we not mess this up? What needs to happen to ensure that the gains made today, this week are preserved and built on for the next year leading up to the 20 2028 presidential election?
00:29:26:07 - 00:29:47:12
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Well, first, those that one that are Democrats, they have to deliver on some of their promises, even if not on other promises. And it has to be about wages. It has to be about the economy. It has to be about, stopping corruption and holding those accountable. And then second, you have to continue to build and expand the electorate.
00:29:47:14 - 00:30:08:16
LYDIA CAMARILLO
And the electorate that must be expand is a Latino vote. And now they know that Latinos do turn out to vote. They have to invest in the Latino. Everybody invests in everybody except every black voters, women voters, swing voters, white voters, the African-American vote. And with the Latino vote, they keep saying, well, you only voted to, Latinos only voted 65%.
00:30:08:20 - 00:30:13:18
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Wait a minute. We're over 3.8 million registered Latino voters in Texas.
00:30:13:20 - 00:30:14:06
DINO
Alone.
00:30:14:06 - 00:30:38:20
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Now, over and in California, we're over 5 million. In other states, like in Georgia, we're not that big. It's only 5%, but it's 5%. If you pull out a Latino vote in 2021, when we turned out voters and with a stunning, black voted Asian vote and other voters voted, the two senators, which includes us, would have not won and Schumer would have not become speaker at that point.
00:30:38:22 - 00:30:59:21
LYDIA CAMARILLO
So it's a matter of organizing, investing and assuming that in two years everybody's going to be running again, and the game is going to start all over again. And do not forget that if you take Latinos for granted, they'll just stay home and they'll punish you without by not voting for you. They may not vote for the party they don't like, but they will.
00:30:59:21 - 00:31:22:05
DINO
Punish you right? And that and on that note, Lydia, I want to thank you again. I want to, first of all, congratulate you. Lydia Camarillo, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. You and your team played such an important role in advancing, the gains that have been seen across the world being recognized. Congratulations. When she smiles.
00:31:22:05 - 00:31:35:04
DINO
Gracias. And people can learn more if I understand. Right at SB rep dawg, where they can also contact you. Lydia, thank you for joining us again on The Signal. We look forward to having you back soon.
00:31:35:06 - 00:31:36:06
LYDIA CAMARILLO
Gracias.
00:31:36:08 - 00:31:53:04
DINO
So, folks, stay with us. When we come back, we head west to the west side. I'm fact, right here at home in Los Angeles who just elected a democratic socialist for mayor and two city council races that are still too close to call. But David Lee with us is going to give us a little bit from L.A. forward.
00:31:53:04 - 00:31:58:05
DINO
And a few updates. Join me after the break. Stay with us. We'll be right back here on the signal
00:31:58:09 - 00:32:18:08
DINO
¿Hola qué tal?. Yo soy Dino del programa de radio, the Signal. News, information and analysis, un progarma de radio todos los sábados a las 12 del medio día. Que trae calidad, contexto y conversación, sobre las historias que dan forma a nuestro mundo por KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles. Y para todo el mundo en KPFK.
00:32:18:09 - 00:32:23:11
DINO
punto org.
00:32:23:13 - 00:32:28:18
DINO
Kpfk 90.7 FM, Los Angeles. Congratulations.
00:32:28:20 - 00:32:29:06
DAVID LEVITUS
Thank you.
00:32:29:07 - 00:32:29:22
DINO
Happy hour.
00:32:29:23 - 00:32:34:16
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah, it's what a week. What? A week or five days? I don't even know how long this week is.
00:32:34:18 - 00:33:01:16
DINO
Welcome back to The signal, folks. We're here with. David Levitt is, who just joined us in studio. And one of the folks who undoubtedly played a huge role in what just happened. He's founder and executive director of L.A. forward, one of the organizations behind the now, success and potentially even more successful outcome in L.A. we're going to get into that in a little bit.
00:33:01:17 - 00:33:27:06
DINO
But look, first, check it out on Thursday, Mayor Karen Bass conceded and Nithya Rahman, the council member, mayor elect, member of the Democratic Socialists of America, will be the next mayor of Los Angeles, the first Asian woman to hold office and with her. And with this win, democratic socialists will now lead the two largest city in the country, Los Angeles and New York.
00:33:27:06 - 00:33:46:00
DINO
And of course, of those two, it includes the most dopest, greatest city in the world, L.A.. Thank you. I want to fight for that. And, walk us through some of this, including Marissa Roy, who will be the next city attorney who says she's going to turn the office into the largest public interest law firm to it.
00:33:46:00 - 00:33:48:14
DINO
I'm kind of excited. David, welcome back to the signal, man.
00:33:48:18 - 00:33:49:18
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah, thanks for having me.
00:33:50:00 - 00:34:13:10
DINO
So, dude. All right. Congratulations. First of all, I know I look forward, played a huge role yourself personally, in advancing some of the political shifts that we saw. You know, we're just talking to Lydia Camarillo and Texas and the work they did out there. And as I pointed out at the opening of the program, I mean, you know, what did we call it?
00:34:13:15 - 00:34:34:12
DINO
Fabian, it was something that was like a tsunami or an earthquake or hurricane, you know? Well, running through the street, I mean, it was all that combined and then some. So let's take it from the top. What are the current numbers that you're here and we still got? So you all worked and supported a couple of campaigns.
00:34:34:12 - 00:34:39:07
DINO
Walk us through which of those, you did support, what was the outcome and what's remaining.
00:34:39:07 - 00:35:01:03
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah. So, you know, L.A. Ford, we're we're a progressive, you know, advocacy group, community organizing group here in Los Angeles. And we've endorsed about ten candidates. We endorsed, if you run for mayor, Marissa Roy for a city attorney, along with back in the primary, we had supported, you know, Kathe Maria and Martinez Fernandez. And then we back to bunch of candidates in smaller cities across the county.
00:35:01:04 - 00:35:22:05
DAVID LEVITUS
People like Amy Wang and Alhambra, Stephen Cong and Monterey Park, John P Caver and El Segundo, three candidates in Burbank. Oh, Nikki Perez, Nolan Sutherland and Mike Flynn. Gorda, all of whom who won their election, and, and supported a couple and candidates in Culver City and, Santa Monica. And so, yeah, we had wins.
00:35:22:05 - 00:35:29:12
DAVID LEVITUS
I mean, nearly all of our endorsed candidates won. We supported a couple candidates on LA City council. Barry Wirth, Girvan, who looks to be ahead and who was.
00:35:29:12 - 00:35:32:21
DINO
Just here two weeks ago. Yeah, right. Yeah. Barry was with us two weeks ago.
00:35:33:02 - 00:35:47:18
DAVID LEVITUS
And that's what our major egos, who's, maybe, maybe going to pull it out, maybe going to pull a victory out in South Central. So, it was a big night for us. And and, you know, all these victories are collective. You know, I think a lot of hype around DSA, Democratic Socialists and DSA absolutely did a lot of work.
00:35:47:23 - 00:35:58:20
DAVID LEVITUS
And it's not just them. It's not just L.A. for there's so many organizations who are putting in work, so many volunteers, so many campaign staffers. And I think this is really, truly a collective victory up and down the ballot.
00:35:58:22 - 00:36:27:11
DINO
Now, David, walk me through this. Right. This is something I was debating with a colleague, an ally of mine, somebody who is in the business of public policy for many folks. Now, when I'm not on the radio, on my soapbox, I do a little public policy myself. But the debate we were having last night over Lebanese food was this issue that our discussion started at the national level.
00:36:27:13 - 00:36:33:15
DINO
Voters came out because they were just that dissatisfied with Trump.
00:36:33:17 - 00:36:41:14
DINO
That they went with the other direction, essentially taking a gamble.
00:36:41:16 - 00:36:51:10
DINO
And then to my surprise, my colleague says and the same could be argued in L.A., you know, and dinner kind of went south from there.
00:36:51:11 - 00:36:51:21
CUT
Yeah.
00:36:51:21 - 00:37:11:06
DINO
I don't know what what the hell do you mean? I, I don't see the same that you can draw those comparisons. And in the end, you know, what she was saying was, look, I'm not saying that it's, you know, tit for tat on this one. I am, however, saying that bass was just tremendously unpopular. The entire city.
00:37:11:08 - 00:37:24:07
DINO
Infrastructure machine was not in support of Ramon. I would reject any characterization that this is the lesser of two politicians. But what do you say to that argument.
00:37:24:09 - 00:37:55:23
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah. I think what is going on in LA and LA city specifically is very different. It's what's happening nationally like in some of the same voters turned out. Sure. I think to me the big story of what is happened here in LA city, in LA County, there is a progressive wave. We've seen building, starting with the election of Nithya Rahman to council in 2020 and then 2022 or 2024 now, 126 and I think you look at like Marissa Roy's election, that's a good comparison because Marissa had not just DSA and leftward and lefty orgs behind her.
00:37:55:23 - 00:38:16:03
DAVID LEVITUS
She had the county Federation of Labor, she had the Democratic Party. It was, even before she, you know, had defeated the incumbent in the primary. There was, so much support for her because there's so much dissatisfaction with the incumbent, Heidi Feldstein. Soto I think you look at the mayor's race and it's it's much more specific. It's not about like rejecting Trump.
00:38:16:09 - 00:38:40:11
DAVID LEVITUS
It is about I think there's a lot of satisfaction with the way the city is running, and there's a lot of people who are dissatisfied. Whether it's Palesa people in the Palisades or other places who, who ended up voting for bass because they saw Ramon as scary, as a socialist, as not trustworthy, and whatever. And, I think if you really break down the mayoral race, put aside the other races, break down the mayoral race.
00:38:40:13 - 00:39:03:02
DAVID LEVITUS
This is a generational story. I mean, you look at the over the over 50 under 50 split, it's crazy. And I think as more and more votes are counted, we see that coming even more true. And I think you saw the, the, the progressive orgs that came out of the, the 80s and 90s. They were with Mayor Bass, you know, and Coco and many other, you know, great organizations.
00:39:03:05 - 00:39:29:02
DAVID LEVITUS
They that was her coalition. And you look at the organizations that are newer, you look at the younger people, and they were with Ramon. And that's true in the unions, too. I mean, you look at unions like UAW and EAA and, so you see here they they went for Nithya and along with unite here and, and the carpenters and, and and kind of the more establishment, folks, the, the progressives who become the establishment, went with, went with bass for a lot of reasons.
00:39:29:02 - 00:39:54:16
DAVID LEVITUS
And so I think, you know, there is just a sense among folks that I know that, like, you know, I have tremendous respect for, for Mayor Bass's career. I think she, you know, she was my Assembly member, my Congress member for, for many years. And I have so much respect for that. And I think for some people, especially for folks who are older, and coming out of, particular communities, there was a sense of like, we we owe it to her to give her another chance.
00:39:54:21 - 00:40:11:04
DAVID LEVITUS
And I think there was an impatience among folks under 50, under 40. Like, we respect her career, but like, it's not enough. You got to be able to like, you got to be able to make the changes we want to see in local government. I think Nithya, her campaign really spoke powerfully to that and that's what powered her to victory, frankly.
00:40:11:05 - 00:40:39:02
DINO
No, absolutely. My guest is David Leavitt of LA for the progressive organization that publishes one of the most widely used voter guides in L.A. County and endorsed several of the races, that, took place this past week, very successful races out that were discussing L.A. politics. What to expect the the proverbial what now conversation, 4 or 5 days, later.
00:40:39:04 - 00:40:53:10
DINO
And, you know, I referenced this earlier. David, how do you and your observations as a political pundit, you know, and I mean, that, you know, is a good thing from one to another.
00:40:53:10 - 00:40:54:02
DAVID LEVITUS
Yes, yes.
00:40:54:04 - 00:40:58:06
DINO
David, how do you govern an environment, an environment like this?
00:40:58:06 - 00:41:18:10
DAVID LEVITUS
Well, I mean, I've been thinking a lot about that, you know, long before Tuesday, because, you know, part of what makes L.A. forward a little bit different is like, we are we're really policy nerds. I mean, we get dozens, hundreds of regular people involved in, in policy advocacy, but, like, we really walk out, this is not the elections we're saying we do, but it's not the biggest thing we do.
00:41:18:12 - 00:41:39:17
DAVID LEVITUS
And so we think a lot about like, how do you actually govern? How do you make changes that are going to, help ordinary people's lives, like fix the streets, like make sure that we have safety systems that are actually delivering safety. And I think you know this as I tell everybody, and I said it before, Mayor Bast ran for mayor in 2022, this is one of the, I think, one of the worst political jobs in the world.
00:41:39:19 - 00:41:56:23
DAVID LEVITUS
No one ever goes on to higher office from this. You universally leave basically hated at the end of your term, or at least widely unpopular. And I think, you know, the key for Mayor Rahm in coming in is like, I think one of her advantages, unlike Mayor Bass, is that she's coming in a having worked in the building, she's worked in City Hall, okay.
00:41:57:01 - 00:41:58:03
DAVID LEVITUS
For six years, right?
00:41:58:03 - 00:41:59:05
DINO
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's.
00:41:59:06 - 00:42:15:20
DAVID LEVITUS
Had amazing career, but like had never worked in City Hall and like it has its own culture, its own problems, its own dysfunctions. And I think, Nifi is going to be very clear eyed about those problems. The culture, you know, there's a lot of great people who work in the building and there's a lot of just broken systems, a dysfunctional culture.
00:42:15:22 - 00:42:29:14
DAVID LEVITUS
So I think she's going to be clear eyed about that, and she's going to have to figure out, like, pick her battles. What are the things she's going to be things that she doesn't expect that none of us expect are going to be thrown in. Her crises are going to come down the way. But like, what are the battles you want to fight?
00:42:29:16 - 00:42:45:13
DAVID LEVITUS
How do you bring people along? How do you how do you, speak to the public and do what says Zoran in New York is doing? And along, how do you bring people along in the building, build relationships with not just council members, but like bring along civil servants, the bureaucracy. How do you you don't have a lot of extra resources.
00:42:45:13 - 00:42:59:06
DAVID LEVITUS
So how do you, how do you get to articulate a clear vision, articulate clear priorities, pick your battles, pull people along. But, you know, don't announce stuff before you brought people in and then go for it. And I think it is possible. It's just very, very difficult.
00:42:59:07 - 00:43:36:02
DINO
David, let me throw this at you. Yeah. Because I think you you haven't navigated politics the way that you have behind the scenes on the policy front, having navigated with elected officials. And this goes back to a conversation I've had, it's now turned into an inside joke with an elected official who I knew before they were elected. And every once in a while, I'll run into him in, not in L.A. and I'll jokingly jab him and say, what's it like being a politician, you know, and his comeback is, you know, after, you know, I'm not a politician.
00:43:36:04 - 00:44:17:05
DINO
I'm a civil servant. So, well, okay, you know the likes of Gill. So the EU at one point he was a progressive, revolutionary, blah, blah, blah and eventually became a politician. Karen Bass navigated the streets of Cuba and support and eventually became a politician. I argue that history tells us that we are in those positions, and who end up in that position become politicians, not because they set out one morning and said, Today I'm flipping a switch, you know, but because they're navigating a system.
00:44:17:07 - 00:44:18:00
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah.
00:44:18:01 - 00:44:24:08
DINO
Democratic socialist or not, I remind people democratic socialists are by default capitalist.
00:44:24:10 - 00:44:24:19
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah.
00:44:25:00 - 00:45:00:05
DINO
So so in the case of how what does accountability look like for somebody like Marissa Roy, who, you know, she was here in that very chair. We had a great conversation during and after. And I remember asking her as well, you know, what happens when all of a sudden you run up against that war, you realize, okay, maybe that's not entirely possible to the extent in which I wanted to, you know, I saw a video, just this morning as we were prepping for the show of some reporters really pressing that the I think it was last night, actually, for her to respond on these issues.
00:45:00:05 - 00:45:26:07
DINO
And then the the characterization was, you know, she's already dodging questions, etc.. And I'm thinking, I look B.S., but it's fair game now. Accountability. What does accountability look like for a candidate like me? If you know, like Marissa, these progressive candidates who are winning and some of whom already experience the political machine that is American capitalism, what do you think?
00:45:26:09 - 00:45:27:10
DINO
How do we do this?
00:45:27:10 - 00:45:47:08
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah, it's it's tricky. And the more you're in the spotlight, the harder it is, I think. Marissa well, I hope a benefit from not being, you know, having Nithya get elected alongside her like the focus is going to be on this. Yeah. I think Marissa maybe has a little more room. But you know, there's I think that her, Marissa's predecessor, the current incumbent, Heidi, is just done such a terrible job in the city attorney's office.
00:45:47:08 - 00:46:06:15
DAVID LEVITUS
Like there's a lot of rebuilding to do. And that's a big office. Just a thousand people who work in the city attorney's office. So it's it's a management problem. I mean, it's a management challenge, like, okay, how do you hire good deputies to come in, to do good management. How do you find room in the budget, work with city council to get money in the budget to do the things you want to do?
00:46:06:15 - 00:46:26:04
DAVID LEVITUS
Because filing these lawsuits, is great, and but you need the funds to do it. So I think it's and then, you know, part of the job as a politician is like there's the internal management challenge. And then you got to, you got to get council on board to fund your office. I think this is in a whole different category because there is so much scrutiny of the mayor.
00:46:26:05 - 00:46:48:04
DAVID LEVITUS
No one knows what the city attorney does. I mean, that's why you saw until Election Day, the polls are showing a huge number of undecided voters, and no one knows what the city attorney does. Most have most people have. The people on the inside barely know. Right. But the mayor is so high profile. And there's so many people even outside the city of L.A in the county who they miss it or, you know, now bass and so knit and if it isn't, is their mayor.
00:46:48:04 - 00:47:08:12
DAVID LEVITUS
And so I think, you know, for her and for anybody in that position, you know it is it is about, communicating clearly with your progressive allies. On the outside and, and saying, hey, this is what I campaigned on. This is what I want to prioritize. Now, are you with me on this and figure out, like, what are doing the organizing work?
00:47:08:13 - 00:47:24:08
DAVID LEVITUS
It should not. You know, some people don't like the word governance, but, like, it's the organizing work of of keeping the coalition that get you elected behind you, trying to expand that coalition. And I, you know, I think I don't know how long of a honeymoon. I think Karen Bass got a very long honeymoon. She was beloved when she was elected.
00:47:24:08 - 00:47:28:18
DINO
Yeah, she had come back. She had the, you know, experience with local community groups. Yeah.
00:47:28:19 - 00:47:51:13
DAVID LEVITUS
I agree it's a very popular and it's, you know, it's like there's a lot of, hard feelings understandably, about, you know, I think at the end of the day, she's going to win by about nine percentage points, 9 or 10. It's it's not a small victory, but it's not a landslide. And there's a lot of, you know, you know, concerns from some corners about her and, and so she's going to be, you know, it's incumbent on her to kind of prove herself.
00:47:51:13 - 00:48:04:14
DAVID LEVITUS
And I think lucky for her, one of, you know, some of the first tests are going to be around the city budget, which is very tight. And she's going to her team is going to need to start working to prepare, and it's going to be tough. Tough questions that come up. But she she's been on the inside.
00:48:04:14 - 00:48:25:23
DAVID LEVITUS
She's a wonk. And in some ways I think that speaks to her strength. And I hope that she is able to get some early wins, either legislative battles, administrative things on the inside, like can she get the 311 system working again? I mean, it's falling apart. That's outrageous. Like we are three one. You should be able to pick up the phone, you know, on an app or dial and like, get the city services to come out.
00:48:25:23 - 00:48:37:17
DAVID LEVITUS
Like, how do we, I think the, the extent you can find some early wins, find things that people can like unite around that aren't necessarily polarizing. I think that will be very important for her.
00:48:37:19 - 00:48:50:00
DINO
Yeah, there has to be. There has to be a moment. I mean, it's one thing. If I could, you know, ask her. Not on the mic. I'd said, you have to feel like for at least 10s. Yeah. Eat crow.
00:48:50:00 - 00:48:53:00
DINO
Suckers. Yeah. I mean, right.
00:48:53:01 - 00:49:21:15
DINO
Yeah. Why not? Let's talk about the city council races, you know, again. Barry. What? Corbin was here. You know, what's your read on her? She's not a super hyper progressive. Certainly a lot more progressive than, the challenger. Who was I, in my assessment, a one off of the fiscal hawk bloom and Bill thought he was.
00:49:21:15 - 00:49:38:15
DAVID LEVITUS
I mean, Blumenfield endorsed Tim Gasper, but Tim Gasper was to the right. I mean, Tim Gasper was that was an odd choice. On Bob's part, in my view. I was puzzled by it. I think it was had as much to do with blocking, you know, Barry who, you know, had worked for Lindsay Horvath. So, you know, I was I was disappointed in that.
00:49:38:15 - 00:49:54:21
DAVID LEVITUS
But I think, Barry, you know, Barry's not a DSA candidate. She's not. WFP endorsed Ellie Ford endorsed her because we thought, she was so much, so much stronger than, then and Tim. And also, that's such a key seed. And we know that I think Barry is just a you know, I know I've known her for a long time.
00:49:54:21 - 00:50:21:12
DAVID LEVITUS
I think she's just a good person. I know she's not always going to agree with us, but I know she's going to listen. And I think she's deeply you know, she just has, you know, speak of a civil servant. She's worked in government for 15, 20 years and I think is, you know, interested in expanding unarmed crisis response, interested in for how we build climate resilience, like all these things that are sometimes not the high profile issues that the left cares about, but, like, really matter?
00:50:21:14 - 00:50:39:17
DAVID LEVITUS
I feel confident that I look forward and our partners are going to have a real collaborator in her on the council, and I'm I'm not expecting her to wage some of the high profile progressive fights, but I do think, kind of like a career a soft skate can be, on the council can be a real partner, in the weeds of things, at times.
00:50:39:17 - 00:50:42:04
DAVID LEVITUS
And, and so I'm really looking forward to having Barry on the council.
00:50:42:07 - 00:51:08:05
DINO
Now, as of right now, Barry is at 51.2%. This I think the last time they updated this was maybe this morning around 9:00, give or take. And, Tim Gasper is at 48% with very few votes remaining, and, you know, but is it, under a thousand vote difference? And, you know, it speaks to the importance of local elections and why you should go out and vote.
00:51:08:09 - 00:51:31:02
DAVID LEVITUS
Well, and this, I think, is connected to National because, you know, L.A. for its board chair is is Doctor Lorraine long quest to, you know, ran, for the open seat in Council district 12 back in 2019, a special election ran again against John Lee once he'd been elected. And, you know, she lost by so narrowly. And I think if it had been in this election, like with massive turnout, she easily, you know, might have won.
00:51:31:02 - 00:51:52:17
DAVID LEVITUS
And I think, you know, the fact that so many people turned out like is the difference maker for Barry, who's almost certainly going to win that seat. And if Esther Wardlow pulls out a victory over Hogarth and CD nine, that is also going to be a credit to the massive amount of field work that went in by groups like Utla and WFP and Ace and DSA and and so many others.
00:51:52:19 - 00:52:05:21
DAVID LEVITUS
But it's also just a credit to this national environment that had people really amped up to vote, and, and send a message to Trump and kind of the, his fascist allies and enablers that like, no, it's not okay for you to, try to do what you're doing.
00:52:06:01 - 00:52:23:07
DINO
And yeah, you just mentioned so who said we got there? Is that 51.03% is one of them was 48.97%. Let's it's 949. So we're talking a one percentage point. And again here it's under gosh couple hundred votes.
00:52:23:07 - 00:52:49:05
DAVID LEVITUS
It's going to be a photo finish. I mean I've seen projections and Estacado is getting about 57, 58% of all the remaining vote drops. And literally the difference being 58 and 59% is the difference whether he wins or not. I think we're going to see them within, you know, a dozen votes of one another. And I think it does just speak to like every even in these local elections with, you know, hundreds of thousands of people in a district, it every vote matters.
00:52:49:05 - 00:53:00:09
DAVID LEVITUS
And, people, you know, take that for granted. It is really so close. And, what representation looks like is going to be shaped by, you know, did a couple dozen people turn out to vote or not?
00:53:00:13 - 00:53:22:04
DINO
Did a couple of dozen people turn out to vote as of, these results are as of 10:59 p.m. yesterday. So this according to the county registrar's office, which means that we do have, probably one more. Two more jobs coming down, and we should have some idea. Maybe by Monday.
00:53:22:06 - 00:53:28:21
DAVID LEVITUS
Maybe this one. I think this race is going to. I mean, it might even be longer than that. It's going to be so close.
00:53:28:23 - 00:53:43:00
DINO
Well, you know, I'm cautiously optimistic. So where do we go from here? What's next? Give me the first. Your projection, your assessment of the first 100 days. How L.A. politics first 60 days.
00:53:43:02 - 00:54:06:16
DAVID LEVITUS
Yeah. Well, I think, you know, one big question is like, what happens in city four? And if you see it, does she does she leave if she resigns her from office before, December 14th when she's sworn in as mayor? They have to appoint a caretaker, but then there has to be a special election. Or do we have a scenario where, for various reasons, she doesn't leave until exactly when she needs to be sworn in.
00:54:06:20 - 00:54:25:16
DAVID LEVITUS
And then the sit the the council, could appoint a point for someone to serve in that. See, as a voting member. So that's I think the first big question and we'll see a lot of speculation about that. And then, you know, I think there's a lot of work that, that all of these new electeds are going to have to do, but especially the ones with big steps to get ready.
00:54:25:16 - 00:54:47:12
DAVID LEVITUS
So, you know, the council members. Sure. But especially Nancy and Marissa, I mean, these are huge offices, right? The city attorney's office, that's a thousand people. And, you know, Nithya will need to staff up, hire chief of staff, hired deputy mayors. You know, plan to, like, have a transition committee. There isn't one yet. And, you know, the hundreds of people that end up working for the mayor.
00:54:47:12 - 00:55:04:14
DAVID LEVITUS
And I think, you know, Nifi has been very clear she wants to do what Garcetti did, which is like ask all the general managers to reapply for their jobs, which I think is a great idea. So that, you know, first you got to build out your top team, you got to build your transition committee, and then you got to figure out, like, how do we handle, these general managers.
00:55:04:14 - 00:55:12:22
DAVID LEVITUS
And then very soon after that, you got to, you know, there's already work being done to to draft the budget for the spring, but that's going to come real quick, too. So, you know, so we're.
00:55:12:22 - 00:55:36:18
DINO
Talking about building the infrastructure of support of governance, followed by budget, which has many, many of us who've worked in, in city government know which to go time. It's crunch time. Budget starts to, to develop in in January. It goes through February before you know, it. It's time to go. Well, it's time to go for us as well.
00:55:36:18 - 00:55:38:04
DINO
David. Live.
00:55:38:06 - 00:55:38:21
DAVID LEVITUS
Love this.
00:55:38:21 - 00:55:56:22
DINO
Glamorous. Sorry. My producer is going to scream at me once you leave. Let David, founder and executive director of L.A. forward, a progressive organization who was key and instrumental in a lot of the political outcomes that we had here in the city of L.A. I want to thank you for coming in today. Thank you for all the great information you shared.
00:55:56:22 - 00:56:18:01
DINO
Folks were going to stay with us as we continue to update folks in the coming weeks on this new and transformative period in L.A. politics, and indeed, the city of Los Angeles. I want to thank all my guests for being here with us, David, Lydia, and the entire crew here and including Wil, who sat in as our resident engineer, my producer in L.A., Barbara.
00:56:18:07 - 00:56:24:16
DINO
And, stay with us. The question was coming up next. See you next week.
00:56:24:18 - 00:56:32:01
MUSIC INTRO
Dennis, on through handshake. Say no precedent. So let's get getting glad that he made.
00:56:32:01 - 00:56:44:11
MUSIC INTRO
It this way. That this lineup isn't just.
00:56:44:13 - 00:56:50:04
MUSIC INTRO
This one organizing against Twitter to fake.