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AN ANGRY ANGELENO - I got my vote by mail (VBM) ballot three days ago on Monday, October 7.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has been politically toxic. The politicians that he does NOT have endorsing him show that level of toxicity. That's because he has been soft on crime and criminals. Many Angelenos consider him pro-criminal. Crime is likely the number 2 local issue for LA voters, homelessness being number 1, although the two issues are intertwined, with lots of homeless folks engaged in criminal activity.
After Karen Bass won the mayoral election (two years ago) with the support and endorsement of the progressive LA Times Editorial Board (with the Times owner's daughter's progressive activism likely influencing the endorsement decisions), the Bass home was robbed. Two guns that belonged to Bass were stolen. Then we understood why she felt so safe in LA, as she claimed in a debate response. Instead of staying at that residence, she moved to the FREE mayoral mansion in uber safe and rich Hancock Park. She even has LAPD protecting her there.
During what appears to be a shift change, her new residence was recently broken into, and LA County DA Gascon went after the guy who broke in for a felony. You probably don't think he would have done that if somebody broke into your home. Gascon needs Mayor Bass to either endorse him or not endorse his opponent, Nathan Hochman. So aggressively pursuing the guy who broke into the Mayor's place is rather convenient.
In the primary earlier this year, Gascon only got a little over 25 percent of the vote, or a little over a quarter of the vote, which is SO low for an incumbent. He got that meager percentage WITH the endorsement of the LA Times! What that means is that pretty much anybody with a pulse could defeat Gascon in the upcoming finals. But Nathan Hochman is far better than that. Hochman got over 40 percent of the vote when he ran for State Attorney General against Rob Bonta. Which also means that Hochman has been vetted.
Recently, Gascon is being more aggressive in prosecuting people, obviously because of the upcoming election, but it's too little too late. Even the LA Times had a recent headline: "Not Even Close: Hochman's Lead Over Gascon Grows to 30 Percent in New DA's Race Poll."
Who's backing Hochman? Well, Rick Caruso, for one, who ran against Karen Bass in the last mayoral, and may run again in two years against a much weaker Bass, is supporting Hochman. But Hochman has a MASSIVE list of impressive endorsements. Just go to his website to check it out.
So why isn't Bass supporting Hochman? It's just a matter of time. Policing levels are severely inadequate under the Bass Administration, LAPD got a small raise, they're having trouble recruiting new officers and have lowered standards for hiring. I even encountered a HUGE problem when I called the police recently in order to have a no-camping zone enforced. Change in policy. Now, because they have insufficient cops, they will forward the call to a group that will send someone to chat with the homeless about services. When you call 911 about lots of OTHER things (at least in my Beverly Grove hood), the response time is Two Hours, and you have to make multiple calls.
Earlier this year, in the March Primary, John Lee beat Serena Oberstein with over 62 percent of the vote to her almost 38 percent of the vote. That's a blowout, especially considering she had the LA Times endorsement. There are 15 LA City Council Districts in the City of Los Angeles. That election was LA City Council District 12 in the Valley. That's the most conservative council district in the City. The residents there favor Council Member John Lee because he prioritizes public safety and protects them. Mayor Bass swooped in near the end (before election day), endorsed Lee, and campaigned for him. He would have won anyway, but she helped widen his lead. Why would she do that? Likely so that in 2 years’ time, Lee either endorses her or (more likely) does not endorse.
So, it would be no surprise if Bass does the same thing in this LA County race. Swoop in at the last minute and endorse Hochman, especially because Hochman will win by so much and Gascon is so disliked. Hochman will destroy Gascon in this election. But endorsing Hochman is far more important than endorsing Lee. You're comparing the Top (elected) LA County Prosecutor to one of 15 LA City Council Members. Endorsing Hochman would tremendously help Bass, who has been weak on crime (she even recently endorsed and campaigned for the uber-progressive Nithya Raman), and move to the middle...in other words, being more likely to be considered a Moderate Democrat for all those Decline to State (neither Democrat nor Republican) voters. And it would increase the chances that, in two years’ time, Hochman either doesn't endorse Caruso or endorses Caruso late. No way he would endorse Bass if Caruso (or somebody with similar views on crime) is running. It also helps Bass raise money. The bad side is that it would tick off the LA Times Editorial Board and Progressive Democratic Groups. But they would know why she did it and they will likely not have a major candidate to support (other than Bass) in the upcoming mayoral election.
So, the real question is WHEN will Mayor Bass endorse Hochman. Start your office betting pool now.
