What's Next, Los Angeles? with Mike Bonin
Los Angeles is at a turning point. We are living in a defining moment. What happens next is up to us. Over the past few years, problems and challenges have shaken this city -- and tremendous opportunities for change have presented themselves. How do we rise to this moment and emerge a better place to live? What will it take to create a more just and a more equitable community? Working together, how are we going to create a stronger, forward-thinking Los Angeles? Mike Bonin, writer, teacher, progressive activist and former City Councilmember, looks at the issues and problems facing Los Angeles, examines ideas, and talks with the people who will lead us to a brighter future.
Produced in partnership with LA Forward.
What's Next, Los Angeles? with Mike Bonin
Heather Hutt for L.A. City Council: Candidate Spotlight
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The last in my series of 2024 primary election candidate spotlights: Heather Hutt
Since 2020, L.A.'s 10th council district has had a revolving cast of councilmembers, both elected and appointed. The City Council appointed Heather Hutt to fill the post in September 2022. She is now running to represent the district as its elected councilmember.
Before serving on the council. Hutt served in senior roles for several public officials, most notably as state director for then-US Senator Kamala Harris, chief of staff to Councilmember Herb Wesson, and district director to state Assemblymember and Senator Isadore Hall. She has the endorsement of Mayor Bass, the council’s progressive bloc, and also the council’s most conservative members. She was born and raised in the 10th district – and she is also a single mother to 3 sons that she raised in the 10th district.
She and I served together on the council for about 90 days at one of the most politically tumultuous times in modern LA history.
Her website is here: https://www.heatherhutt.com/
What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.
Hi everybody and welcome to another episode of What's Next Los Angeles. This is Mike Bonin. Thank you for joining me. There are just a few days left to vote, and we are winding up this last week prior to the March 5 election with daily podcasts, including more in my series of one-on-one deep dive interviews with various candidates. And today I am talking with Councilmember Heather Hutt, who is running to remain the council member of the 10th district, which includes all or parts of the following neighborhoods Arlington Heights, Koreatown, Lamert Park, Mid-City, Olympic Park, Palms, South Robertson, West Adams, West Pico, and Wilshire Center. Leadership of the 10th District has been in flux for the past few years. Longtime Councilmember Herb Wesson was termed out in 2020, and former County Supervisor and City Councilmember Mark Ridley Thomas was elected to succeed him. Shortly after he took office, Ridley Thomas was indicted on federal corruption charges, and the City Council suspended him, and that left the district without a vote at City Hall. The council eventually appointed Mr. Wesson to come back temporarily. That plan faced some legal challenges, so the council then in September of 2022 appointed Heather Hutt to fill the seat. Heather is now running to represent the district as its elected councilmember. Before serving on the council, Councilmember Hutt served in senior roles for several public officials, most notably as State Director for then U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, as Chief of Staff to Councilmember Wesson, and as District Director to State Assembly member and Senator Isidore Hall. In this race, she has the endorsement of Mayor Bass, the Council's progressive bloc, and also the Council's most conservative members. She was born and raised in the 10th District, and she is also a single mother to three sons that she has raised in the 10th district. She and I served together on the council for about 90 days at one of the most uh interesting and politically tumultuous times in modern Los Angeles history. Uh Heather Hutt, welcome to What's Next Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_01Oh, Mike, thank you for having me today.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's my pleasure.
SPEAKER_01It's really good to be here. Good to see you.
SPEAKER_00Good to see you.
SPEAKER_01And wow, you you put everything in a nutshell right there. Like, yeah, that's true. We did. We did go through some times together. Some some really tough times.
SPEAKER_00We we did. And I I want to start by just saying how much affection I have for you. Um because uh we did not start out on a good foot.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And uh you know We didn't know each other. We we did not know each other at all. And uh I had certainly my issues with Councilmember Martinez and uh didn't like how she was handling the appointment uh process. So I had voted against your appointment, and uh that was you know a not a particularly collegial dynamic to start on. And then a month later, these tapes came out. Right. And you know, I was the city was rocked politically, I was sort of rocked personally, and that's right.
SPEAKER_01You were rocked personally too. Um but at that time I I respected the the process and also those that voted against me, because that that is everyone's choice in in any level that you're voting on. And I respect that. That's part of democracy, right? Sure. It but it doesn't uh uh make me hold anybody uh in a bad place. No what I want to say like biblically, no ought against you. And and that really has to do with understanding that people have those rights. Yeah, and so I didn't feel like it m it made a distance in in the relationship, and the tapes really made us come together.
SPEAKER_00Oh man, I mean you were uh amazing uh for me and my family during that time. Uh you know, you invited us to some events uh where my son felt a tremendous amount of love. And you know, I noticed later that the day that I came into council and had to speak on this, it was a really tough day. In the photos of me speaking, there are a few people standing behind me who literally in that moment had my back. And it was uh council candidate Hugo Soto Martinez, uh it was Councilmember Alec de Unici Hernandez, Councilmember Marquise Harris Dawson, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, and you. It was the five of you right behind me. And um I don't know, I just felt so so bonded and so much affection for you in that moment.
SPEAKER_01I I what you don't know is I was trembling just trying to keep the tears back because it was really painful. You know, I I have three sons, uh, and as a single mother, even my kids said it to me when they heard the tapes and mommy, nobody should have to hear any of those things about their children. And my kids are grown.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01They're grown men, and it still hurt them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so it was just a painful moment. And it, you know, I I didn't think anybody should have to go through that. No child should have to hear that. And that your whole family should know that everyone doesn't think like that. And that was the the reason you're invited to participate, to give some love, because that's what we all need is more love. And so I'm glad that it it built a better relationship.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it it was it was amazing. And and I gotta say, I remember I hadn't planned on discussing this because I didn't remember it until just now, but there was the council chambers in in those weeks, I mean, they were they were rough moments, right? There were protests every day. Uh there was, you know, at various points the police came in, they were in riot gear, and there were a number of us who were really upset about that dynamic that they were the the protesters or the police with with riot gear there. And I remember we'd sort of retreated into the hallway behind chambers, and Paul Krakorian was then new new president, and a bunch of us, sort of the the the lefties, were complaining to him about this, and it was it was me and Marquis and and Nithya Raman, we were saying this is unacceptable. And and I think to to in his mind, he's like, Well, yeah, of course they're gonna say this. And then you went up to him and you said, This is not right, and you you voiced your opinion on how intimidating it felt for you. And it was really a powerful sort of um exercise of moral authority, Mike.
SPEAKER_01Wow. I I thank you for that.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome.
SPEAKER_01I just felt like it wasn't the move, like it he was brand new, and this is not how we want to govern. This is not leadership, in my opinion. And thank you for that. Oh, no, you won't. I just felt like I had an opportunity to share my opinion, and I don't know why he he listened, but it just wasn't a good look. Yeah, now those were the words I used. It's not a good look. Like it looked like Rhythm Nation back there, right? Me and Nithya always make a joke about it, and then she does like and does the number countdown because it was frightening, and being a black woman from South LA, that's the last thing you want to see or participate in is what that military look looked like to the people that you served.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So thank you for that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh and I'm I'm glad I remembered it because I wanted to bring it up because it's one of those quiet moments that happen behind the scenes that people don't get to see. But it was an important moment for for the city council and just in understanding who you were as a public official. So thank you for that. Uh so let me start as I usually do these interviews. Uh, give me, give the listeners your pitch. Why are you running? Who are you? Why should they vote for you?
SPEAKER_01I I'm running because I love this city. I'm from here, um, born and raised, my mother, we're almost a hundred years in the city of Los Angeles. Wow. Right? And uh uh they came to Lamerc Park in 1926. So that's pretty exciting to me to have roots this far. LA looked different when I was growing up. Some some ways better, some ways worse. And I've I feel like when you bring your rooted values to the table, you can make better. So I'm running uh to work with everyone to make it a better space. We we definitely we have to house our homeless. We have to do better with affordable housing. I've done some motions that have uh, I think they're gonna have legs and make a difference in what our affordable housing looks like. Um we also have to bring back some progressive ideas on what safety looks like. And and I'm working diligently in that space. So um I'm here to do the work. That's what I've always done is the work to make things better for folks. We have a wonderful team now. I want to keep that team so that we can do constituent services and make change.
SPEAKER_00You you said that the Los Angeles you grew up in was very different than the Los Angeles we live in now. Uh what was it like?
SPEAKER_01Well, it wasn't as crowded. That's for sure. It is um so with it not being as crowded, it it was just a slower town, right? And uh my mom used to blame it on the Rose Bowl. She used to say that people would come from all over for the Rose Bowl and come to Sunny California in January and have to take off their heavy coat and be like, oh, I'm not going back. And that is really what happened in my family that my grandfather and grandmother came here for a visit to visit his sister. And he's like, I'm never shoveling snow again. And I think the weather has so much to do with why people are here. So it was less crowded. And um that we we're we were growing post-civil rights. So there were people that spent time trying to work it out so that things were better, more connectivity. Um the black community were they were buying homes, we had small businesses, we had uh growth in education, and so it was different. Um I think the economic downturn really changed our home ownership. Yeah. We have so many homes that the big corporations went in and foreclosed, especially in South LA, but said, you don't have to move, just pay me rent the same as your mortgage was, and you can stay. And now here we are where these values are up so high, and now people are moved out because they didn't have ownership and they haven't had ownership in 15 years or more. So those kind of things are different. Our homeless population is really different. We didn't have it when I was growing up. And then when we st when we're starting to see it, I feel like there's a disinvestment. Mental health wasn't a conversation. Like it was taboo to say, I'm I'm having a moment, I'm having a breakdown. Uh, but as as I'm the mother of sons that are grown men, I see a shift in their behavior because of external events in their life and try and guide them. But they've been open enough to say, Mom, I need to talk to somebody, and then try and find them help, which was like men never did that, right? And so mental health is a a challenge and it's a big conversation now. I'm really happy about that. I want to continue to be a part of that conversation, not only in my own home, but for uh people in this city.
SPEAKER_00How did you get involved in public service?
SPEAKER_01Right? That's a good question. Okay, so sometimes your son probably may do. When we were young, my mom worked for Bob Farrell. So she worked in City Hall and also in the field office, but she too was a single mom. So my sister and I were the people who sat in the front and had you do the sign-in sheet. Maybe osmosis where you're sitting there and you start to understand, so you understand equity from a whole other lens. And then in public service, like we wanted to have parties and stuff, but they had to have a purpose, so you had to bring a toy or a can because somebody else is not doing as well as you. And so that was kind of how it was bought up. Um, I've I've done other things, like I worked for unions, uh, I was a home care worker. I also had a small business, which is uh catering. I think those are transferable skills. Um volunteered, belonged to DIM clubs, all the active things that you do still while raising my kids. And um we were working on Isidore Hall's campaign and in for school board. And he's like, I need your help. And we were like, no, no, no, no. And then later on, uh as he went to assembly, he's like, no, seriously, I need your help. Like, okay. So that's how I, you know, went from working on various campaigns to actually going inside.
SPEAKER_00And uh how many years did you work for Isidore?
SPEAKER_01Uh all of 'em. Let me see. Uh eight.
SPEAKER_00And you went from him to uh no job.
SPEAKER_01And then because he didn't win. And then um and then some women asked me to interview for a position for Camel Harris, and I did. I interviewed with um Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who I adore. And um she, you know, back and forth questions before uh Kamala was inaugurated, and then I got the job. It was fabulous.
SPEAKER_00And that's a big job. Tell me about the kind of work she did then.
SPEAKER_01So first it was uh first I was the deputy district director for the five counties in Southern California, which is huge, connecting to the counties and then all the cities in there. And then by 2019, when uh she determined that she was gonna run for president, Julie jumped out of uh government and I took her job as the statewide director. And so there's about 1,400 cities and towns that you're responsible for understanding. So, of course, the big bulk of the cities are in Southern California, but also we had a lot of uh wildfires during that time. At one time, there were four million acres burning at one time. So you have to understand, you know, what is the remediation plan, what what a mudslide's gonna look like afterwards, what does fire need? How can the federal government come in? And one of the um my biggest issues was the Thomas fire, which was one of the first big wildfires that crossed over Ventura to Santa Barbara. And so you naturally assume that you're gonna get FEMA, but Trump denied the FEMA declaration because he said that those people that live in Ventura and Santa Barbara are rich and that they don't need any assistance. Forget the farm workers that live there that also lost their homes. They might need an EBT. So we really had to fight. And um when I say we, those things are on the ground to gather all the information, so that's called me. And then um also go into uh conversations and collaborations with then Diane Feinstein's office, so that it is a uh a consorted fight effort for them to advocate. And and then we did eventually get FEMA and and it wasn't just him saying it uh online, like I met with FEMA and I was like, okay, the and they said we can't do like why can't you? So I had so many of those experiences there, even the purple line. You know, as the purple line is traveling on, it was halted at Fairfax, and I had a big meeting, Julie and I both with uh then it was uh Phil Washington. Yeah. And you oh yeah, you were there.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so Phil Washington for listeners was the uh CEO of uh LA County Metro at the time.
SPEAKER_01Right. And and so Trump put the purple line on the new start list and wasn't funding any new start. So one thing he's saying, infrastructure, infrastructure, but ABC, right, anywhere but California, and he wasn't putting any money here. And so that meant all our union work had stopped, no contractors were doing anything. And Metro's like, wait a minute, this is phase three. We need this three billion dollars to get to the a destination, which was veterans. So we I had to gather the information, brief the senator, again, another briefing with Feinstein so they could fight for the purple line. It took us about four weeks to get it back online, get the money back in. But that was a huge fight. And, you know, our transportation is really important here. And you they were already digging a hole. Like, what are you talking about? But uh, you know, you hear rumors that folks that were further west and more affluent communities didn't want that line passing through. They didn't want others to come to their community.
SPEAKER_00Well, we're we certainly saw that with the history of the Expo line, and we're certainly seeing that with the uh Sepulveda line. Correct. As well.
SPEAKER_01So so those are those some of the kind of fights or resources that I was in to bring in. Plus immigration, like the immigration fight was incredible. So working with her to bring families back together. So I've been into the detention centers, um, detention centers where folks are um w asylum seekers waiting to move out of asylum into something that gives them support while they're waiting for to be citizens of those and ask hard questions. You know, you have to deal with ICE and wardens and games, and I've seen more than I want to talk about when it comes to those things for men and for women, especially asylum seekers.
SPEAKER_00Uh so fast forward a few years and you are now the voting member of the LA City Council. Uh how have you found the difference between being a staff member and being the person whose name is on the door who has to press the button to vote yes or no?
SPEAKER_01It it's very interesting. It's a a transition from being in the weeds to not being in the weeds. And um fortunately you have an amazing team because I would probably be a micromanager if I didn't have an amazing team, because I was a micromanager as a staff.
SPEAKER_00Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because you work for somebody who not only has these requirements but aspirations to be the president of the United States, so then you know everything. So I've had conversations with my team to say, okay, do you know where I came from so that you understand where I am? And and they're like, But yeah, but we got this. And so it's it's worked out that I'm transitioning to being a principal, but it ain't easy. It's not.
SPEAKER_00I always having been a longtime staff member before I came into office, I always compared it to the difference between being a scrub nurse and being the surgeon. Right? You know the theater of operations, you know the perceiving. It's just a lot more intense when it's you who's who's making the cut. Right. Yeah. That's right. Uh so one thing I haven't asked about yet, but you you referenced it. Uh single mom of three kids, three boys. That's right. Uh, I often marvel at how any single par as as somebody who has a partner, a husband, and we have one boy, I often marvel at how any single parent does it. How how have you managed raising three boys as a single mom?
SPEAKER_01So it wasn't easy. Uh, first of all. And there I I can think of times where um I I just didn't have all the resources. Like one time my uh we did bike giveaway recently, Christmas time. Kids had been inside and they got obesity and diabetes, and so bikes were the right thing to do in my mind. So my kids participated in the bike giveaway, and my youngest one reminded me when his bike got stolen. And we drove around, tried to find it, we couldn't find the bike, and so we had to share with his brothers, which was great. But I bought those bikes on layaway at Sears, and I couldn't buy another one. And there were times where I just couldn't provide more. So that part was really hard to look at your kid and say, I'm sorry, I can't. There was a time he had to do a uh one of the kids had to do a project and he needed rubber gloves, you know, put the the throwaways. I had to get them out my hair dye. I did not have like that's a real thing. Like I really know what it's like to struggle because you know you want to send your kid with the resource and you don't have it. Right. And you can't go buy it. And so though those were, you know, tough times to just look in your kid. Kids' face and say that. Now, now they weren't any trouble like growing up. They they were rambunctious because they were boys. So I did every part thing possible. And because I had three, I only had to be the referee. See, you only have one.
SPEAKER_00I gotta be the playmate and the referee.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. So that has so much to do with it. Now now, um, you I don't know if you know this, Mike, but my kids were shot by gang members while they were trying to do a takeover in Long Beach. They were all in college and they were home for Christmas. And they were coming out of a place above Bubba Gumps, and they got the whole what set you from. And they're like, we don't have a set. And so six kids actually got shot. Wow. My youngest one um still has a bullet in him, and one went in and out on his right leg, and then uh he's paralyzed from his knee to his foot on his left leg. My middle son has uh um the you know they ran, so he was headed backwards, and then and the bullet went through all of these tenants on the side of his foot, and he was playing basketball in college, and so that was the end of that. And then my oldest son, you gotta think, you've been taking care of your little brother since the sandbox, and you couldn't do anything for them, really had a breakdown, and he's just starting to recover, and it's been 10 years. Wow. And and his mental health really declined where the other two are fighting to participate at every level and wouldn't talk about all the things the doctors said they wouldn't do. So that was probably the roughest period. I I for a while couldn't even talk about it. I'd be crying too much. Um, but they did catch the shooter the same night because of the Long Beach Gang Task Force. Wow. And they prosecuted. And so, you know, gang violence is means just what my son told me, the one that's paralyzed. The next morning he said, Mommy, we have to do something. And I said, What? You know, like what? What do you need? Water, like what? He said, That boy didn't have anything to do today. We have to give kids something to do because his whole goal was to shoot me.
SPEAKER_00Wow. That's a a uh that's a very deep observation. There's a lot of restorative justice in in the way he looked at that.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Wow. And so it it's a push for me. And you ask me why.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because we have work to do. And and I maybe that's what it generates my energy. Like we gotta protect folks, we gotta give them something to be be proud of. Yeah, we have to make sure that everybody is in a a space where they can feel good about what they're doing.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for sharing that. Uh that's really powerful. Um and you raised them in the district.
SPEAKER_01I did.
SPEAKER_00Um tell me, describe, how would you describe the 10th district to somebody who is isn't familiar with what it is?
SPEAKER_01Oh, you know, the 10th is the tapestry of Los Angeles, in my opinion. I I I have the littles, right? I got Little Ethiopia, I got Little Bangladesh, I got all the Ball ones, except for the hilly side of Bowen Hills, but all the Baldwins, I got mid-city, I got the heights, I got I got the parks, I got Jefferson Park, I got Lamert Park. So all of those different cultural things occur in the 10th district. I would be willing to bet anybody that I had the best food in the whole city, right? Because the culture and the food that comes along with it. And many of those uh different places that I mentioned are destinations. Uh I've I feel like Lamert Park is a destination, especially for the black community. Let me tell you, that park was my first park. And that fountain, well, I felt like I was a big girl and I could walk all the way around that fountain. So it's really meaningful to me. So we have to revitalize those businesses so that they're able to compete. Because I've met folks that come off the uh the K-line and say, hey, where are you going? I'm going to get ice cream. Oh, where are you from? Detroit. Because they heard about it. It's a destination. Little Ethiopia, the same. It's a destination. Koreatown's a destination. So if I'm elected, which I'm praying for, I I want to do activations in all those cultural spots in LA during the Olympics, so that people, hey, I'm from Ethiopia, I want to see what's happening over here. Or I want to see Lamer and really do great activations that'll be good for the community. Because the last Olympics, they just went through our community. Right. No, nobody had a uh connection. So we want to build those.
SPEAKER_00What would you say are the top three issues facing the district?
SPEAKER_01Well, homelessness, of course. That's number one. That's a priority. I I don't know anybody doesn't wake up worried and thinking about how I can help my brother or sister. So that's number one. Um, public safety. That's number two. Uh am I safe? Can I walk right here? Can't am I? And then uh our our evictions are a big issue. I don't know if you know this or not, but uh Koreatown is now uh said to be more dense in Manhattan. Wow. Right. Wow. I've I've read articles that say so eviction protections are really important, especially for that community.
SPEAKER_00Are there any issues that are unique to the 10th district? Like for me, when I was in office, you know, LAX was a a it's a citywide asset, but it was an intensely hyper issue. Or you know, wildfires in the hills. Are there any issues that other council members may not think about that that you have to work on for the 10th district?
SPEAKER_01That's a good question. Um I I think because of the density, the eviction protections are really important. Not just K-town, but I have other uh dense housing. So we did some things in the last year uh to help folks if they get unlawful detainers so that they can go get legal help. So really also looking at ULA and seeing how they can help small mom and pop landlords as well as ULA helping our renters. Uh I believe that's a a huge part of what is unique to the 10th district.
SPEAKER_00So you have been on the council since September 2022. Uh your joining the council came amid not just all the turbulence over the tapes, but a time when the council has become much more politicized, sort of in an ideological way, right? There it used to be uh under President Wesson, we were pretty unanimous on all things. We might have had different perspectives, but we were unanimous on stuff. Now there tends to be a lot of split votes, and there's definitely a a progressive camp, a a moderate camp, and even a a small conservative camp, I would argue. Your campaign slogan or the big headline on your website is potholes, not politics. Talk to me about what that means.
SPEAKER_01Common sense resources bought to our community is really what it's about. And you know, the dynamics that occur from personality to personality is not what the constituents care about. They really care uh are their streets gonna get fixed? They really care. Are you gonna put copper wire back because it's dark right here? Like that's what they care about. Or are my trees getting trimmed? They don't they don't care about you sit next to somebody else if they're moderate or if they're or if they're progressive. They care about common sense resources and so do I. And uh I respect my colleagues for their ideology. And I think that's why we get along so well, because there is a level of respect and because there's understanding, but common sense resources is what I stand for. And that that's why I spent time investing in tree trimming, because it hadn't been done in six years or more. Or or uh street paving, because it hadn't been done in ten years or more.
SPEAKER_00And so those are all key city services. Those are those are the kind of things that suddenly now, as the city looks at a big deficit, are on the shopping block. What are your priorities to fight for or preserve as as things get cut in this next round of budgets?
SPEAKER_01Fortunately for me, um, those common sense services I think I'll be able to ride the wave in what I've done already. And so I'll I'll ask for the needs, but they won't be as broad as they were when there was no investment. So I'm I'm still gonna ask for the those needs to be met. But the but the amount will be different.
SPEAKER_00Okay. The the biggest issue you identified for your district and definitely for the entire city really is homelessness. A question I like to ask candidates, and the the the answers really do vary, is what do you think is the cause of homelessness in Los Angeles?
SPEAKER_02Hmm.
SPEAKER_01So many things, but I know I'm seeing more women, and I know domestic violence was a serious thing during uh us being on the COVID lockdown. I have met women that are with their children living in tents or in cars. So I want to say a couple of things about that. Well one of my experiences were with uh two women that were in small tents on La Brea, which is in my district, on the parkway side. And this part of La Brea, 65,000 cars go up and down that street every day. And they preferred the safety of that parkway where 65,000 cars are speeding, nobody's going 20 to being housed with whoever the the violent person was. So when I'm seeing these women, I'm understanding that they need mental health, they need resources, wraparound, they need a a door key to somewhere private, and they need jobs. And so that's really where I am in that space. But besides that, Mike, I ran a motion that bans cashless business because domestic violence is so serious that they can be tracked by their using a card by whoever the person is. And they should be able to have a transaction that doesn't put them in arm's way, especially if you're trying to flee. I had not thought about that aspect of it. Right. And so we're st we have to make adjustments to what we think we should be doing to consider all people and what they're going through.
SPEAKER_00For the little over the past year, the city has had a a different and certainly more coordinated approach to homelessness. How do you think the city is doing in addressing the homelessness crisis?
SPEAKER_01We have a mayor that is like serious about it. I was able to travel with her uh in the fall to DC. We went to HUD, we talked to the secretary, and she said, listen, these are key factors that we need X amount of dollars to come into Los Angeles so that we can house our homeless people. I think the the investment that she's making and sounding the alarm to whoever will listen to bring me money, whether they're in Sacramento today to need it or in in DC in the fall, is important. I I I haven't seen this level of uh serious request before. Even in, you know, asking the private sector, like what can you do? To the point that we, well at least I am as a council member, I'm talking to mom and pop landlords saying, Do you have any vacancies that you will be willing to X, Y, and Z? And many of them are saying yes. Yeah. So, you know, we have to think outside the box, but our mayor's thinking outside the box. And I think that uh everyone in the city, all the members, this is on their mind, and how can we be transformative in this space?
SPEAKER_00The the city talks a lot more about housing and services now than it did when I was there. Big fight when I was there was always about ordinances that would tell people where they couldn't be. That ordinance 4118 is still around and they're it's not as prominent or as as frequent as it was when I was there. Um you've supported using 4118 in your district. Um what's the rationale behind that?
SPEAKER_01I use 4118 in sensitive spaces so that children can walk to school, so that grandma can get where she's got to go. Also, in the 4118 space, we've been able to have contact with people to say, would you like to be housed? You can't be here. We can move you into bridge, we can move you into shelter. We can so it's kind of a twofold thing to bring safety into our community and an entree for folks that don't know how to ask for help.
SPEAKER_00Have you used uh or has the mayor brought the Inside Safe program to your district? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01We've done two operations together that were very successful. Um the two operations we did, one of them was uh uh on my grandpa's birthday, that's why I remember, June 29th. And it was the saddest experience for me because of the conditions that folks were living in. Moving them out was really wonderful. They have not come back.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01I know. That's really awesome.
SPEAKER_00That's that's fantastic.
SPEAKER_01And so it works. So um I'm happy to do those operations with her.
SPEAKER_00Uh you mentioned renters and the importance of renter protections and and and helping people from eviction. The affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles is a huge one, clearly interacts with the the homelessness crisis. There are some people who argue that it's not just an affordable housing crisis, it's a housing crisis. Right? So there's some people who say we need a lot more affordable housing, others who say we need a lot more of every kind of housing. Where do you fall on that?
SPEAKER_01Uh I fall in the affordable space. And I'll give you an example. I just ran a motion in. I'm doing the work, Mike. I just ran a motion that says uh let's say the uh there's six units here, you're you're selling your six units and they want to put up 60. So my motion is a one-for-one. If you take down six SROs, they got to go back at the price. So if you're paying 600 for a one bedroom, that's what'll be in per perpetuity. And so that I feel like that will protect our SRO housing, that will give people an opportunity to stay in the city instead of having to live 100 miles out to work here. And then we still have growth.
SPEAKER_00In in your district, uh my understanding is you're now experiencing you referenced it a little bit, um, experiencing gentrification, uh, which you know my old district has uh had experienced extensively. You know, the Venice of today is not the Venice that I moved into in '91, right? Um what are you what are your strategies to uh prevent you know mass displacement of people who've lived there for a long time?
SPEAKER_01I talk about it with the folks that share that this is generational wealth, to be really careful because there is a a new idea to bifurcate your titles, and to be really mindful when people are farming you because there's a farming situation going on. Hey, I'll give you this to sell your house. And and to consider that this is the generational wealth piece. And do you really want to lose that? I mean, I talk about it. And then people, some people are like, huh. And then other people are like, you're right, I shouldn't be selling it. So you can't prevent the business of it, but you could put it on folks' minds that this is generational wealth. And then in order for us to have any any opportunity to have a legacy, this is how you do it through land, through ownership.
SPEAKER_00Public safety. So a question I always ask people before I get into the weeds on public safety is when is the last time you felt unsafe?
SPEAKER_01Well, Mike, I'm an OG. I don't, I ain't never scared, like honestly. I don't know how else to say it. But I'm not I'm not in fear of my neighbors. Uh, you know, I have a community that are several different gangs in it. I'm not afraid of them. Uh I understand where the original Crips come from. And it was really that though I could talk about this forever, but when the Crips started, they were protecting themselves from the police. So they they determined that what what police used to do in Los Angeles, I don't know if folks know this, but they would pick up one black boy or two black boys, take them somewhere like the valley or the hill where everybody walks on in Culver City, beat them down, and tell them they gotta figure out how to get home. So the determination was that we will be in fives or sixes so that we can protect ourselves so that they can only take two, at least we could say what car it was and where they were going. Okay, so it's morphed into a whole bunch of other things. But I understand the concepts, and I actually respect the beginnings.
SPEAKER_00I was actually just talking about that with uh my students at Occidental, uh because the course is on policy, debates over policy and politics of public safety and policing, and we were talking about that. And one thing that that struck me in the readings we were doing is that the that gangs became increasingly militarized with their weaponry after police did. Yeah. It was part of that response that they escalated and so they needed to defend equally. Um so that leads me into sort of discussions about the the nature of policing in Los Angeles. Um what do you think the city needs to be doing to keep people in Los Angeles safe? Is it more policing? Is it alternatives to policing? Is it both?
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um both. So chair chair of transportation, you know, we're hearing unarmed response. I know that's yours. Yeah, yeah. And that um what what we did have is committee meeting with the departments to come in and talk about what their thoughts of the report are and if there are ways to implement unarmed response. And then the task force came in just last just last week and it did a full presentation about how they felt like we could do things differently. I think we have to figure out a way to bridge both of those ideas so that we could really have an unarmed response policy and a team. And so um hearing from both sides, I think help everyone open their mind instead of having just one big report, read the report and vote. I I believe that as we implement something, we have to be really intentional about what is a work product that we could operationalize. So it may take more committee meetings, but um I'm asking the members to really dig in and and bring back what they've seen from both sides to make good policy about it. Now, as far as the policing piece is concerned, so that's unarmed response to traffic stops, okay? So as policing is concerned, I voted for the budget. I voted for the uh budget because I believe that we need to have good competitive folks that are protecting and serving. But my number one goal is to have local hire. Because we just talked about the tapestry of the 10th district, but the all of Los Angeles has its variations. And you have to be from here to know what that is. You can't, no offense to anybody from the Midwest. But you can't come in from Iowa with those ideas and then serve here in Koreatown where you don't get why somebody has marks on their neck. It's not because you were choked. It's a way to get rid of a cough. You know, like you gotta know that.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01And so I believe that local hire is the key. Community policing is the key. But you gotta pay them right too. And and and because our salaries are high, it'll be very attractive to someone whose minimum wage is 10 bucks or eight bucks or something like that. So we have to be diligent about programs that invite people to LAPD. And our our kids need to feel like this is a place that you can be comfortable working, that you won't feel disrespected. I think that we're missing that piece. It used to be an honorable position. We have this silver tsunami where we're gonna be missing X amount of people in police and fire because they're they're retiring in a local hire is the way.
SPEAKER_00What are you looking for in a new chief?
SPEAKER_01Somebody who gets Los Angeles, just what I said. Like they have to get it. Also, they have to understand the waves of Los Angeles, right? The pockets of poverty in Los Angeles. That's you can't over police poverty, you need to know that. You have to understand entitlement in that you can't under police entitlement. Like there, you've got to understand it. And we're complex. We're not just a one size fits all. And whoever it is needs to know it. So again, local hire will be the key because it has to be somebody who who's come up through it and get it.
SPEAKER_00Yep. They get it. So you mentioned you are chair of the transportation committee, my old job. You're chair, yeah. Yeah, did that for nine and a half years, I guess. Um one of the big issues right now in transportation is measure HLA on the ballot, uh, which would require the city to enforce its mobility plan. Uh what is your position on HLA?
SPEAKER_01I support HLA. I I endorse it. And and one of the things that I learned, I think one of the things that I learned is that everything is not um equitable in the city. And so I think this will send us in the direction of equity. And so that's one of the reasons why I support it. I also did a five-year mobility plan that I introduced because we have to have some transformation that is um transparent, has equity, and that the departments are working better together.
SPEAKER_00Is that is that about where the the city is spending its transportation dollars?
SPEAKER_01What do you mean? In in to to address the inequity. I can't say that. I can't say they're spent. I think we need more money.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01Like maybe ten times more. I think we're we're just at 30 million a year or something. I think we need more money to really address it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. One of the things we found when we were doing mobility plan, when we're doing Vision Zero, is that there's a history of inequity in how we have done transportation infrastructure. So that you can tell where people are most likely to die from traffic violence. And they tend to be in lower income communities of color, uh in in South LA, in the urban core, in the East San Fernando Valley. Uh so bringing in all these dollars hopefully will address that so that you're not more likely to die based on the zip code that you're in.
SPEAKER_01Right, and don't forget Koreatown. Well, you know something um I think pandemic has so much to do with the traffic violence because nobody was on the road and you were hitting 80, going down the 10, and then zipping on the streets 50 or more, and now that everybody's back outside, you still have that behavior and it's unreasonable. Um, pedestrian and bicycle safety is important to me. And I again um did a motion and just have to wait till the cycle is over to find the right person in the state to carry it, to have um bicycle and uh pedestrian safety a part of the handbook for uh driver's license because people have forgotten uh about who has the right-of-way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, when I was growing up, the pedestrian had the right of way. I don't care where they were in the middle of the street, anywhere, you protect that pedestrian, and that's not the mindset anymore. So it needs to be a part of the education.
SPEAKER_00That yeah, it's definitely not the mindset. Right. Definitely not the mindset. Um and what are your other priorities as chair of transportation?
SPEAKER_01Uh really the mobility plan, the the departments have to talk to each other. They're really it's a mind blower, I'm sure. And uh I did when when we were in uh DC with the mayor, I did ask for $145,000. $145 million for uh infrastructure funding in the 2025 budget for Los Angeles, so for transportation.
SPEAKER_00Wow. One thing to look out for in the upcoming budget uh crossing guards. Uh when the last budget crisis hit 2008, they basically, not completely, but they almost eliminated the crossing guard program. It took years to bring it back. And as we've seen in the past couple years, so many deadly incidents near schools. Um keep an eye on that one, because that'll be on the chopping block. Again. Yep. Um getting close to wrapping up, I just wanted to ask about sort of the initiatives for government reform in Los Angeles. There have been a lot of discussions since the tapes came out. Independent redistricting will be on the ballot. Um, I believe you're supportive of that. There's also been a discussion which isn't moving forward as as quickly as it was a year ago, about expanding the size of the council. Uh, do you have thoughts on whether that's a good idea? And if so, what number?
SPEAKER_01Yes. I uh I was on the ad hoc committee. Um so really push for different elements in the independent redistrict committee, which would include young people. Like, I don't you you remember the state had like all lawyers on the, you know, so like I don't think that's reasonable. I think we have to have young people who are our new voter participating in the process. And and there should just like anybody else have a question, there'll be some mentorship, some answers. And so they can ask those questions. So I did push for that diversity on the um on what that committee looks like. And then I do have a number. Uh um, I feel like we have more, we need more women. I'm the only black woman on city council. And it and I'm a mom, a single mom. I probably have more black sons than anybody else in the state of California in an elected or voting member position. Oh, wow. Right. So diversity is important. Like we gotta we gotta have more. So we don't have any LGBTQ, we have allies, but no members. And uh our API is at one. So I'm my number's 25.
SPEAKER_0025. Okay, sounds good. Um final question. Uh running for office to me in at this time is challenging. The political climate is is very difficult. Uh, you know, there's a lot of negativity out there. To to run in this climate is a real act of of hope and of faith. So I'm wondering where do you find your hope and faith in Los Angeles?
SPEAKER_01Um I I see hope in the children. And and we have done a lot of things, especially during the holiday season in children, for children, and we'll do things in the spring, and they they are they look hopeful. They they see a beautiful place to live. And I look in their faces. I I remember we did a snow day, and the little kids said, Oh, snow. I mean, that was just so beautiful, right? Yeah. So I see the hope in children, and I have faith in the people. Like people in Los Angeles basically want the same thing. They want to be safe, they won't pay their rent, they want to eat good, they want to enjoy their family, you know. So I think the people, they're here. We're here. We're all trying to work together. So I I have faith in the people and the hope in the children.
SPEAKER_00Any final thoughts you want to share? Vote for me. On message for a bit.
SPEAKER_01Hey, you know, we're uh we have low voter turnout right now. I know people are apathetic, but you need to exercise your voice. Your your vote is your voice. And I'm asking people to vote for me. Let me continue to do this work that I started uh in 2022. Bring bring on the requests because I work for the people. I don't work for Heather. And so I want to implement what the people want.
SPEAKER_00Councilmember Heather Hutt, thank you for joining me.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for having me, Mike. It's so good to see you.
SPEAKER_00You bet. As uh the council member just reminded us, voter turnout has been really low. There's a few days left to vote. You can drop your ballot in a voting drop box, or you can vote in person at voting centers. You can find your sample ballot, you can find a map of where the drop boxes are, you can find a map in the hours of the voting centers, all at LAVOte.gov. That is the county registrar's central hub for anything you need to know about your elections. And if you are not registered to vote, you can register to vote in person at a vote center. Uh so go ahead and get out there and do it. That does it for this episode of What's Next Los Angeles. Thank you for joining me. Until next time, take care and peace.