The past few months have been some of the toughest our country has seen. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the death of over 100,000 Americans, caused millions of people to lose their jobs, and has put an unprecedented strain on our nation’s financial and healthcare systems. In addition, after the tragic and avoidable death of George Floyd, protests for justice have erupted across America.
Undeniably, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on LA and California. The state’s jobless rate in May was far above the Great Recession, reaching 12.3 percent. But LA is faring much worse, reporting an unemployment rate of 19.4 percent in June after hitting a record high of 21.1 percent in May. And this pain has not been shared equally, with the neighborhoods affected most by the economic slowdown being Central, South and Northeast Los Angeles. These are also the areas with higher concentrations of African American and Latino families, immigrants, low-income renters and single-parent households, demonstrating how already marginalized communities are being further decimated by LA’s economic downturn.
The recent news surrounding Mayor Garcetti’s calls to shut down the city’s businesses threatens to make these poor economic numbers here in LA even worse and would only add to the numerous missteps Garcetti has made throughout the pandemic, fueling confusion, chaos, and hypocrisy at nearly every turn.
First, Garcetti has contradicted his own policies surrounding the pandemic, encouraging people to wear masks while at the same time protesting with members of Black Lives Matter without wearing one himself. To add to the confusion, he then claimed the protest didn’t increase the spike of COVID-19 cases, while later admitting that they actually did.
And then, Garcetti closed down critical coronavirus testing sites over the Fourth of July weekend, which could not have been worse timing given that this was the start of the second surge of COVID-19 cases. This is on top of coronavirus testing appointments in the city filling up quickly due to the city abruptly changing vendors and the registration platform, while also paring back on testing sites and slots.
In addition to his failed leadership surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Garcetti has experienced extensive criticism for his mishandling of the protests that have taken shape across LA on the heels of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
A letter signed by community, labor, policy and academic organizations said it best – under the Mayor’s watch “the city chose to further escalate tension and police violence by allowing officers to tear gas and beat grieving but peaceful demonstrators, enacting citywide curfews with little warning and leaving hard-working Angelenos stranded.”
But it’s not just Garcetti’s inability to defend the people of LA. The mayor has also demonstrated a complete failure to protect the very employees who work for him. A Los Angeles Police Department officer stated that Mayor Garcetti had witnessed one of the mayor’s own advisors, Rick Jacobs, sexually harass the officer – and the mayor did nothing about it.
Worse yet, Garcetti reportedly “took no action to stop the comments from being made or even identify the comments as being inappropriate.” In fact, on some occasions, according to the lawsuit, Garcetti would “laugh at Jacobs’ crude comments.” This is all taking shape while a current FBI-led investigation is unfolding surrounding Garcetti’s Administration.
The failed leadership and inappropriate behavior by the mayor has not gone unnoticed, with many people across the city calling for Garcetti to be recalled. And with each day, these calls are getting louder and louder.
It was not all that long ago when Garcetti was viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party, with some considering him to be a viable contender for the highest office in the land. However, over the past few months, with each wrong move Garcetti has made, he has not only threatened his hopes for winning over the hearts and minds of voters on the national stage but has lost the trust and support of those who elected him to office in the first place.
Joseph Laughon is a former journalist and political commentator.
