This is the mistake that Mayor Bass is in jeopardy of repeating with her July veto. While the ballot measure may have been rushed in its conception and proposal, critics have to ask: What is Mayor Bass' plan? By being so rushed to veto a proposal that could make progress for Angelenos and put the LAPD chief in the driver's seat, Bass chose a path of wishful thinking.
If Karen Bass is sincere about her resolve in making progress on criminal justice reform, she should not wait for the next Rodney King. Bass' legacy is at risk of repeating a costly weakness on police reform in LA and nationally.
Robert Weiner was spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Policy in the Clinton and George W. Bush White Houses. He was communications director of the House Government Operations and Judiciary Committees, and senior aide to Congressman John Conyers and Charles Rangel, Reps. Claude Pepper and Ed Koch, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and Four-Star General/Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey.
Tomas Alves is a policy analyst, research coordinator, and writer at Robert Weiner Associates News and Solutions for Change. Tomas was also a Senior Staff Writer for The Highlander Newspaper at the University of California, Riverside.
(Article changed on Sep 01, 2024 at 1:04 PM EDT)
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