Residents of the 11th District of the City of Los Angeles served notice on City Council member Mike Bonin on Tuesday that he is the subject of a recall effort, after growing backlash against his proposal to move homeless people to the beach.
As Breitbart News has noted, Bonin faced increasing criticism in recent weeks after he suggested building “temporary” homeless shelters at parking lots at the beach. Residents of beachfront communities oppose the plan, saying it will do nothing to solve homelessness and will bring drugs and crime to an area that is a crucial recreation resource for the city.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday:
A representative of Recall Bonin 2021 said the notice, the first official step in waging a recall campaign, was served at Bonin’s home in Mar Vista. The document, signed by residents from Venice, Brentwood, Westchester and Pacific Palisades, described homelessness, public safety and trash as major issues that have gone unaddressed in the district.
“Our streets have become de facto campgrounds, sanitation policies are failing, crime is rising and Mike Bonin remains unresponsive,” the petition states.
…
Bonin denounced the latest recall bid, calling it a poor use of taxpayer money and “the latest in a series of recall attempts to silence strong progressive voices.” The recall, he said in a statement, is backed by people who have “repeatedly fought to stop housing, shelter and services,” leaving people to die on the streets.
“This recall has been championed and promoted by the same right-wing forces that are trying to erode the democratic process and take down progressive officials around the state,” he said.
Many supporters of the recall are Democrats, and support helping the homeless, but oppose Bonin and his approach.
The Times notes that a recall would likely require 27,000 signatures, within 120 days of a July start date, to qualify for an election — probably next May, before Bonin would be up for re-election to a third and final term in June, regardless.
Last week, Bonin launched a Twitter tirade against L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, after the latter vowed to remove homeless encampments from the Venice Beach boardwalk.
Residents of the 4th district have also launched a recall of newly-elected City Council member Nithya Raman, who has supported homeless squatters against the police.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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