LOS ANGELES, California — Los Angeles City Council member Mike Bonin, whose 11th District spans much of the west side of the city, announced Wednesday evening that he will not be seeking re-election for a third term in June.
Bonin, who narrowly avoided a recall election last week when city officials disqualified one-third of the petition signatures submitted, has been the target of public outrage over his permissive policies toward homelessness, including his proposal to create “temporary” homeless shelters in parking lots at beaches.
That proposal provoked public outrage — especially after one of the parking lots in question was used by local emergency responders to fight a wildfire that was allegedly set by a homeless man, who was later arrested and charged with arson.
He also faced a tough reelection fight on June 7, with several strong contenders emerging to challenge his effort to earn a third and final term in office.
He bowed out instead of contesting the office, citing “depression” after “battling the negative” elements in his job.
Last week, Bonin blamed “right-wing media” for fueling the recall effort, though many Democrats were also upset with him.
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.