‘Performative politics' on the council floor? That's an eye roll

Los Angeles Times

05-07-2025

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It's Noah Goldberg with an assist from David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.
A few Los Angeles city councilmembers got in some final zingers before packing their bags for summer recess.
It was the final council session before the three-week pause, and members were working their way through a thick agenda Tuesday. After weeks in which the main focus has been President Trump's immigration crackdown in the city, it didn't appear there would be fireworks.
Then, Councilmember Traci Park rolled her eyes at Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez while he was speaking. And Councilmember Monica Rodriguez had some sharp words for both of them.
Let's backtrack and figure out how we got there.
In May, the council passed an ordinance to raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 per hour — higher than the city's minimum wage — with Park, Rodriguez and Councilmember John Lee voting against it.
Soto-Martínez, a former organizer with the hotel and restaurant union Unite Here Local 11, which pushed for the minimum wage hike, led the charge at City Hall.
Park said she voted against the ordinance because she thought that it didn't take into account economic realities and that it would result in hotel and airport workers losing their jobs. Park's opponent in a bitterly contested general election for her Westside council seat in 2022 was a Unite Here-backed candidate, Erin Darling.
After the minimum wage hike passed, a business coalition called the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress began a campaign to overturn it by gathering signatures to place it on the June 2026 ballot, which would at least delay its implementation.
Things quickly got ugly. Unite Here's lawyer alleged in a letter to the L.A. County district attorney and the city attorney that petition circulators for the business coalition misrepresented their campaign to voters and even assaulted activists on multiple occasions.
Meanwhile, a petition circulator alleged that she was assaulted outside a Food 4 Less in Inglewood by an SEIU-USWW executive board member while gathering signatures. The woman filed a police report, and a judge granted her request for a temporary restraining order against the board member.
Enter Soto-Martínez and Park.
Soto-Martínez quickly drafted a motion asking for the LAPD to investigate the petition circulators for fraud and other misconduct alleged in the Unite Here letter.
When Soto-Martínez introduced his motion at the City Council's Economic Development and Jobs Committee last month, Park spoke up, saying it was hypocritical for Unite Here to complain about misleading campaigns when it engaged in the same tactics 'on a regular basis.'
Park quoted from a text message campaign that she said dozens of her constituents had brought to her attention.
'A new complaint alleges paid signature gatherers are using misdirection and misconduct to collect these signatures. Don't sign the petition. Email Traci Park to tell her to stop this misleading effort to lower the minimum wage,' read a text message from Citizens in Support of the LA Olympic Wage, a campaign backed by Unite Here in favor of the hotel and airport minimum wage.
Park said the text made it sound as if she were involved in the campaign to repeal the ordinance.
'I have nothing to do with it. No one ever consulted me about it. No one ever asked my opinion about it,' she said at the committee meeting.
When the committee approved Soto-Martínez's motion on June 17, she voted 'no,' saying any investigation should scrutinize both sides of the wage campaign. The motion reached the full council on Tuesday.
Park quoted from the text campaign again and introduced an amendment asking for the LAPD to investigate both sides of the petition fight — those aligned with the L.A. Alliance for Tourism and those aligned with Unite Here.
'We know that engaging in misleading tactics are not unique to one group or one organization,' she said. 'I know this because I have personally been targeted by misleading smear campaigns by the very group now complaining about this behavior.'
Soto-Martínez fired back at his colleague.
'There have been plenty of things said about me that have been misleading and I didn't agree with, but I didn't bring it into this chamber,' he said.
Soto-Martínez also said he wanted to draw a distinction between the text message campaign about Park and the alleged physical assaults against Unite Here campaigners.
Still, in the end, he said he supported Park's amendment.
Park could be seen in a video recording of the council meeting rolling her eyes as Soto-Martínez finished his speech.
In a statement, Unite Here co-President Kurt Petersen called Park's comments at the council meeting 'unbelievably narcissistic.'
'Working people plea for her help after they were allegedly assaulted while they campaigned to raise wages. Instead of focusing on helping the victims, Councilmember Park complains about being criticized for her vote against the minimum wage, and equates criticism of her to the alleged political violence,' Petersen said. 'This kind of greedy self involvement in the face of injustice is a hallmark of the billionaire allies of Councilmember Traci Park, and it's why working people don't trust her.'
Park responded in a statement, 'Kurt Petersen is killing jobs and tanking our local economy. Iconic restaurants are closing, airport workers are being replaced by kiosks, hotels are pulling out, and working families are losing, not winning. His divisive and reckless tactics are speeding up automation and driving opportunity out of Los Angeles.'
Councilmember Rodriguez chastised both Park and Soto-Martínez.
'I think this idea that's trying to assign blame to one side or another is kind of futile, given the demands of what we need LAPD to be focused on, but I think performative politics is the name of the game these days,' Rodriguez said. 'Everyone needs to grow the hell up.'
— SANCTUARY SUIT: The Department of Justice filed suit against the city of Los Angeles on Monday over its sanctuary ordinance, calling the ordinance illegal and saying that it discriminates against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. L.A.'s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has resulted in 'lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism,' according to the lawsuit. Mayor Karen Bass called the lawsuit part of an 'all out assault on Los Angeles' by President Trump. Immigrant rights groups filed their own lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday, seeking to block the administration's 'ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law' during immigration raids in the L.A. area.
— HOMELESSNESS DROP: Homelessness declined by 15% overall in three areas of Los Angeles in 2024, according to a new Rand study. The biggest drop came in Hollywood, where the report found that the number of homeless people decreased 49% from 2023. The number fell 22% in Venice and went up 9% in Skid Row, according to the report. The Rand study linked the Hollywood decrease to a series of Inside Safe operations in 2024.
— SEE YA, CEQA: As part of the state budget, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 Monday, which exempts most urban housing projects from the California Environmental Quality Act. The act, known as CEQA, has often mired construction projects in years of litigation. Gov. Gavin Newsom muscled the new rules through the Legislature despite concerns from progressive lawmakers and environmental interest groups.
— MANSION SPEND: The L.A. City Council approved a plan Tuesday to spend almost $425 million collected from the city's 'mansion' tax on property sales over $5 million. Backers of the controversial tax — which has been criticized by the real estate industry for limiting property sales and reducing property tax revenue — say the fund is producing crucial dollars for affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs.
— FROZEN FUNDS: The Trump administration moved to withhold $811 million from California that would have helped students who are learning English or are from migrant families. 'The [Education] Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities,' the administration said in a letter to states on Monday.
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