A protest was held outside Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s official residence Wednesday for the ninth consecutive day by groups that do not want to see him appointed to President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet.
Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and Ground Game LA have vowed to conduct a demonstration every day until Biden commits to not appointing Garcetti to the cabinet. They are critical of Garcetti’s handling of homelessness, public transportation and other issues.
Garcetti has repeatedly said he has not sought a position with the Biden administration.
“Protests come with the territory as mayor,” Garcetti said. “I will always support people’s right to make their voices heard peacefully and keep listening to what they have to say. I am honored to represent 4 million Angelenos, and I am singularly focused on saving lives and rebuilding a city out of this crisis that is more fair, just and equitable.
“Angelenos are hurting badly right now, and I see that pain every day,” Garcetti added. “Too many lives have been lost, but I know that our collective efforts have saved so many more. That work, more than anything else, is my guiding light right now.”
About 100 people who gathered Wednesday morning were seen in videos posted on Twitter from outside Getty House, the official residence of the mayor of Los Angeles.
During the protest, Melina Abdullah, a co-founder of BLM-LA, instructed protesters to flood Twitter with messages asking Garcetti if he would remove his name from any shortlist Biden may have for consideration of cabinet position, using the hashtag #BlockGarcetti.
Protesters spent Wednesday morning chanting that Garcetti is the “worst mayor in the nation” and that he needs to address the immediate problems Los Angeles faces.
BLM-LA representatives told City News Service on Friday that the issues they have with the mayor go beyond Garcetti’s possible selection for a cabinet position.
“There is no single issue. Garcetti has failed the people of Los Angeles in an unending number of ways: from criminalizing folks for being houseless, to refusing to stand up for people who are killed by his police force,” said Tabatha Jones Jolivet, a spokeswoman for BLM-LA.
“We refuse to be quiet as President-elect Biden considers him for a cabinet post where his reach will extend to setting national policy.”
Media outlets have speculated that Garcetti could be in line for the secretary of the Department of Transportation or Housing and Urban Development, as he was a co-chair of the president-elect’s campaign.
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