Provided That The Hon. Mayor, Eric Garcetti Behaves Himself Wisely As Well As He Is Courageous,
The Son of Former, LA District Attorney, The Legendary Gilbert Garcetti,
Will Probably Become The Greatest Mayor In LA History
For Politically Leading The Way To Resolving Homelessness
and Its Stressful, “Mainstream” Causes
At Home And Abroad
He has, for the sake of the City and its citizens, so committed himself to resolving the problem of homelessness, that some would say he has committed political suicide as it appears an insoluble situation.
Recently, when Dr. Drew Pinsky proclaimed that this apocalypse is the Mayor’s fault, the self-made noose looked to be an even more snug fit.
But I challenge such a sentiment; it is as untrue and as it is unfair.
The current state of affairs is not of Mayor Garcetti’s making. It has been inherited from previous administrations. Ignored by the general public outside of Skid Row, the situation has metastasized to its current Stage 4 level. No-one is able to escape its impacts and the Mayor is simply the easiest target.
Long before Eric Garcetti was elected Mayor, I’d been advocating for Presidential intervention in the form of an Executive Ordered, National Plan to address the root causes of homelessness.
My own hard-won perspective dates back to the creation of “Justiceville” in 1985. Yet still the problem persists; still the problem swallows more attention, resources and lives. Where have our Presidents been? Where have our Governors been? Where has the NAACP been on an issue that disproportionately impacts African-Americans?
Cowering. Playing a shell game with tax-paying citizens, embattled businesses and the homeless population themselves.
The silence has been deafening.
And it has made Mayor’s Garcetti’s voice seem like an air raid siren
Whether we agree or disagree with his policies and actions, like a wounded soldier on the battlefield, at least he has dared to fight for all sides and haltingly trudges onward, bloody but unbowed.
For 35 years, it’s been my passion to encourage our Mayors to utilize the Justiceville strategic plan to resolve this unnecessary tragedy. And I continue with my friend Eric. He has put it all on the line – “Tukhes afn tish” even being the first Mayor ever to declare homelessness an EMERGENCY.
And so I put down my stones and encourage all of you to do the same. Whether you are outraged taxpayers watching oversized shelters go up in your neighborhoods, embattled business owners confronted with what feels like a lawlessness unseen before, advocates for the unhoused constantly looking to expand and embed your service footprint and budgets, or just plain ol’ Angelenos like myself who find something inherently upside-down about not being able to walk down the sidewalk without confronting tent cities and human fecal matter, give THIS Mayor a chance….at least he has endeavored to find some sort of solution where all others at all other levels of government have refused.
We can all eloquently and crudely articulate criticism of that which is obviously wrong. However, it is another story altogether to actually try to do something about it.
So I commend and defend our Mayor in his efforts to survive and advance on behalf of all of us.