Letters to the Editor: ‘Measure A (for Alex?)’ — Sheriff Villanueva’s legacy in L.A. County
Sunday
Mar 31, 2019 at 6:02 PMMar 31, 2019 at 6:02 PM
For Sheriff Villanueva’s first six months in office, he was heralded as one of America’s most progressive leaders.
I have known and worked with Sheriff Villanueva for 32 years and appreciate his service first because of his tireless and compassionate dedication to those he serves in L.A. County, and second because he was one of the original proponents of Measure A.
Measure A is the most important civil rights, voting, public safety and education reform measure that has been seriously considered, tested and implemented in Southern California history.
The measure was supported by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the California Teachers Association. The measure was not supported by political parties and was strongly opposed by powerful interests.
Sheriff Villanueva has dedicated his political career as an advocate for Measure A and to his credit he had not been a part of the effort since early March when I wrote his name in the “Measure A” column of the Los Angeles Record News over two days.
A measure that was created before even the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark civil rights decision in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Justice to eliminate racial disparities in the allocation of state aid would now have an all-time career path.
The U.S. Supreme Court would have to rule on the constitutionality of the “fair share” plan before it could take effect.
There is no doubt that the measure is the most important one to come out of L.A. County in history.
When the measure was adopted by the Board of Supervisors, I was elected first vice-chair of the Board and made it a personal call to Sheriff Villanueva to ask him how he felt about and supported the measure.
He responded that he liked the idea but would have to read more.
A few days later, I heard him talk with Mayor Garcetti about Measure A. Mayor Garcetti was extremely pleased that the Measure would serve as an example for how to raise funds to repair and improve the streets and infrastructure in L.A. County, and a model for the nation.
In a recent