2UrbanGirls owes Skid Row activist General Jeff an apology. General Jeff is a high profile advocate for the residents of Skid Row and we recently published an article on a distasteful campaign ad for Los Angeles Councilman Herb Wesson. Wesson is running for Los Angeles County Supervisor, to replace the termed out Mark Ridley-Thomas, and is exploiting his stepsons struggles for publicity.
Related: Is this Los Angeles Councilman’s Campaign in Trouble
2UrbanGirls reached out to General Jeff who was more than happy to set the record straight on whether Wesson paid him for his appearance.
No!!…I was not paid, nor did I kno I was gonna be in Wesson’s video.
TO BE CLEAR:…YES, that’s me in the new Herb Wesson campaign video, but NO, I am not a part of his campaign nor am I endorsing him, nor anyone else, as a candidate!
BACKSTORY:…I received a call from Wesson’s office the night before and was told that Wesson planned to come to Skid Row in tha morning to look for his stepson and asked for my assistance….So quite naturally, as I’ve done for countless times over the last 13 years for other families looking for a loved one, I didn’t hesitate to join in the search.
Based on the info I obtained during that phone call, I coordinated the meeting location (which turned out to be in close proximity to where the lost stepson was)
That morning, I was surprised to see the camera crew, but was relieved when who I presume to be the director said to me “Stay close to Herb, but stay behind the camera and out of the shot”…That was GREAT for me because that’s what I was gonna do anyway!!!…Not finna use me for no photo-op! (Or so I thought…lol)
Hours later, many Skid Row community members helped to significantly narrow the search to a specific two-block area….One gentleman on a bike looked at the photo and said “I know exactly where he is now, but I cant take you to where he is”….With SO many other potential leads, which all sounded sincere but were mostly different, it was hard to determine which was the most accurate.
When one of my allies in the Skid Row streets talked to the dude on the bike, he said “I believe him”….That’s when my eyes followed where he went….He went about a block away, started talking to a guy and pointed to where we were…..Then they both started walking towards us.
I quickly asked Wesson “Is that him?”….Wesson said “Where?” (Was quite a few folks at 5th and Crocker at that time!)…I then stood next to Wesson and pointed to where they were walking from….At first, Wesson wasn’t sure…Then we all could tell our search was successful because Wesson took off sprinting down the street saying “That’s him…That’s him!” with a child’s grin on his face…Until he got winded and that sprint turned into a skip…lol….So THAT part of the search was genuine.
I still didn’t know I would be in a campaign video (the above photo is a still shot of me pointing towards Wesson’s lost stepson that day…Photo credit: 2UrbanGirls)
Again, I, General Jeff, do not endorse ANY candidate for ANY election race…But I am a Skid Row community activist who will help anyone look for a lost loved one!
General Jeff
We then asked if Wesson has ever asked for assistance to locate his son.
“Specifically Wesson’s stepson???…Never….Not by anybody.”
General Jeff
Herb Wesson has collected more than $1 million dollars in campaign dollars and couldn’t bother to even offer to pay General Jeff?
4 Comments
That was terrible of Herb to do that commercial! Had he not looked for the kid before?
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POLITICS HAS COME TO A NEW LOW/ HUMAN BEINGS ARE CREATIONS OF GOD/REMEMBER BUT FOR NOT THE GRACE AND BLESSINGS OF GOD THERE GOES I ON SKID ROW HERB REMOVE THIS AD/ U ARE BETTER THAN THIS
General Jeff is suing the City of L.A. over his failed Skid Row N.C. Issues. Many rumors are swirling that he did the Ad for help in the case from Herb. Appearing in the Ad was seen that way and angered many that General Jeff was selling out which wouldn’t be his M.O. at all. But…Jeff should have known Herb was up to something? Right? More disturbing questions have come up from this: Who paid for the cleanup on the skidrow camera shoot? Who paid for LAPD security? Does the Son get public assisted Housing? Was Herb stepping down as Council President just minutes ago because of this or something else bigger? I’m glad that General Jeff got a place to make his side known (try that with the corrupt Times.)