Since the days of the Greek empire women were not welcome in political circles and especially not in the decision-making process of their community.
In American politics, women weren’t allowed to participate in the voting process until the 1920’s after the 19th Amendment was ratified, yet in present day times women, particularly women of color, continue their fight to have a seat at the table.
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,” said Shirley Chisholm as the first woman of color to run for the nation’s highest seat.
Yet somehow, Black male elected officials in Los Angeles County feel they are entitled to dictate what women have a right to lead.
It is equally outrageous when the alleged “newspaper of record” sides with who the establishment deems fit to run Council District 10 presumably at the behest of the person currently suspended from said seat.
The embattled elected official continues to appear to be pulling strings, behind the scenes, as he continues to appear in official pictures at government agency events and all but securing his former chief a staff a lucrative position at a consulting company tasked with building a transit connector through the middle of the city of Inglewood.
The paper had the audacity to print that the woman at the head of the Los Angeles City Council not bestow voting authority to the district’s current caretaker presumably because the embattled council member doesn’t want her there.
Women of color need to unite against the misogynistic views of the “establishment” who continue to tarnish the image of Los Angeles who is home to the world’s 19th largest economy. In comparison, a woman leads the 4th largest economy located in Germany.
The city has become a laughing stock of the world by leading in homelessness, traffic congestion, and political strife and scandal.
The Council District 10 caretaker was lauded for landing a high-profile position within then Sen. Kamala Harris’ office, is a life-long resident of the district and is exactly what the council needs where only two of its voting body members are women. The last Black woman on the council was Jan Perry.
It’s time for the Council President to place who the community is asking for as its voting member considering the person they actually voted for is facing a 21-count federal indictment which could implicate other elected officials across the region.
The federal indictment refers to Mark Ridley-Thomas as an “economic danger” to the residents of Los Angeles County and by proxy that extends to anyone seeking to control who is appointed voting power to the seat formerly occupied by him on his behalf.
In short, it’s time to break free from the establishment (MRT) and restore dignity in Council District 10 and Heather Hutt is the best choice to do that.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist who appears weekly in the Los Angeles Wave newspaper and can be reached at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
