Every morning for more than a week, protesters have been making noise outside Getty House, where LA Mayor Eric Garcetti lives. That’s because President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly considering Mayor Garcetti for the position of U.S. Transportation Secretary.
“These actions are all streamed live by Black Lives Matter-LA, which is leading this action, along with many other groups [to] #BlockGarcetti,” says Alissa Walker, Urbanism Editor at Curbed. “They're trying to block his appointment, and organizers say they won't stop until he confirms that he's not going to D.C.”
Protesters have taken issue with Garcetti’s work on homelessness, policing, and transportation (including Measure M, which raised sales tax to pay for transit projects).
“[Protestors] made a very good case that our city's transportation agenda has left people behind. If you look at what LA has built, it's been huge rail projects, mostly in wealthy and whiter neighborhoods, over the last few years,” Walker says.
She continues, “At the same time, LA has basically ignored bus riders, ridership has plummeted, and you've seen no attempt to improve how most transit users get around the city. We still have horrible bus shelters, we have streets with no shade and bad sidewalks.”