Refund the People

The Safest Communities aren’t those with the most police, they are the ones with the most community resources: health clinics, public libraries, violence interruption programs, well-funded schools, job programs, and more. We are running an abolitionist campaign for City Council. This is because crime is a response to hunger, to poverty, to low wages. If we want to create truly safe communities, we have to address the social need at the route of crime.

The police take up 26.8% of the Los Angeles city budget, or $3.15 billion out of a total $11.8 billion. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that having this level of funding makes our communities safer, and even the Los Angeles police union has come out in favor of reducing the number of calls that police respond to. Recent studies show that over the past decade, police cleared not even half of all violent crimes and less than 25% of property crimes. They found that the size of a police department has no relation to crime rates.

The cost of police taking 1 out of every 3 LA taxpayer dollars is defunded public schools, defunded public libraries, and defunded public services. My priority in office will be to redirect police funding to public services. We’ll start by:

More Social Workers, Less Cops

  • Replace police officers with trained professionals on service and mental health calls

Stop LAPD Spying and nd Broken Windows Policing

  • For years, the LAPD has engaged in over-policing of Black and brown communities. We will end the practice of LAPD Spying and work to demilitarize the LAPD.

End Criminalization of Poverty

  • We have relied on the police to end poverty and homelessness with few results to justify it. We will lead with care, services, and jobs to end poverty. Invest in mental health professionals, social workers, violence interruption professionals, and other restorative justice professionals

Protect Immigrants

  • Stop collaboration with ICE terrorism against undocumented migrants

More for Us

  • Build a network of community health and service centers to provide care to the community

  • Fully fund the LA Public Library

  • Create new union job programs for young people, communities of color, and at-need communities

  • Build out more housing and services for LGBTQ+ communities, youth, survivors of domestic violence, and more.

True public safety comes from healthy and well-resourced communities. In City Hall, we will lead with care, we will lead with compassion and we will fight to refund our communities.