Thank you, Madam Chair and colleagues.
In the state of California, we’re not only up against a pandemic of significant scale and impact, but fighting against the moral crisis of our time that threatens to overtake us—homelessness.
Now is not the time for political posturing. California is the epicenter homelessness in America.
We know that Governor Gavin Newsom has done more to confront homelessness than all of his predecessors over the last three decades combined.
From his creation of the Regional Council of Homelessness Advisors to his unprecedented budget allocations of nearly 3 billion since his first proposed budget in 2019.
Not to mention his support for Projects Roomkey and Homekey.
These are real actionable facts that cannot be easily forgotten.
And in this moment, when we talk about equity, our data makes plain that African-Americans are disproportionately represented among the ranks of the homeless. In Los Angeles we’re 8 percent of the population, but more than a third of the homeless population.
Here, we have to double down and stay the course if we’re to make sustainable and real progress on moving people off the streets.
No to this recall effort. No to the distraction. Yes, to maintaining our path of progress. Yes, to supporting Gov. Newsom!