Skip to main content

L.A. Still Has Cooley to Kick Around

Support Provided By
KCETCooley6.jpg

While votes remain to be counted, after weeks of uncertainty our County D.A. Steve Cooley has conceded the victory in the statewide Attorney General race to San Francisco's Kamala Harris.

His full concession can be found at LAObserved. An excerpt:

"It is unfortunate that someone who is a non-partisan non-politician could not overcome the increasingly partisan tendencies of the state, even for an office that by its nature necessitates a non-partisan approach."I take great pride in the fact that I received the endorsement of every law enforcement organization in this race as well as that of every major daily newspaper in California but one. I was particularly gratified to receive the support of so many fellow district attorneys. While my campaign team tells me that endorsements do not necessarily win elections - and the results confirm that - it still means a great deal to me on a personal level.

Perhaps the blame lies not in your party, D.A. Cooley, but in yourself. As the Capitol Weekly noted, here where we know you best, Harris beat you by 300,000 votes.

The L.A. Weekly mocks Cooley's nonpartisan pretension:

there's a reason the attorney general's office is a partisan position. The portfolio includes hot-button issues such as enforcing environmental regulations, pursuing mortgage fraud, and enforcing drug laws. That's not to mention the major role the A.G. plays in labeling ballot measures and defending them (or not) from legal challenges. This is not county clerk or dogcatcher. It's a political job. There are politics involved.So when you run for partisan office, you shouldn't be surprised that voters start to see you in partisan terms. That's especially the case when you won't defend the state's climate change law, when you oppose medical marijuana, when you say you will sue to block health care reform, and when you defend Proposition 8. There is a word for someone who holds those views, and that word is Republican.

One immediate policy implication: Harris, unlike Cooley, vowed to not fight to defend the gay-marriage-banning Prop. 8 in court. That could result in no one having legal standing to challenge the earlier court takedown of the proposition.

Follow theofficial returns at the Cali Secretary of State site.

Image taken by Flickr user Rberteig. Used under user Creative Commons license.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.