Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
California, LA County Taking On A Bigger Role In Progressive Politics

Looking back 25 years, L.A. County was more conservative than the rest of the state. The San Francisco Bay Area was the home of liberalism, according to Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles.
Now that's completely changed.
"I think Southern California now is the heart of progressive politics — not just in California, but to some degree, in the whole country," Sonenshein told KPCC's AirTalk. "L.A. County is now to the left of the rest of the state, and that is such a sea change in the history of California, that it's hard not to notice it."
Sonenshein cited L.A.'s Fourth District City Council race drawing national attention, with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton making opposing endorsements — Sanders for Nithya Raman, Clinton for incumbent David Ryu.
Some of the factors that went into this, according to Sonenshein: the rise of organized labor, the Latino community, a younger and more liberal constituency, and moving city elections to even-numbered years.
"California was always a part of the Republican Party nationally, but never for the Democrats — California was the ATM machine that you come to to raise campaign money. Now there's a Californian on the Democratic ticket," Sonenshein said.
He added that Kamala Harris has been living in Los Angeles, and noted that both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had visited. Sanders endorsed a slate of candidates in Los Angeles including George Gascón and Holly Mitchell.
"It is now seen that you have to get involved in L.A. politics to be involved in national Democratic politics," Sonenshein said. "Whatever happens in the national race, California is now a major player in Democratic politics like it never [has been]."
Mitchell, running against incumbent Herb Wesson for an L.A. County Supervisor seat, is winning by a significant margin.
"It's a sign of the evolving politics of L.A. There's a younger, multiracial constituency of social justice advocates that is very much influenced by young women activists," Sonenshein said.
If Mitchell is elected, the County supervisors will be all women. It's shifted from a time when there would be maybe one woman on the Board of Supervisors, with the board also becoming more liberal.
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
According to a grand jury report the contractor took advantage of strained relations and political pressures to “force” the city to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle disputes.
-
Administrators say the bargaining units should be dismissed, or that they have no standing. One campus is going after the federal agency in charge of union activity.
-
The landslide is not connected to the greater Portuguese Bend landslide, city officials said.
-
Nom. Nom. Nom. The event destroyed the internet when it was first announced — and sold out in minutes.
-
The critical findings are part of long-awaited after-action report was released Thursday. It contains recommendations for increasing emergency staffing and updating old systems.
-
Diving has changed, mountain biking has been added. Here's where to watch the Olympics in person in 2028.