Bradley, Antonovich Reach Truce on Homeless Issue

An unusual summit conference on the homeless involving two longtime political antagonists, Mayor Tom Bradley and Supervisor Mike Antonovich, today produced a truce of sorts between the city and the county over who is doing the most to solve the problem.

Bradley and Antonovich said they had agreed during the meeting in Antonovich’s office to form a joint city-county task force to deal with the homeless. The task force would push for state legislation to help the homeless mentally ill as well as to have the state take over the funding of the county-financed general relief program.

They also agreed that a lawsuit over the issue, which the city had threatened, probably would not be necessary. Bradley two weeks ago urged the city to sue the county after accusing county officials of “shirking” their responsibilities in providing shelter and other services to the homeless.

But facing reporters after the 90-minute session, Bradley said: “We deliberately did not discuss the issues of a lawsuit this morning. I believe that the purpose of the meeting today was to explore ways that we could cooperate.”

Antonovich, a Republican and longtime critic of the Democratic mayor, echoed Bradley, saying: “I would like to build on the positive side of this important issue because homelessness is not restricted to this county. It’s a national problem.”

Locally, the new task force will work to find more shelters for the homeless and to move faster in rehabilitating old Skid Row hotels that are not earthquake-safe.