L.A. on the Record: A slow week in the mayor’s race but drama in court

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our local elections newsletter. It’s Julia Wick, bringing you a shortened summer edition of the newsletter with assists from Dakota Smith and Ben Oreskes.

With the campaigns still largely in reset mode and the City Council on recess, this was another relatively quiet week in City Land.

But the long-running drama in the 10th Council District turned a new page Tuesday, when a judge temporarily barred Herb Wesson from performing L.A. City Council duties.

Wesson — a former council president forced out by term limits in 2020 — was appointed as a temporary voting member in February to fill the seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas. Ridley-Thomas was suspended by his colleagues in October, a week after being indicted on federal charges. (Ridley-Thomas has denied the charges, and his trial is scheduled for November.)

As my colleague Ben Oreskes reports, the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge’s ruling marked a victory for allies of Ridley-Thomas, who objected to the appointment and sued.

The plaintiffs in the case, who include the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California and several residents of the council district, argue that Wesson is legally barred from returning to the council on an interim basis, since he has already served the maximum number of terms under the city’s term limit law. The judge said Tuesday that they had sufficient likelihood of prevailing in that argument.

So what does all this mean, practically speaking?

Once again, residents of the district — which stretches from Koreatown to the Crenshaw Corridor in South Los Angeles — are without a voting representative on the council. A day after the ruling, City Council President Nury Martinez appointed Wesson’s chief of staff, Heather Hutt, as caretaker to handle matters in the 10th District, but Hutt will be unable to cast votes with the governing body.

The city and the plaintiffs will appear before the judge again next month.

In the meantime, columnist Erika D. Smith writes that the fight over the seat is dividing the political class of Black Los Angeles and hurting 10th District residents, who “have lost a desperately needed point person on the City Council.”

State of play

— MORE BASS CAMPAIGN MOVES: As Politico reported earlier this week, fundraiser Stephanie Daily Smith has joined the Karen Bass campaign, as has City Hall veteran Yusef Robb.

Amanda Bailey remains on the Bass fundraising team, but Shari Yost Gold’s contract ended after the primary, and she is no longer with the campaign, per Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl. The campaign also plans to hire a full-time communications director, following Anna Bahr’s departure last week. Robb will be advising on “campaign strategy and communications.”

— VOLUNTEER CONSULTING: Robb, a longtime ally of Mayor Eric Garcetti who also previously served as his director of communications, told my colleague Dakota Smith that he wasn’t being paid by Bass and compared it to helping a nonprofit.

“If I could swing a hammer without hurting someone, maybe I’d volunteer for Jimmy Carter and Habitat for Humanity. But what I’m at least halfway decent at is campaigns,” Robb said, “so I’m giving back to my city by helping Karen Bass win.”

When asked whether Robb’s volunteer work might gain him influence in a future Bass administration — or create that impression — Seidl called the idea “ridiculous,” saying, “Everyone who knows Yusef knows he steps up for causes and candidates he believes in.”

Robb has also worked for free for others who are or have been perceived to be aligned with the mayor, including then-City Council candidate Monica Rodriguez. Robb was one of several Garcetti aides who helped her campaign. (Daily Smith is also a Garcetti veteran, having fundraised for both his mayoral campaigns. Her firm did work for former mayoral candidate Councilman Kevin de León in the 2022 primary.)

— WHAT CARUSO WANTS YOU TO HEAR: For the second week in a row, the Rick Caruso campaign sent supporters talking points to amplify. In this week’s email, Mary Fontamillas urged supporters to tweet our story about Bass rescinding her endorsement of city attorney candidate Faisal Gill and ask why Bass still supports George Gascón and “his soft-on-crime policies.” Fontamillas, who does communications for Caruso’s company, is also a campaign advisor for social media, according to Caruso spokesperson Peter Ragone.

— BOOKS ON THE TRAIL: Accompanied by a large crowd, Bass stopped in at Eso Won Books last weekend “to show support” for the beloved Black-owned independent bookstore , which plans to close its Leimert Park brick-and-mortar store later this year. She left with books for her grandchildren.

And in non-campaign news ...

— MORE ANIMAL SHELTER FALLOUT: Following Dakota’s investigation last week of the overcrowding crisis in L.A.’s animal shelters, a Los Angeles City Council committee hearing Tuesday brought forth new details and allegations about the dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals at city shelters. More than 50 people spoke at Tuesday’s hearing; 140 others had signed up but weren’t able to speak because of the time limit.

— WEHO STORY: Hailey Branson-Potts and Alene Tchekmedyian look at how West Hollywood’s decision to cut a few sheriff’s deputies fueled a national firestorm on crime and defunding.

— HISTORY MADE: Nearly a century after the oceanfront property was wrongfully seized from its Black owners, Los Angeles County completed the historic land return of Bruce’s Beach to its rightful heirs — the Bruce family. (For more on the saga, here’s a full look at The Times’ Bruce’s Beach coverage.)

— TIME TO RE-MASK? With COVID-19 cases rising, an indoor mask mandate could return to L.A. County in a week.

QUICK HITS

• Who’s running the city? Still Eric Garcetti. More than a year on, his confirmation as ambassador to India awaits a Senate vote. The mayor was in D.C. this week and spotted by Punchbowl co-founder John Bresnahan on the House floor, per a Bresnahan tweet.
  

• The latest in endorsements: The Los Angeles Federation of Labor, CHIRLA Action Fund (the political arm of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren endorsed Bass. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party endorsed Erin Darling in the Council District 11 race.
  

(If you have an endorsement you’d like to flag for next week, please send it to us.)

• On the docket for next week: The City Council returns from recess on Wednesday. If you know of anything else, please send it our way!