Marqueece Harris-Dawson for L.A. City Council District 8

Jan. 12, 2024 5 AM PT

Los Angeles City Council District 8 spreads across much of South L.A., from the elegant homes in Baldwin Hills to the impoverished neighborhoods in southeast L.A. and the ongoing revitalization of the Crenshaw Boulevard commercial district.

City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson has represented the district since 2015 and has been an effective steward of this changing community, tackling homelessness, economic development and public safety.

Harris-Dawson is running for a third and final term (in accordance with term limits) in the March election. He gets our endorsement — once again — to finish his work in this district.

That work includes addressing homelessness — one of the most pressing issues in his district and the city — with temporary and permanent housing. He actively welcomed development of the 1,040 units of housing for people who are homeless (or in danger of becoming homeless) subsidized through the city’s Proposition HHH bond measure program that are either open or under construction in his district. This is the second-highest number of HHH units in any district in the city, according to the L.A. Housing Department. Underused city land in his district was available to be repurposed for homeless housing.

He has also moved people from large tent encampments in his district— including one at 87^th Street and Western Avenue and another at the intersection of Century Boulevard and the 110 Freeway — into hotels and motels through Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program. In the few instances of homeless people returning to those locations, the councilman’s office alerted service providers who returned to do outreach before Inside Safe rooms were offered.

Harris-Dawson has also gotten people off the streets without designating any sidewalks in his district as off-limits to homeless people under the city’s controversial 41.18 camping ban. That city ordinance doesn’t resolve homelessness, it just shuffles people from one sidewalk to the next, and Harris-Dawson knows that.

In his years on the council, he has been a progressive voice, particularly on public safety issues.
He is a champion for criminal justice reform, specifically ending traffic enforcement stops by armed LAPD officers, which he says is one of the most damaging factors in community-police relationships. “I don’t know any driver of color who has not been part of what they consider an unjustified police stop.… You cannot do policing in communities that do not trust them,” he said.

He also joined other council members to push for the creation of unarmed crisis response for people having mental health emergencies. And in his district, he directed and supported emergency vans staffed with healthcare providers to roll out of a fire station in his district on mental and physical health care calls as part of a pilot program.

He started Project Figueroa, an effort with police and the city attorney to shut down sex-trafficking of girls and women on Figueroa Street — a decades-long magnet for this activity — by using surveillance cameras to help arrest pimps and customers rather than criminalizing sex workers. He has worked with the city to prioritize resolving complaints against motels that participate in the sex trade. Three motel owners have lost their permits to operate. He would like to see those places eventually become housing.

He has also helped facilitate commercial development in his district to bring more retail and job opportunities to his constituents. His biggest achievement has been Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3-mile outdoor installation of significant Black art and parks along Crenshaw Boulevard — the major commercial corridor in South LA. The project, which celebrates Black culture and the Black roots of the Crenshaw area, is expected to open this year.

The district is still beset with undeveloped stretches of land and buildings in disrepair — at least partially a result of a badly needed overhaul of water and power infrastructure, something Harris-Dawson has been pushing for. But that’s an issue one of his two opponents, Cliff Smith, a community activist and business manager for the union Roofers Local 36, says is a reason he should replace Harris-Dawson. Smith, who served two terms on the South Central Neighborhood Council, has been a dogged advocate on community issues and may one day be a viable City Council candidate. Harris-Dawson’s other opponent, Jahan Epps, is a real estate broker and developer.

Neither challenger has the experience or accomplishments of Harris-Dawson. District 8 will benefit with him at the helm for one last term.