LOS ANGELES — LA City Councilmember and Mayoral Candidate Joe Buscaino Sept. 3, attempted to take credit for a “new” homelessness measure that had previously been written and proposed by city attorney and mayoral candidate Mike Feuer last year. In response to Buscaino’s stunt, Feuer is setting the record straight and challenging him to a substantive debate on the issue of houselessness.
According to Feuer:
“Day late, dollar short. Last year I gave the council a proposed law coupling an offer of shelter with enforcement. Instead of effectively advocating for that law, Mr. Buscaino has failed even to show up for recent hearings of the council committee tackling homelessness on which he is supposed to serve.
“As for his proposal, where’s the rest? Any serious homelessness plan should include a State of Emergency, concrete goals for reducing street homelessness, ideas for creating shelter and housing faster and cheaper, transforming mental health interventions, steps to prevent homelessness in the first place, and more. My plan does that.
“L.A. needs more from its next mayor than theater and slogans — especially when it comes to our homelessness emergency. That’s why I’m challenging Mr. Buscaino: I’ll debate you on homelessness, and any other issue, any time, anywhere. And unlike being AWOL when your council committee grapples with homelessness, you’d have to actually show up.”