LETTERS: Voting Rights Attorney Wants to "Set the Record Straight"

November 26, 2018

Dear Editor,

I read the recent Op-Ed in the Santa Monica Lookout penned by Charlyce Bozzello of the ironically named “Center for Union Facts” and want to set the record straight ("Does Local 11 Stand With Santa Monica Neighborhoods On Voting Rights?" November 20, 2018).

Neither I, nor any of the other attorneys representing the Pico Neighborhood Association and Maria Loya, nor any of the plaintiffs, have any connection to the “Center for Union Facts” or any other anti-union group.

The “Center for Union Facts” has had no involvement in our voting rights case, and will never have any involvement.

Ms. Loya has helped unions for much of her career, and we have represented unions in connection with voting rights matters.

Our respective political ideologies could not be more diametrically opposed to those of anti-union groups like the “Center for Union Facts.”

In her Op-Ed, Ms. Bozzello claims that Unite Here Local 11 has been silent on the issue of voting rights for Latinos in Santa Monica. But organized labor in California has consistently been supportive of district elections, as has the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the California Democratic Party.

It is the Alt-Right, and, oddly, the majority of the Santa Monica city council, that has been hostile to the California Voting Rights Act and district elections.

Ultimately, any individual or group is entitled to express support or opposition to voting rights and district elections in Santa Monica, regardless of how noble or abhorrent their motivations may be.

Likewise, any individual or group is entitled to remain silent or neutral, for whatever reason.

Regardless of what views are expressed, and who expresses them, we will remain focused on our effort to vindicate the voting rights of all Santa Monicans, unconcerned about what special interests think they can gain some political advantage as a result of our effort.

Like any social justice movement, as Dr. King said, “[i]n the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Kevin Shenkman
Malibu