In response to Tuesday’s debate sponsored by Streets for All at which appointed L.A. City Councilmember Heather Hutt did not attend but had her city hall staffer sit in as her surrogate, four candidates running to represent District 10 released the following statement:
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 CANDIDATES: EDDIE ANDERSON, REGGIE JONES SAWYER, AURA VASQUEZ and GRACE YOO PRESS STATEMENT
The four candidates for Los Angeles Council District 10 — Eddie Anderson, Reggie Jones Sawyer, Aura Vasquez and Grace Yoo believe that community members should hear directly from us and not our surrogates or proxies.
We believe that DEMOCRACY and furthering CIVIC ENGAGEMENT requires that the candidates communicate directly with voters, not send someone else to communicate for them in a Town Hall and/or Forum when it is an opportunity for candidates to engage with community members.
We want to give voters and community members the opportunity to hear directly from us, the candidates who wish to represent residents of Council District 10. We stand united in our unwillingness to participate in forums and town halls in which appointed councilmember Heather Hutt sends a surrogate to speak on her behalf. Either the appointed councilmember joins the forum/ town hall/ zoom for candidates herself or her time slot is to remain silent for the duration, as she chose not to participate.
We believe the people deserve to hear directly from the people who wish to represent them at City Hall.