Luna is running for Los Angeles County sheriff as the anti-Villanueva. Will it work?
There is a moment when a public figure has to decide, against the flow of the national story, what course will make them most visible and what course will make them most effective.
In Los Angeles County, it was the April 18 debate with Sheriff Lee Baca. But it is not only the moment that was the turning point in the debate. It is also the moment when the momentum shifted under the way the debate went.
In this debate, I was on the side of the anti-Villanueva, the one who was calling for a recall of Councilman Mitch Englander, the one who said he could not support the Villanueva bid because they had the same policy on homeless people as the Villanueva.
At the end of the debate, when Villanueva was saying he was going to keep the contract, I knew this was a mistake, that he was going to be forced to walk. If you want something, you have to say you’re going to do it. The Villanueva said, “We are not going to take the contract.” He had the votes and the ability to keep the contract. Villanueva was going to have to take it back. The Villanueva had to accept the voters’ judgment because they had the votes. And we had the votes, so the voters should accept it.
So, I was on the side of the anti-Villanueva. I was on the side of the people who said, we’ll wait and see what the voters decide. We want to show the voters who represent us that we will not be pushed around, and they should be able to make their own decision.
But I also thought, how long is this going to last? I had been fighting this from the left for 20 years. I was willing to give the Villanueva a chance. I thought it was going to make me a bit unpopular and I thought it was going to blow over, but I had misjudged