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IN TOUCH WITH LA - In the aftermath of a blue wave of Democratic wins on Nov. 4, including for Prop 50 here in California, Donald Trump wasn’t the only person caught in public lashing out in anger and vengeance.
The day after the election, Nov. 5, an online posting by the chair of the Elysian Valley Riverside Neighborhood Council (EVRNC) surfaced. In it, local EVRNC functionary Arturo Gomez appeared to threaten another member of the advisory community body, Dr. David Metz, with unspecified negative consequences after Metz, an award-winning public high-school teacher, cast a vote at the October meeting of EVRNC against an inflammatory letter Gomez sought repeatedly to push through the board.
Gomez targeted Metz in the post for having dared to raise questions about violations of official procedure in how the letter came before the board. Out of apparent retaliation, Gomez resorted to namimg Metz’ place of employment, at Santee High School, which was no secret to members of the body. But in a vile turn taking aim at Metz, the posting by Gomez also stated, “He won’t soon forget about his vote.”
The language suggested a personal threat against Metz for acting according to his conscience and judgment in his official action as a council board member. The language also smacked of intimidation to scare Metz out of speaking up, challenging, or voting against Gomez in the future.
In an ugly online posting, Arturo Gomez, a neighborhood council functionary in Elysian Valley, appeared to threaten a fellow board member with the statement, “He won’t soon forget about his vote.”
If that was its intent, the post backfired spectacularly. On Friday, Nov. 7, Dr. Metz filed an official complaint citing retaliation with the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), which oversees the dozens of advisory neighborhood bodies throughout the city, and with the L.A. City Attorney.
“This behavior is abhorrent to the democratic spirit of the NC system and any democratic system,” writes Metz in the complaint about the threatening post. “It must be met, therefore, with condemnation.”
In Gomez’ post, he goes on to gloat about the machinations involved in trying to strong-arm the letter past the council board, on a 6-to-5 vote. Through that posting, some members of the board and community stakeholders learned for the first time that one of the new additions Gomez had joined in recruiting and approving for the board at its October meeting was his own mother. “My mom provided the deciding vote, big shout out.”
In addition to the apparent threat against award-winning teacher Dr. David Metz, an online post by the chair of the Elysian Valley Riverside Neighborhood Council (EVRNC) seems to admit to nepotism. The chair exults in having added his mom to the EVRNC, where she cast a pivotal vote on a matter involving her son’s letter.
Such flagrant nepotism is not supposed to infect any level of city governance. That includes the chairing or decision-making of neighborhood councils.
“As an urban L.A. public high-school teacher of over a decade, whose students were recently traumatized by ICE,” adds Metz in his complaint, “I find it repugnant that Mr. Gomez uses this incident to tarnish a fellow board member’s image.”
This isn’t the first instance of vile and divisive online content by members of the EVRNC. In 2016, several residents in Elysian Valley complained about anti-Semitic social media postings by prior members of the body. The uproar over that incident led to revived participation by neighbors in their community board and changing its composition in the 2021 election for board seats.
In April 2021, a group of progressive women swept to election and shifted the EVRNC toward a more inclusive tone and more transparent operations. For several years, they strived to set a more respectful approach to stakeholders, at monthly meetings and through outreach.
Having drawn a lesson from that success in the election four years ago, other residents of Elysian Valley are refusing now to be intimidated or be silent about the posting by Gomez. Some are stepping up alongside Metz to file complaints against it and to insist on corrective action over that and related misconduct observed at and outside recent board meetings.
Channels of accountability for threats to safety or misconduct that chills participation are tools of democracy, just like casting a ballot. Using these channels is part of what civic engagement is all about. Protecting democracy is not only about challenging a wannabe dictator like Donald Trump, but also about challenging disrespectful, coercive, and unethical behavior at the most local level and holding it accountable.
As Elysian Valley resident Ceci Dominguez said in 2021, after success in that year’s election to replace several prior members of the EVRNC board, “When we join together to make local democracy work, we have the power to change the chemistry of how we are represented and who represents us.”
(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)
