Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a state bill that would have established a task force to study reparations for families forced out of Chavez Ravine in the 1950s.
Sponsored by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act would have created a statewide task force to study the long-term damage to residents, business owners and landowners displaced from the area between 1950 and 1961 and to advise the city and county of Los Angeles on compensation for their descendants.
It would also have required the city to erect a permanent memorial to the Chavez Ravine community.
“I support the author’s intent to assess and address the injustice that took place in the Chavez Ravine community decades ago. However, a task force should be established to study the events that occurred locally,” Newsom wrote in his veto statement Friday.
“Fundamentally, determining recommendations for compensation for displaced persons is a matter best addressed by stakeholders closest to the Chavez Ravine community.”
In the mid-20th century, Chavez Ravine was home to a large community of predominantly Mexican-American families who had been prohibited from living and purchasing property in other parts of the city as a result of discriminatory housing restrictions.
Intent on redeveloping the area for a new housing project, the city began seeking property from residents in the early 1950s through eminent domain and below-market offers. In 1957, Los Angeles abandoned the planned housing project and sold the land to Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley to build what is now Dodger Stadium. An estimated 1,800 families were ultimately displaced.
“I have learned that when political ideas are presented, some will say they go too far, while others may say they don’t go far enough,” Carrillo said. He said of the bill This summer, “but ultimately what we’re doing is moving toward justice and trying to do as much good as possible for as many people as possible.”
