Re “The Most Irresistible Mayor’s Race in the U.S.A.”
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Ms. Aja Brown
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Mr. Omar Bradley
Over the weekend, a curious reader inquired:
If your newspaper is based in Culver City, why are you covering the Compton mayoral race?
As those of us in love say, let me count the ways, not in order.
- With a young woman, Aja Brown, a political neophyte of 31, pitted against the ex-mayor, Omar Bradley, an ex-con in line to be re-tried following a late technical exoneration, it is the most fascinating race in the United States.
- Intriguing people are permanently newsworthy.
- Politics and culture are our main missions.
- Fascinating races are our 1-A mission.
- Compton, a community of 96,000, is the most journalistically underserved city in Los Angeles. No mystery why – its leadership is black, even though the population has shifted from mostly black to mostly Hispanic. Historically black communities do not interest the daily newspapers of Los Angeles or 99 percent of non-black journalists in Los Angeles.
- Compton is Culver City’s neighbor, 17 miles away. Know your community, beyond your street – one reason for this newspaper’s existence. Know the context of daily life in Los Angeles – to enhance your standing as a citizen, as an informed, contributing community member. Statues are reserved for churches and museums.
- We were invited. When invited, we go.
- The curious reader will recall that for most of the last two months we have been covering the pulsating drama of the faculty/student uprising against Pasadena City College President Dr. Mark Rocha. Pasadena is 21 miles, also our neighbor.
- •We have been tracking the Los Angeles City Hall races for a range of reasons, including understand the context of the daily rhythms of the metropolitan area. Lately there has been an accent on the bitterest race, for City Attorney, between incumbent Carmen Trutanich and challenger Mike Feuer, on May 21.
One hundred percent of the time, news is a matter of timing. That means that what is compelling this afternoon may taste like take-out from a garbage can tomorrow or next week.
Fortunately, news happens without suffocating borders, especially racial ones.
News is faceless, nameless, liquid – which is why we are passionately driven to cover it.
