We support Assemblymember Carillo's AB2986. It is a fact-finding bill that has potential to advance the cause of self-determination in East Los Angeles, a community of 119,000 people who do not have local control.

The arguments made by Los Angeles County against the bill essentially contend that giving the people of East Los Angeles the same rights and privileges that are enjoyed by the  citizens of California's 482 existing cities would be the end of the world as the Supervisors know it. And that's pretty much the stance taken by the LA County Supervisors when Santa Clarita pursued cityhood in the 1980s. It's also how the Sacramento County Supervisors acted against the cityhood efforts of Citrus Heights in the 1980s-90s and how the Placer County Supervisors treated the Incorporate Olympic Valley campaign in the early 20-teens.

In our view, counties have a ton of important areawide responsibilities that can wind up in conflict with the municipal service delivery obligations counties have towards unincorporated communities. It strikes us that those municipal services can be a burden for county Supervisors - a burden that could be removed if self-determination for local communities was enabled. We believe AB2986 is a step in the right direction. Instead of perpetuating an existing power structure that fosters winners and losers, the bill can lead to a power-sharing arrangement that's a win for everyone.