What's the Latest on Measure J? A Conversation with Eunisses Hernandez
On February 11th our Policy Director Lyric Kelkar hosted an Instagram Live conversation with Eunisses Hernandez, co-director of La Defensa and co-author of Measure J. Eunisses shared her thoughts on how the measure will change LA for years to come and what Angelenos can do to get involved in its implementation. Read below for the full transcript of this conversation.
**This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The full interview can be viewed here. **
Lyric Kelkar (LK): In your own words, can you give us an overview of what Measure J is and how it will function?
Eunisses Hernandez (EH): Measure J moves 10% of unrestricted funds from the County budget into two buckets: community investment and alternatives to incarceration. What this looks like is investing in jobs, housing, and supportive services. We wanted to make sure none of the money could go to law enforcement or through law enforcement and go to communities impacted by these systems and systemic racism. [Measure J] is the first-ever policy of its kind that moves money away from traditional systems of harm into new opportunities. Especially economic opportunities like support for small businesses, black-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses. The good part is we get to decide how the implementation rolls out and how the community gets access to these dollars.
LK: The impact this will have is huge, especially because you’re talking about almost 1 billion dollars per year that's going towards investment. So, now we’re in the implementation phase of Measure J and there’s five subcommittees: economic opportunity, diversion and mental health/physical health, youth and education, housing, and reentry. How were these the five that were decided?
EH: We created the Reimagine LA coalition, which is over 125 organizations that helped Measure J pass, and would help with the implementation of it. This Reimagine LA coalition is broken out into five subgroups focusing on youth education opportunities, reentry, etc and we really pushed hard so that the Measure J advisory subcommittees matched what we had built out in the community. We had to make sure we tie the dots because the bureaucracy will not connect those dots. They’re very siloed in their way of thinking and working.
LK: Now that we’re in the implementation phase, what happens after that?
EH: The plan is for the advisory committee to present to the county supervisors a report on recommendations saying stuff like “$20 million will go to youth diversion or permanent housing.” (This is just an example). We are presenting this in April. The county is going to say “we have $100 million to work with for Measure J.” We also get to recommend and detail to the county how they distribute the funds so that more people have access to it. For example, universal basic income pilots, this is the kind of program we have the opportunity to recommend now.
LK: In five years, after Measure J has had billions of dollars invested in LA, what is your vision for what LA will look like then?
EH: Let's take a moment to see where we are now. There isn’t much education or infrastructure in our community for where we can take our people to get support with [mental/behavioral health] issues. 5-10 years from now, I imagine if one of my loved ones is going through a crisis, I could call 911 and know that the responders showing up will be life-affirming, that they’re not going to be cops. We may not even need to call 911 because there would be built-in services within communities. We imagine a decentralized system of care and housing so that anywhere you live, these services exist. People talk about [the government] not having money. We pay so much money in taxes, the money is there it’s just going to things that are not helping our communities thrive.
LK: Can you tell us what reverberations you think Measure J will have across the country? Are other places talking to Los Angeles?
EH: Yes, folks are already calling us from across the country, wanting us to explain to them how we did it. Measure J is very special in that it changes LA’s constitution forever, meaning it will outlive this political moment and this Board of Supervisors. The way we moved money is not a new tax, we’re not taxing people more. [Angelenos] are just saying we want to prioritize the dollars we already give to Los Angeles. So that’s what we’re telling folks and although Measure J is not perfect, as we’re seeing in implementation, there are things we’re learning that we’re sharing with other jurisdictions.
LK: You’re an incredibly impactful activist, what advice do you have for advocates/activists who are looking to create change in their communities?
EH: I appreciate your kind words. I do my best but I’ll say it’s a team effort. I have people around me like my colleagues James, Ivette, Stephanie, folks who are not only people in this movement but people who are friends and comrades who share the same values. And I think that’s super important, finding yourself in coalition with people who are going to throw down hard with you, values-wise. Also, take care of yourself. I’ve developed a self-care routine; and now I see how going from a campaign into implementation, with the wear and tear of that, we need to create space for self-care.
LK: That’s something that definitely resonates with Inclusive Action because most of our work is done in coalition, never alone. And that’s part of self-care, being able to rely on other people and trust that they’ll move the work forward when we need to take a day off.
Eunisses concluded the conversation with a call to action: Please join one of the Measure J subcommittees! There are only two meetings left per subcommittee. Click the button below for information on how to sign up. You can find a flyer on the subcommittees here.
We strongly encourage community members who have been impacted by community disinvestment to join these calls, make your voice heard, and shape the future of LA!