Supervisor Mitchell’s Statement on Ensuring Measure J Funding Advisory Committee’s Input on Allocating its Funding for Rent Relief

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell provided the following statement regarding today’s vote to ensure the Care First Community Investment (CFCI) Advisory Committee – which was created with the passage of Measure J – can meaningfully provide input on potentially diverting $10 million of its funding for community-led justice reforms towards rent relief:

“I believe we can establish a rent relief program without pitting the compounding needs of our communities against each other. It is possible to keep Care First Community Investment (CFCI) funding that voters overwhelming supported being allocated with the passage of Measure J towards community-led justice reforms and to identify the appropriate source of sustainable long-term funding for rent relief – which I have always supported. The Board supported a motion I co-authored in 2023 to provide rent relief that distributed over $81 million in funding.

I agree with the ongoing need and urgency for rent relief – an issue that affects far too many communities across the County. The path we take to achieve sustainable rent relief matters. Unfortunately, the motion presented today diverted funds in a way that bypasses the necessary input from the CFCI advisory committee, undermining the participatory process that Measure J was designed to uphold.

This is not the time to bulldoze through without strategic and intentional discourse, collaboration, and factoring in current budget decisions. I voted in support of the amendment to bring this motion back to the Board in two-weeks to allow for the CFCI Advisory Committee to have the opportunity to weigh-in in a meaningful way along with the public via our cluster process. I look forward to continuing to work together with advocates, residents, and our County departments to identify sustainable funding for rent relief without side-stepping the need for co-governance on this critical issue.”