Who’s in charge of finally closing Men’s Central Jail? It’s TBD

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Rebecca Ellis, David Zahniser and Keri Blakinger bringing you the latest on all things local government.

Nearly a decade after deciding that Men’s Central Jail was too decrepit, L.A. County’s top politicians are on the hunt for someone to finally shut it down.

The years-long paralysis around closing the dangerous facility was on full display this week as the Board of Supervisors discussed embarking on a national search for an executive director to lead a team with one objective: closing the downtown L.A. jail, where roughly 4,000 inmates are confined.

The update, made during Tuesday’s board meeting, was seen by some advocates as part job announcement, part confession. After all this time, it’s clear that the person in charge is still TBD.

“What we’re feeling, overall, is frustration,” said Janet Asante with JusticeLA, a coalition of advocacy groups that has pushed for the jail’s closure. “The board was essentially thinking that if they just send a mandate down the pipeline, it would get done. But they weren’t watching that happen.”

The closure, supervisors concede, has not gone as expected. Chidinma Ume with the county’s Chief Executive Office said this week that there have been about 60 reports on how to close the jail — and still no concrete timeline for doing so.

“It’s a little bit crazy-making,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, later adding that the county is “truly stuck.”

“This is — I hate to say it — it’s incremental,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district includes the jail.

For years, the dungeon-like facility has been the setting for a series of scandals and federal lawsuits alleging widespread abuse and neglect. Inspections have turned up rats, mold and feces-covered cells, while the death rate inside has sharply risen. A recently resurfaced county report shows the six-decade-old building is a seismic disaster that one expert said could “certainly” kill people in a moderate to major quake.

County officials have waffled for years on closing the jail, unsure of what should replace it. In 2015, the supervisors approved a plan to knock it down and build a modernized lockup with a focus on mental health treatment.

Then, with a tide of prison reforms sweeping the country, supervisors decided in 2019 to shut the jail without building a replacement. Instead, they would divert as many inmates as possible to alternatives such as supportive housing and treatment.

Three years ago, the county created a team to bushwhack through a thicket of bureaucracy to get the jail closed and the inmates diverted. But the team, housed within the county’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department, struggled to get buy-in from other county agencies. The effort faltered.

This spring, supervisors tapped the Chief Executive Office to lead the jail closure program instead. The office has become a landing spot for complex initiatives important to the board, including programs to curtail homelessness and fight racism.

Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport told the board Tuesday that before her office took over, “there was no one working exclusively on jail closure.”

Advocates say they have been ringing alarm bells for years.

“I was shocked that the board was shocked,” said Megan Castillo, policy and advocacy manager at La Defensa, an organization that advocates for alternatives to incarceration. “Like how do you not know?”

While its population has dwindled, Men’s Central Jail still has too many inmates to render it obsolete.

To close the jail, the county says, it will need to reduce the total number of inmates in the county jail system by 45%, leaving about 7,160. Sheriff Robert Luna and his top jail official told the board this summer that the majority face charges too serious for diversion programs — a claim that some attorneys and inmate advocates immediately called into question.

Even so, that’s left the timeline for closing the jail a question mark. The initial deadline was early 2023. Supervisor Holly Mitchell says she is constantly asked for an update.

“I’m not going to pick a date out of thin air, arbitrarily,” Mitchell said. “We have to do it well and right.”

With the county just starting its hunt for someone to lead the effort, Supervisor Janice Hahn said she worries that things are already “stalling” and “would like a timeline at some point.”

The clock is ticking, advocates say. California voters this November will consider increasing the penalties for low-level theft and some drug crimes, which could balloon the prison population.

County voters will also decide on a ballot measure that could add four more supervisors to the board, threatening to upset the consensus on the issue and return jail closure to square one again.

State of play

— CHOOSING A TOP COP: After a months-long search, Mayor Karen Bass selected former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell as the city’s next police chief. His nomination heads to the council for a confirmation vote.

— REDISTRICTING RERUN? California Atty. Gen Rob Bonta has begun pressing L.A. leaders to sign an agreement that would require them to create new boundaries for the city’s 15 council districts by the 2026 primaries. Sources told The Times that Bonta is concerned about Latino voting strength in the San Fernando Valley and the Eastside. Councilmembers have not yet divulged whether they intend to push back.

— STRIKE AVERTED: Los Angeles County and Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents more than 55,000 county workers, announced this week that it has called off a strike that threatened to bring county services to a halt. The union had accused the county of posting inaccurate versions of labor agreements online and improperly using contractors to do union jobs.

— A PLUM PICK: Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson announced Friday that he has selected Councilmember John Lee as the new chair of the powerful Planning and Land Use Management Committee, or PLUM, which reviews major real estate projects. Harris-Dawson, who is stepping off the committee, tapped Councilmember Kevin de León to replace him.

— DEBATE DASHED: This weekend’s debate between De León and Ysabel Jurado, his opponent in the Nov. 5 election, was postponed after Jurado reported that she had tested positive for COVID-19. Jurado said she still plans to participate in a rally on Sunday, addressing the crowd virtually via a projector.

— HEADING TO PRISON: Former Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan was sentenced Friday to 12 years in federal prison for his role in a sprawling racketeering and bribery scheme. That’s just one year shy of the sentence given to former Councilmember Jose Huizar, who is scheduled to surrender to authorities this weekend.

— LAST-MINUTE LOBBYING: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Sunday that would have changed the statute of limitations to give people sexually abused in juvenile facilities more time to sue. L.A. County had emerged late in the game as the bill’s chief opponent, arguing that it has no way to pay for the onslaught of costly litigation.

— COP CLEARED: A Los Angeles police officer who doubles as a gun rights influencer on social media was fully cleared of wrongdoing in a fatal shooting. The Police Commission had previously found that Toni McBride, the daughter of a high-ranking police union official, should not have continued to fire at a man with a box cutter after he fell to the ground. A hearing examiner reversed that determination.

— RVS BEGONE: Bass‘s office said this week that the city will soon have fewer RV encampments, thanks to a new law signed by Newsom that allows more properties near L.A. freeways to be used to store RVs. City officials have struggled for years to figure out where to tow the large vehicles.

— GETTING THE SCOOP: Want to know more about the candidates and ballot measures this election cycle? The Times has you covered, with election guides on everything from school board elections to the presidential race. You can find them all here.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s program to combat homelessness went to the San Fernando Valley district represented by Councilmember Imelda Padilla, focusing on an area around Penrose Street and the 5 Freeway. The operation focused heavily on RV encampments.

• On the docket for next week: The council’s public works committee meets Wednesday to discuss a proposal to provide “fast track permits” for businesses seeking to install bollards on sidewalks. Councilmember Heather Hutt said the system is needed to help businesses deter vehicle ramming attacks, where thieves deliberately crash their cars into buildings so they can break in.