This letter is in response to recent falsehoods and political attacks against my candidacy for Santa Monica City Council. SMMUSD Education Commissioner and candidate John Keene claimed that I made outrageous statements in 2019, which are lies designed to tarnish my name and reputation. I have never said anything like that and have stood up against anti-Semitism and hatred all my life. Why is this being shown to the public for the first time after five years? The alleged comments were so offensive that Mr. Keene had a moral and ethical obligation to publicly repudiate the person who made them at the time such comments were allegedly made. It should be. No elected official should be allowed to use hatred of any kind as an excuse. Why not bring this up in my re-election to SM City Council in 2020? Why now? Obviously, this is a political attack timed to coincide with a religious holiday, but it’s not a good idea to bring it up and damage my reputation. It is full of falsehoods aimed at damaging my candidacy. Furthermore, it is irresponsible to use your role as an elected official to foment division between groups. I want to have a clear record of who I am and why I have dedicated my life to public service.
In 1991, I, along with all the Latino families whose children were enrolled at Santa Monica High School, received a hate letter from a group calling itself the “SAMOHI Association For The Advancement of Conservative White Americans.” At 19 years old, I led a press conference with residents and Congressman Tom Hayden in front of SM City Hall, calling for an increased investigation into the largest hate crime in history against Latinos and Jews in Santa Monica. Ta. The letter contained horrible remarks about Mexicans and named me personally. I will forever remember the threat in the letter: “I will gas you just like Hitler gassed the Jews.” That hate crime taught me that white supremacist ideology always seeks to divide, oppress, and marginalize. It also taught me that Latinos and Jews must always unite against hatred. I saw the impact that letter had on our community. My family was devastated to read the racism, hatred, and lies. Unfortunately, to this day, hate crimes remain unsolved.
This tragic incident led me to dedicate my life to fighting racism and hatred. During my senior year at Samohi University, I attended a life-changing retreat hosted by the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) to learn about the values I uphold in the fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion. It was instilled in me. For over 30 years, I have been fighting racism, discrimination, and hatred. In 1999, I worked with Rabbi Neil Kams-Daniels to organize a Holocaust remembrance event for Latino Jews hosted at St. Anne’s Catholic Church. We organized this event to build solidarity between the Latinx and Jewish communities against oppression and discrimination. We discussed historical parallels in oppression, such as the Nazi-backed Nuremberg Race Laws and Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant law approved by California voters in 1994. Unlike some critics, I have sought to unite diverse communities and deepen our understanding of human rights. each other’s culture, history, and collective future. In his letter, Mr. Keene mocks the alliance I forged between Latinos and Jews when I founded the Pico Youth and Family Center. I truly believe that leaders should strive to build unity among diverse constituents. It is shameful to see local school board members engaging in such divisive tactics to score political points. The students and parents in our community deserve better than what John Keene represents as an elected official.
What’s behind Mr. Keene’s latest political attack? Keene supports an at-large voting system in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, where political power has been concentrated in north Wilshire since the district’s creation. Meanwhile, I am working within the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to ensure that historically marginalized families have the opportunity for permanent political representation on school boards, city councils, rent control, and more. has advocated district-based elections. Board of Directors and SMC College Board of Directors. It is no wonder that all of the “established city council candidates” supported by Mr. Keene oppose district-based elections. This is the real problem Mr. Keene wants to look away from. The truth is that, without adequate political representation, SMMUSD maintains persistent achievement gaps that relegate low-income students and students of color to an inferior position within the public education system. I have been ridiculed by Mr. Keene for speaking up. We oppose institutionalized racism within SMMUSD.
It is hurtful and embarrassing that Mr. Keene is now bringing this false allegation against me. Because I’m running against the establishment candidates he supports. I am running to strengthen public safety, and his administration’s candidate is supporting George Gascón in the DA election. I am running to stop Los Angeles County’s needle distribution program in public parks, and his chosen slate supports the distribution of needles and meth pipes in our parks. Knowing that most voters in Santa Monica support my campaign for increased public safety, John Keene is using lies to undermine our efforts to continue moving forward. trying to hurt. The system in which John Keene is true to his position on the school board, unable to win against us on the merits of our policies and approaches, deviates into mudslinging, lies, and dirty politics.
Author: Oscar de la Torre, Santa Monica City Councilman
