Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) is standard for the paranoid style in politics. Everybody wants to slice and dice the electorate definitions so as to favor their agenda. This is probably as old as elections. Your opposition is not entitled because X Y Z.  The VNC election vote tally shows little influence from homeless voters. The vote tally show a big influence from the Chamber of Commerce. I am sure the CoC supporters feel quite emboldened by this, since the “Business Friendly” ticket seems to have won handily, but isn’t the CoC a business professional lobbying organization? You have only to google “Chamber Of Commerce criticism” to have fear of them validated by some major news organizations.  They and their pals will assure you they are the adults in the room, and that they will take care of listening to everybody. This is the standard rhetoric used to calm the opposition after you have won, the gracious yet vacuous promise.  Many disagree.

The CoC seems to have taken quite an interest in the Neighborhood Councils and this makes great sense. City-wide the local CoCs have already taken over several Neighborhood Councils. The NCs are the battle grounds for building permits, business permits, alcohol permits, and vain attempts to get more policing motivated by a continual background noise of street crime, which via FUD gets quickly blamed on the homeless, who are conspiring in street gangs to take over city hall. This society precipitates street crime and homelessness, and until there is more equity, they will continue to sleep on your streets.  The LAPD is busy with crimes in other neighborhoods and doesn’t give a fuck except to send out Police-Community spokespersons whose job it is to convince you that they do.

The CoC is populated with arguably successful entrepreneurs, with political ambitions. They have money, some of it is Daddy’s. Realtors love the CoC because it is a good place to chase commercial deals and network in general. The CoC has been accused of secretly supporting electoral strategies, which would sensibly include this kind of local businesses vs local slow-growth environmental activists struggle. Supporting local CoCs makes great sense, and it helps them grow local chapters.  All Politics is local, and here we have the same thing that has played out in US and State Congress, resulting in gridlock. Elections like this are all about getting out the vote, and if you are a really serious alpha about dominating you need a modern political consultant to do your dirty work of getting your people out to the polls. Fortunately for the CoC these consultants are expensive and not accessible to the homeless.

“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Anatole France, 1894