We Deserve Better Than Al Austin

2020 is an important election year. 

For those of us in Long Beach, it’s just getting started as vote-by-mail ballots are arriving in mailboxes this week, and vote centers are about to open their doors for eleven consecutive days leading up to the March 3rd primary election date.  

Locally, we are voting on City Council candidates, Board members for our school and college boards, and important local initiatives.

In addition to what candidates say, it’s important to pay attention to what they do--how they have governed, the campaign choices they make, who supports them, and what kind of advice they seek.

When we think back to the 2016 election, we recall then-candidate Trump mocking people with disabilities, scapegoating immigrants, stalking around Hillary Clinton on the debate stage, and dismissing his violent actions toward women.  

We are seeing our own version of this at home. 

Councilmember Al Austin, who is running for re-election, is a prime example. Austin has shown profound disrespect for women in several of his actions:

• Councilmember Austin was the leading voice and city council vote against Claudia’s Law - a law that would require hotels to provide panic buttons and protections to housekeepers. After hours of powerful testimony from housekeepers about the assaults they have experienced while on the job, including an account of a police report of attempted rape, when Council was given the opportunity to take action, Councilmember Austin had the nerve to ask, “what’s the hurry?”
  
  Every day without protections, this predominantly woman-of-color workforce was left vulnerable. Instead of standing up for vulnerable workers, Austin wasted $158,000 of city taxpayers’ money by forcing an election on a measure that ended up being approved by 64.49% of the voters.
  
  
• To further add insult to injury, Councilmember Austin gave a “gag gift” of a panic button to the women supporters of Claudia’s Law on Council, Councilmembers Jeannine Pearce and now Senator Lena Gonzalez, after voting down the measure. Such an action mocks the fact that women organized for years, asking for Councilmember Austin to approve panic buttons.
  
  But some things aren’t funny—racist jokes aren’t funny, anti-Semitic tropes aren’t funny, and jokes about rape and rape prevention aren’t funny. It’s also telling that he didn’t give the same gift to the men on Council who supported Claudia’s Law.

• At an LA County Democratic Party endorsement meeting in December, Councilmember Austin was asked about his position on Measure WW (aka Claudia’s Law). He defended his stance by telling the questioner that she couldn’t imagine the type of rape that happens in prison.
  
  
• Also in December, Councilmember Austin took to Twitter to hurl insults and spread misinformation (sound familiar?) about Councilmember Pearce’s involvement in one of his opponents’ campaigns. 

• Councilmember Austin recently hired Julio Perez as an advisor. Perez was recently fired by the Orange County Federation of Labor for sexual harassment and other “inappropriate conduct.”
  
  Employing such a person demonstrates Austin’s insensitivity (at best) or complicity (at worst) in such unacceptable behavior. This is not the model of inclusion and respect we need from elected officials.

We had hoped when Long Beach voters overwhelmingly supported the Claudia’s Law initiative, Austin would understand that “time’s up” for sexism and sexual harassment.

But, as his more recent actions indicate, he either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care about the profoundly negative effect his words and actions have on girls and women. 

He does not deserve our trust.

In 2020, the most qualified, and most successful, politicians should not stoop to sexism and bullying when they run for office. 

100 years ago women fought for the right to vote. To be allowed to vote free of intimidation. To be able to count on candidates that would consider the well being of all women. We need to know what they stand for. Those who tear down others are stooping, not standing. 

Our democracy is being sorely tested by the President—and that makes it even more important for local officials to stand as models of inclusion and respect for all of us.

It’s time for Councilmember Al Austin to acknowledge these troubling actions and publicly apologize to the women and girls of our community.

Signed by the following Long Beach women and allies (in alphabetical order by first name):

Adey Tesfaye

Alice Greening

Alyssa Gutierrez 

Andrea Donado

Angela Valley

Annette Quintero

Amy Eriksen 

Barbara Milton

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brandy Burfield 

Brittany Montano

Christine Petit

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eboney Pearson

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elsa Mei Tung

Ennette Morton

Heather Adair Sanchez

Jacqui Viale

Jeannine Pearce

Josie Quiroz 

Judy Crozier

Julie Dean

Katera Milton

Keyona Montgomery

Laurie Lyle Meyers

Leanna Noble

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lian Cheun

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Maria Carter

Maricela Renteria de Rivera

Marlene Montañez

Martha Cota

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Micaela Salatino

Molly Watson

Nadith Schuster

Naida Tushnet

Noelle Callaghan Morrison

Nubia Flores Cedeno

Patricia Trinidad

Patty Clark

Rocio Torres

Sara Angevine

Sara Zaidi 

Sarah Bedy

Sarah Winds

Sydney Duran

Tanya Elena Schoenberg

Tamara Romero

Vanessa Acosta

Viki Yamashita

Zoe Nicholson

This post was authored by multiple Long Beach women because we want Councilmember Austin to take accountability for his treatment of issues of sexual assault and harassment. It does not come from an organization or any other entity. 

Multiple women circulated the letter for signatures because we know that many have been negatively impacted by the Councilmember's actions and, in some cases, inaction. Getting over 50 signatures in a 24-hour period through word-of-mouth was not difficult. 

This post was initially submitted as an Op-Ed (or People's Post) to the Long Beach Post. Instead of running the Op-Ed, the Long Beach Post began contacting individual signers in a manner that went beyond the fact checking that would be expected of an opinion piece. Instead, their approach more closely resembled investigation, scrutiny, and testing out off-base theories about the origins of this post. Several people felt intimidated by this process and, out of an abundance of caution, some of the signers' names are now blacked out. We understand what it means to be silenced and stand in solidarity with all impacted by Councilmember Austin's actions whether they choose to be public or not. We will continue to add names of people of all genders who want to sign on. You can email WomenOfLongBeach [at] gmail [dot] com to add your name.

We've also heard, but cannot confirm, that the Long Beach Post showed our Op-Ed to Councilmember Austin. If this is true, or if he has seen it by some other means, it has given the Councilmember time to prepare a response. We hope that instead of attempting to silence and dismiss women in his response, he simply apologizes for his actions and commits to doing better starting today.