‘F— The Police:’ L.A. City Council Candidate Sees Support Dwindle

Los Angeles City Council candidate Ysabel Jurado continues to receive massive backlash after her “F— the Police” remark last week. Jurado has been feeling the burn of her statement with more groups coming out against her as she refuses to apologize.

Jurado and the other candidate for the Council seat, scandal-ridden City Councilman Kevin de Leon, are currently locked in a tight race for their district. However, the race made national headlines last Monday when Jurado, speaking to young supporters at CSU Los Angeles, was answering questions about police spending. When a question came about police overtime funding from a student who said “As someone who is myself pro-abolishment of police, where do you stand on that spectrum?”, Jurado responded by saying “What’s the rap verse? F— the police, that’s how I see them. The city’s budget is broken, with the LAPD funded more than it’s actually ever been funded before.”

The comment was met with immediate backlash from police unions and citizens groups.

In a statement, de Leon said that “Her comments were disrespectful. I stand where I’ve always stood, 100% behind our front-line officers who go out every day risking their lives to protect Angelenos across our city.”

Jurado responded to the growing criticism, saying that police spending was high. “In a meeting with students at Cal State L.A., I quoted a lyric from a song that’s been part of a larger conversation on systemic injustice and police accountability for decades,” Jurado said. “But it was just a lyric. And I’m proud to be accessible to young people and students, listening to their concerns and treating them like the future leaders they are.”

However, in the next 48 hours, things went from bad to worse for Jurado. The LAPPL, normally on the quiet side of things during election season, brought out a full ad blitz against Jurado, with de Leon getting a massive eleventh hour boost of support. De Leon also surged as a result.

In the past week, Jurado has also refused to apologize for saying it. She has said that, while her father was disappointed in her for saying it, the remark was part of her vision for the LAPD focusing more on serious crimes.

“The safest cities invest in public schools, education, youth development, recreation and parks and libraries,” said Jurado in response to a question on if she will apologize. “You know, we’ve got to focus on funding those. We can’t keep funding a budget that keeps prioritizing one department at the cost of all of these. I mean, if we look in this neighborhood, itself.  Our Boyle Heights library has been closed even before the pandemic for four years, despite outcries from community members that this is a place that makes them safe.”

Bad to worse for Jurado

Along with no apology, groups coming out against her have only eroded her support further. Amongst the more memorable groups, the families of slain LAPD officers came out several times this week to denounce her.

Angela Mendoza, whose LAPD boyfriend Officer Fernando Arroyos was shot and killed, remarked to the press that “For someone who wants a position in city council to say those words it’s dangerous. Her remarks are a slap in the face.”

This group coming out against her prompted Jurado to respond, but again, not apologize this week. In a statement, she said that “I understand the pain that families feel after the loss of a loved one, and I have deep respect for anyone who has lost someone in the line of duty. We can honor the memories of fallen officers while also pushing for accountability and equity in policing, and real investment in our communities. What I’m hearing from voters is a desire for new leaders who will take a fresh approach to public safety because what we’ve been doing clearly isn’t working. That’s what we’re focused on, and we won’t be deterred by attempts to take us off course.”

Jurado is now being compared directly to De Leon over his most notable scandal – the 2022 racist recording scandal. While De Leon, for all his faults, did apologize within a few days for what was said during the incident, Jurado never has well over a week later.

“If she had apologized, clarified what she had meant, and kept her nose clean since then, Jurado would still be in this race,” explained LA County pollster Manny Rodriguez to the Globe on Thursday. “But instead she keeps parlaying it into how her remark was really showing how the LAPD needed to be refocused? That doesn’t explain why she said it in the first place. Lawmakers apologize all the time, and if they don’t, the issue gets dragged on longer and the negative press goes on for longer too. And she chose to do that during an election.

“No one thought De Leon could win this. But thanks to Jurado, he just found a way. Directly insulting the police in a district that has been clamoring for more.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Jurado has yet to apologize for her remarks.