California’s First African American Controller Malia M. Cohen Takes Office
Malia M. Cohen was sworn-in as the first Black woman – and first African American — to serve as California’s State Controller.
Malia M. Cohen was sworn-in as the first Black woman – and first African American — to serve as California’s State Controller.
San Francisco’s former district attorney, George Gascon, who left town before his term was finished so he could run for D.A. in Los Angeles, has a long history of going whichever way the winds blow, saying whatever suits his political purposes, and only looking out for himself.
The initiative has caused proponents and opponents in the Black community to draw battle lines. Each side has dug in, pointing to the benefits or the dangers of Prop 15 in opposing efforts to win the hearts, minds and votes of African Americans and other Californians. If passed, Prop 15 would overturn Prop 13, a provision that has for 42 years now placed a hard limit on how much tax can be assessed on any property in the state.
Other policies in the plan to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system include introducing a national standard for police use of force; providing incentives for states to get rid of mandatory minimums; equalizing sentencing for possession and distribution of crack and cocaine; mandating prisons to offer educational courses, vocational training as well as mental health and addiction treatment. Harris also wants to end federal laws that prohibit formerly incarcerated people from accessing housing, loans, food stamps and other public services.