On May 30, three LA City Councilmembers, Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Ysabel Jurado, took a major step toward building the People’s Bank by each committing $15,000 from their discretionary funds to launch LA’s public bank feasibility study. They held a press conference on the steps of City Hall, standing before news cameras alongside coalition leaders, to explain why a Public Bank is needed. It’s a testament to years of organizing by people like you that multiple council members are now using their influence and resources to push the LA Public Bank forward. Everyone who helped us get here should be proud.
In their own words:
“The people have spoken. We have to move the people’s money. I’m proud to stand with all of you as we take this critical step toward creating a public bank in the City of LA. Our money deserves to come back to us and not to Wall Street.” — Councilmember Hernandez
“We pay $1.4 billion in debt service, including hundreds of millions in fees to Wall Street banks. A public bank would give us the power to reinvest those dollars into housing, jobs, and green infrastructure. Wall Street doesn’t care about LA. We need to build something that does.” — Councilmember Soto-Martinez
“Why keep doing the same thing when it’s clearly not working? It’s time we put our money where our mouth is. We’re done doing business as usual.” — Councilmember Jurado
As Eli Lipmen, Executive Director of Move LA, reminded us at the press conference, Los Angeles has a long track record of building successful public agencies — like the LA Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LA World Airports (LAWA), and the Port of Los Angeles, that invest in Angelenos and create jobs. He talked about how a public bank could help make existing institutions even more impactful: “We can leverage the $660 million we’ve raised with Measure ULA to build more affordable housing. We can leverage the over $1 billion at the Port of Los Angeles sitting in cash to build clean infrastructure at our ports… we can leverage our capital funds to build bus lanes and bike lanes, rebuild our public parks…”
The press conference stood in stark contrast to a year of City Hall’s scarcity and austerity messaging. Friday’s event radiated possibility, hope, and abundance, with speakers detailing how a public bank can deliver better services and a stronger city for Angelenos.
Watch the council members’ powerful remarks:
Eunisses Hernandez | Hugo Soto-Martinez | Ysabel Jurado
Speakers included:
- Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez (CD1)
- Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez (CD13)
- Councilmember Ysabel Jurado (CD14)
- Trinity Tran,Executive Director, Public Bank LA
- Raymond Meza, Deputy Chief of Staff, SEIU-721
- Eli Lipmen, Executive Director, Move LA
- Abdullah Muhammad, ACCE Los Angeles
- Luz Castro, Associate Director of Policy, Inclusive Action for the City
- Mark Gaynor, DSA-LA
View the media advisory from Councilmember Hernandez.
A public bank lets us reclaim our money, reinvest it locally, and build an economy that puts people before profits. Momentum is real, and we’re not slowing down.
Check out some of the coverage highlights in MSN: 3 L.A. councilmembers pledge to fund study for public bank.
