Extinction Rebellion Youth L.A.: Climate Consideration for Mayor

On June 17th, Angeleno Youth will gather at the Americana at Brand, a shopping center owned by

mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, to demand the climate crisis be centered in Los Angeles politics.

Contact:

Zaara Asnani - (240) 204-0679 - [email protected]

Aidan Liss - (925) 963-9276

June 15, 2022 – With the California primaries and thus the initial stage of the mayoral election over,

Angelenos must consider and decide between the two remaining candidates before the November run-off.

A major concern for voters is the climate crisis, for which candidate, real-estate mogul, and billionaire Rick

Caruso has no plan. That’s right–no plan. There is not a single mention of anything to do with the

environment on his website, beyond a brief subheading on the “Meet Rick Caruso” page detailing his time

working with the DWP. He spends ½ of the paragraph bragging about saving the DWP from financial ruin,

and the other ½ describing a shift to renewable energy he pushed in 1997 with the Green Power

Program, which only works to compensate energy and electricity providers for manufacturing an

unknown amount of “clean” or “green” energy.

Rick Caruso owns several major properties in the LA county area that bring in millions of dollars per year,

money that is directly funding his $40 million campaign. On June 17th, Extinction Rebellion Youth Los

Angeles will gather at the Americana at Brand–one of these Caruso-owned profit-generating

properties–to demand that climate action be a centerpiece in politics, even on the city level.

Youth are angry at the prospect of a mayor who has no plans to fight for a sustainable, livable future for

Angelenos, and are fed up with a state of climate emergency being continuously pushed to the wayside in

favor of profit.

Our plan for the 17th of June is as follows:

1. At 3:00 PM, we will assemble at the Glendale Central Park. There, we will have a rally featuring

speakers and activists from Brown Bears, YCSLA, Sunrise, XRLA, Veterans for Peace, Climate Action

Campaign, and fellow members of XR Youth LA.

2. Following our rally, we will march from Glendale Central Park to the Brand entrance of the

Americana at Brand. We will then march through the Americana.

3. Then, we will be having another piece of this action that we are not disclosing to the public. If you

are interested in covering it, email [email protected].

4. After this part of the action, we will continue our march to Caruso Ave and end with another short

rally.

part of the action, we will continue our march to Caruso Ave and end with another short

rally.

“The issue is, the youth are the ones that will have to deal with the consequences of a mayor with no

climate action plan for the longest amount of time, whether our futures reside in LA or not. LA is the second

largest city in the country, and it must set an example on how to progressively repair the present state of

the climate and prevent future damage. We need radical action–and we need radical action now. This is not

just a political talking piece–these are our futures. This is not an issue we can afford to have neglected in

city politics–these are our futures.” - Sasha Rotko, 17, Communications Coordinator, XRYLA

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