Dawson Assumes Presidency Friday
Marqueece Harris-Dawson will be installed Friday as the next City Council president, leading the 15-member board in tackling homelessness, meeting housing goals, and setting policies to address issues for the nearly 4 million residents who call Los Angeles home.
Harris-Dawson, who currently serves as the Council President Pro Tem, will be sworn in as leader of the City Council during Friday's meeting — after which he will host a news conference in the John Ferrero Council Chambers Media Room to share his vision for Los Angeles.
Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the council's Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee, will serve as the next pro tem.
The transition in leadership comes after Council President Paul Krekorian announced he would step down from the role earlier this year due to his pending departure from the horseshoe in December due to term limits. Krekorian officially led his final council meeting Wednesday.
In a sit-down interview with City News Service last week in his council office on the fourth floor of City Hall, Harris-Dawson said he was "very excited and very humbled" to serve as the next council president.
"The exciting part of L.A. right now is that we're the biggest city with probably the biggest problems, certainly in the United States, but probably in the world, and so we have to produce the biggest solutions," Harris-Dawson said.
"At the same time, we've been put on the clock because the world selected us to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup," he added. "We've got to be ready and put our best foot forward. At the same time, we've got to do that in a way that increases the quality of life for Angelenos because Angelenos are having a tough time."
He shared that his relationship with Mayor Karen Bass will be a benefit to city governance. Harris-Dawson and Bass have a long history dating back to 1995, when he joined the Community Coalition, and later succeeded then-U.S. Rep. Bass as president and CEO of the South L.A. nonprofit.
"We're all better when we're working together — when we're rowing in the same direction, especially with the magnitude of the problems that we face," Harris-Dawson said. "Competition can be good, but competition in the political sense can also be counterproductive."
The councilman noted that any major changes to council committees may come in December, once a new council is established.
With Krekorian's departure, voters in the 2nd District, encompassing the eastern San Fernando Valley, will cast ballots for one of two candidates — former state Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian and small-business owner Jillian Burgos. Additionally, voters in the 14th District, encompassing downtown L.A. and northeast neighborhoods, will decide whether to reelect Councilman Kevin de LeÃ3n or support a new leader, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado.
Harris-Dawson mentioned the possibility of adding a committee focused on unarmed response programs in the city. He also expressed his frustration with the "rancor and lack of decorum" in council meetings, and how L.A. is at a disadvantage because processes are slow.
"I also get concerned about how, because we're a big city, it takes a while to move," Harris-Dawson said. "There is technology that can move the needle and help us do things faster and better, and doesn't involve anybody losing their job. It might involve a worker learning some new skills, but it doesn't involve a huge job loss. But we are stuck for some reason."
On public safety, there's a big question that may soon get an answer as to who will be the next permanent chief of police.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that two of three finalists were seen arriving at Getty House, the mayor's residence, for candidate interviews — Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, commanding officer of the South Bureau, and former LAPD assistant chief Robert Arcos, who now works for the L.A. County district attorney's office.
The third candidate is said to be former L.A. County Sheriff and one-time LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, according to The Times, citing sources familiar with the search but who were not authorized to discuss it.
Interim LAPD Chief Dominic Choi has led the department since March after former chief Michel Moore resigned in February.
Harris-Dawson said he would like to see a police chief who will be a proponent and an advocate for, and champion of, reform efforts, as well as community-safety partnerships and gang-intervention efforts such as the Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement program.
"We're going to want somebody who takes us into the future," he added.
He noted there are other elements important to public safety, such as improving roads, preventing automobile accidents, addressing nuisance properties and ensuring street lighting.
"There's a variety of things. You can't just take an overlay and say this works for everybody — different things work in different communities and we need to suss that out and help facilitate that," Harris-Dawson said.
One of the councilman's goals will be to continue efforts on homelessness. According to the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, there were 45,252 unhoused individuals in the city of L.A. compared to 46,260 in 2023, a decrease of about 2.2%.
Additionally, the report showed a reduction in unsheltered homelessness of 10.4% in the city.
The 54-year-old, who represents District 8, encompassing South L.A. neighborhoods, also shared some advice, reflecting on his political career.
"Find something specific and discrete that you want to make a difference in. Find the people who are doing that and work with them," Harris-Dawson said.
"The second thing is relationships. Relationships. Relationships," he said. "You don't want to move alone or move as an individual. You want to move inside in the context of community or communities. You want people that believe in you ... that show up and make your campaign a real possibility."
Last, he said, "Don't focus on the prize. Focus on the process."
