Good morning. Mariel Garza here, editorial editor. Today is Wednesday, May 29th. Let's take a look at what's happening in Opinion.
Please forgive the short introduction today—it's always tough to meet deadlines during a holiday-shortened weekday—but before we move on to the opinion highlights, I wanted to briefly talk about the upcoming Mexican elections.
On Sunday, the country's voters are almost certain to choose its first female president from among the two leading candidates, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xochitl Gálvez. The third-place candidate, a man, is far behind in opinion polls.
I'm not supporting this race, but it seems like a good time to think about why the United States, which leads the world in many ways, has been slow to break this glass ceiling. California is no different. I'd like to know the answer. If Hillary Clinton had faced another Republican candidate, perhaps this milestone would have been reached in 2016.
The 2028 election could be a chance for gender equality in the Oval Office. There is certainly a deep bench of women from both major parties currently serving as US senators and governors, from whom presidents are typically elected. The two women running in 2024 have already finished their terms, paving the way for a new generation of leaders.
And if the current lineup of leading candidates holds up next year, California could elect its first female governor as early as 2026.
But first we must get through the 2024 election in November. Here are the highlights of this week so far.
Why are Republicans making it harder for some people to vote? It's not just about partisanship.. Voting experts say racial animus is at the root of restrictive voting laws passed in more than half of the states in the U.S. “Until about 2008, white Republicans and white Democrats rated racial animus at similar levels. But after the election of the first black president, the levels diverged dramatically. Levels of racial animus among white Democrats plummeted, while those among white Republicans rose,” writes columnist Robin Abkarian.
“Boosting” Metro police is not the long-term solution Los Angeles needs for safer buses and trains. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' plan is certainly worth a try, but without a long-term enforcement strategy, it's unlikely to change public perception that riding trains and buses is dangerous, the Times editorial board wrote.
Why the move to legalize election gambling in the US is so dangerous. “The ability to 'win' tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars by betting on elections would create powerful new incentives for bad actors to influence voters and manipulate the outcome in favor of their bets,” write Dennis Kelleher of Better Markets and Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen.
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What happened to LA's plan to end its reliance on landfills? About 20 years ago, the city plan Los Angeles has pledged to keep 90 percent of the city's trash out of landfills by 2025, but Angelenos are dumping more and more trash into landfills. The Times editorial board says it's time for the city to admit failure and come up with a new plan: “The environmental crisis simmering at Chiquita Canyon Landfill should serve as a wake-up call for state and local leaders that tough decisions on trash are inevitable.”
How to show appreciation to your teachers. Letters editor Paul Thornton took his family to Dodger Stadium for Teacher Appreciation Day this month. Who in his family couldn't attend? His wife is a teacher, and like many teachers, she was working that Sunday. “This personal irony neatly sums up the strange way we treat teachers,” he writes.
More of this week's thoughts
From the columnist
From the Opinion Desk
From the Editorial Board
Letter to the editor
