The former chief of staff for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti referred to the city’s Black Lives Matter chapter as “annoying,” leaked emails show, according to a report.
In an October 2016 email, Ana Guerrero — who still serves in an advisory role for Garcetti‘s office — wrote that people praising the mayor were “not as annoying as BLM, but getting close,” Vice reported. The Black Lives Matter movement and its anti-police protests grew in popularity in 2016, after Alton Sterling and Philando Castile died in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively.
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Garcetti’s office responded to the leaked emails Thursday, saying it would be addressing any staff members who made improper comments, Vice reported.
A protester waves a Black Lives Matter flag during the demonstration outside of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s home to protest his proposed funding of the Los Angeles Police Department. (Photo by Stanton Sharpe/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
“The mayor and his staff have always approached the conversation about racial justice thoughtfully with a goal of bringing people together to make change. This is one of the most emotionally charged and sensitive issues we face, and there have been painful moments of disagreement that have included situations where our staff were verbally attacked in person and online while doing their jobs,” Garcetti’s office said in a statement, Vice reported.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks a press conference at the new West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport Monday, May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The office added: “Those deeply personal and difficult moments have not deterred us from pursuing an unprecedented justice agenda that includes millions invested in reimagining public safety, a commission on reparations and a participatory budgeting pilot that specifically confronts the legacy of institutional racism in our city.”
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Guerrero was placed on leave last summer and was ultimately removed from her chief of staff position after she made controversial comments on social media. She returned, as a strategic adviser, in the fall. She earns more than $248,000 a year, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA APRIL 11, 2021-Huntington Beach police officers try to seperate supporters during a Black Lives Matter and White Lives Matter rally in Huntington Beach Sunday.(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“I’m going to continue confronting and learning from my mistakes and earning back the trust that I lost,” Guerrero said in November, when she returned to work.
