“Getting LA Metro on the Right Track” with Supervisor Kathryn Barger

ICYMI: Hour One of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – A look at the latest efforts to bring the ongoing college campus protests to an end AND a new LAUSD rally to protect workers from expected school cuts…PLUS – An in-depth discussion with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the Fifth District, regarding the many issues plaguing L.A. Metro and what it will take to get the 2nd busiest transit system in the country back on track - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app 

Episode Transcript

(00:21):
Okay, I am six forty.Mister Mokelly here, it's Later with mo
Kelly. We're live everywhere on theiHeartRadio app. We got the latest on
the protests and the fallout from allaround the country. We have an update
on LAUSD's pledge to protect workers.Here is the update. They're not protecting

(00:42):
workers. And also LA County SupervisorCatherine Barger, representing District five will join
me. She will be calling inat the bottom of the hour as we
talk about La Metro, the Cityof Los Angeles and this overlap into La
County and what's wrong and what needsto be done to get it right.
That's Supervisor Katherine Barker at the bottomof the hour. And there's this.

(01:08):
Lamarada Theater for the Performing Arts hasbeen celebrating their presentation of Jersey Boys,
The Story of Frankie Valley in theFour Seasons. Lamarada Theater is one of
the best Broadway style houses in southernCalifornia, as reported in the Los Angeles
Times. Sunday, May twelfth isthe final performance of Jersey Boys, the

(01:29):
Story of Frankie Valley and the FourSeasons, and we're giving away a pair
of tickets tonight tonight. It's beenone of the hottest shows of the spring
and it is coming to an end. You can try to get some of
the few remaining tickets at Lamarada Theaterdot com. That's theater tr dot com.
Or you could just keep listening toLater with Mo Kelly for your chance

(01:52):
to win that is coming up tonight. And let me circle back to the
protesters there. There will be consequencesfor your protests. There will be consequences
for protesters. If you think thatyou're doing something right now that is not
going to come back and bite youin the ask later on you are incorrect,

(02:13):
it may be suspension, it maybe expulsion, and depending on your
role and behavior, may be criminalcharges. Let's go to UCLA for a
moment. UCLA they're trying to findout about the counter protesters. Specifically,
they want to know who they were, the people who are maybe throwing fireworks

(02:36):
into the encampment, the people whohad weapons of some sort, who were
trying to engage in fights and escalation. UCLA detectives are now scanning hundreds of
images of that night in question inan attempt to identify the attackers. The
attackers they intend to use technology thatcaptures facial images and compare them to other

(03:00):
photos on the internet and social mediato put names to faces. If this
sounds eerily reminiscent of what was donefor the January sixth, yes, it's
exactly the same. And thank goodness, they didn't have social media when I
was in college. There was nofacial recognition. There were no pictures on

(03:22):
social media to compare. And ofcourse everyone in college, every single student
has a social media profile. Theydo why because they have to take a
picture of everything. Look at me, I'm having lunch. Look at me,
I'm getting in the shower. Lookat me, I'm going to the
park. Look at me, I'mwalking my dog. There are pictures everywhere

(03:42):
of you doing everything. And youknow what, if January sixth is any
indication, I'm quite sure these counterprotesters or protesters in general, even though
you think you're hiding your identity,you probably took pictures, You probably posted
some video somewhere, and you probablyare just leaving breadcombe crumbs a Hansel and

(04:02):
Gretel style right back to you,and they will be able to figure out
that you were one of the peopleengaging in the illegal behavior. Again,
there will be consequences for your protestsanonymity and privacy. They are illusions.
If you think that just because youcovered your eyes and wrapped some sort of

(04:23):
garment around your face that no oneknew who you were, you are wrong.
Why because you probably posted the videosomewhere which links back to you stop
filming your crimes. There will beconsequences. If you thought that you were
just going to camp out in thecenter of UCLA's campus or Pomona or UCI

(04:44):
wherever, and there wouldn't be anyconsequences, that people wouldn't know your name,
that you wouldn't get arrested, thatthere wouldn't be sanctions, that you
wouldn't be suspended, you wouldn't beexpelled. Well, you would be wrong.
And Yere's the thing I have beenconsistent. I may not agree with
the reasons for somebody's protests, butmy stance regarding protests had never changed.

(05:09):
If you were willing to accept theconsequences of your protest, then okay,
going back to Colin Kaepernick. Ifyou're willing to end your career, so
be it. If you're willing torisk losing your job, so be it.
If you feel that strongly. Thendo what you need to do within
legal reason. I don't want youto do anything which is going to bring

(05:29):
harm to someone's property or someone's person. But if you're willing to suffer the
consequences, then go right ahead.And the consequences here for these protests,
like it or not, will probablyinclude suspension, expulsion, and possibly incarceration.
It's later with mo Kelly KFI AMsix forty. We're live everywhere on

(05:51):
the iHeartRadio app psych. If youthought LAUSD was going to actually protect people's
jobs in education, you would bewrong. You fell for it. Let's
see if they'll fall forward again.You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on
demand from KFI AM six forty.And if you didn't know, I am

(06:12):
the son of two music educators andgeneral educators. My mother taught vocal music
and also English, a father taughtinstrumental music and other subjects. I am
pro education, without exception, withoutapology. At this point, what I
see going on in LAUSD and aroundthe country more generally, but specifically,

(06:38):
what I see going on in LAUSD, I cannot in good conscience recommend to
a young person, Hey, youought to go into education. You ought
to become a teacher, because theway I see how teachers and educators and
those people in professions associated with educations, school workers is abominable. And every

(07:02):
single year I hear story after storyof teachers having to pay for their own
supplies, having to do for themselves, not making enough money given usually they
have advanced degrees, they have master'sdegrees, they have teachers credentials, and
we as a society, as astate LAUSD, don't respect the contributions of

(07:28):
educators. We go round and roundabout whether they're being paid enough, whether
there are enough teachers for a certainnumber of students. Classes are overcrowded,
they don't have enough one on oneattention. The books are inferior. The
textbooks are inferior, the facilities andsupplies are inferior. It's the same discussion

(07:51):
again and again and again. Andthere was this huge street rally yesterday during
the LA Board of Education meeting,school union leaders spoke out against expected budget
cuts again, budget cuts that arealready affecting decisions at individual schools, where
administrators are making plans that will likelycut employee hours or student programs. We

(08:15):
keep having the same discussion, whyis there never money or enough money set
aside for the education of our childrenand the people who are entrusted with educating
them. Why is this always anissue. We've already had the discussion of
what happened to the state lottery.Why that isn't enough? We know that

(08:37):
California lags behind most of the countryin quality of education on the secondary school
level. What is it that hasto happen before we make the connection between
quality of education and quality of society. There's a correlation, there's a causal

(08:58):
relationlationship. A better educated society,better society, better educated society, or
more well to do, better financialoutcomes, better job prospects. All these
things are connected. And we wonderwhy La City, La County may be

(09:20):
going to hell in a handbasket,and we never stop and think, hmm,
what about education? What role doeseducation play in that scenario? How
much of a variable is that?And I admit I have not been in
school for a number of years.I did work as a tutor for a

(09:41):
number of years in I'll say inthe past ten fifteen years for another number
of charter schools and magnets, ButI have not been in the educational system
for quite some time. I can'ttell you exactly what it is like,
but I can read the thing,the statistics of how unfairly teachers are treated,

(10:05):
how poorly teachers are paid. AndI remember when we were going through
the strikes, how these promises weremade about how teachers were going to be
paid and they were going to beprotecting jobs. And I look at LAUSD's
cravallo. He doesn't seem to remembera lot of those promises made. He

(10:26):
says, quote, there are overone hundred and ten districts right now that
are facing teacher layoffs, layoffs,layoffs. He says, this is not
a scare tactic. This is whatwe know. LA School officials have projected
general fund revenue for next year ofnine point one four billion. Spending for

(10:48):
next year is estimated at ten pointeight nine billion. The district cannot sustain
such a deficit indefinitely, according toofficials, Well, we need to make
a decision whether we're going to increasethe revenue or we're going to cut things
which are not connected to the educationalcomponent. Because we always talk about there's

(11:13):
never enough money for more teachers,there's never enough money for better salaries for
teachers. There's never ever enough forthe bare minimum for our kids. I
cannot, in good conscience recommend anyonewho has gone through the trouble of going
to undergraduate and getting a graduate degreeand a teaching credential. I cannot,

(11:37):
in good conscience recommend them becoming ateacher in today's workplace. I just I
can't. I can't. And Ilook at you, to Waller Sharp,
and you are an administrator, asat a school, you are much more
closely connected to these issues. Youknow what teachers are needing every single day.
You know what they're wanting, whatthey're lacking. The same story every

(12:01):
day, every week, every month, every year. It's the same thing.
And at no point do I feelas if the State of California or
LAUSD has made the affirmative promise tochange. Since the end of the strike,
one thing that we've noticed, especiallywith a lot of our pair of
professionals who are trying to enter theteaching field, is that once they made

(12:26):
all these promises, they made itdamn near impossible to get your credentials.
All of the things that you mustnow have to become a credentialed sub a
credential teacher are now that much furtherout of reach for people who are or
otherwise qualified. We have one pairof professional who was sharing with us today
that she actually left the field ofteaching in kindergarten because they were not only

(12:50):
were not paying enough as a teacher, but every single craft, every single
idea that she wanted to come upwith, had to come out of her
own pocket. Said, now y'allgo back to being a paraprofessional where you
all at your school. You notonly pay more, but there is more
creative input and there is more developmentalguidance within what we do. Every single

(13:11):
teacher I work with, they're like, I have to get a second job
because teaching alone isn't enough. PeopleI know in LAUSD who used to teach
dropped out and said I can't hackit. Not only just the bad kids,
but just the bad treatment of teachers. Well, and more good news.
We'll be joined next segment by LaCounty Supervisor Catherine Barger, who will

(13:33):
give us her state of LA andLa County. But before she joins us
on the line, got to remindyou. Lamarade Theater for the Performing Arts
has been celebrating their presentation of JerseyBoys. The Story of Frankie Valley and
the Four Seasons. Lamarade Theater isone of the best Broadway style houses in
southern California, as reported in theLa Times Sunday, This Sunday, Bay

(13:54):
twelve is the final performance of JerseyBoys, the Story of Frankie Valley and
the Four Seasons. And we're givingaway a pair of tickets tonight, Not
right now, but sometime tonight.You better keep listening. In fact,
it's one of the hottest shows ofthe spring, and it's coming to an
end unfortunately, but you can geta pair of tickets tonight here on later
with mo Kelly later on this evening. But up next is La County Supervisor

(14:18):
Catherine Barger, representing District five.That's next when mo Kelly one Kay five
six FI. We are live everywhereon the iHeartRadio app. Catherine Barger is
the La County Supervisor representing the fifthDistrict. The fifth District covers Ventura Kerrent

(14:41):
in San Bernardino County lines and includesportions of twenty cities, sixty three unincorporated
communities, and fifteen neighborhoods in theCity of Los Angeles. It is my
pleasure to welcome Supervisor Barger to laterwith mo Kelly. Supervisor Barger, A
pleasure to speak with you this evening. How are you. I am great.
It's great to be with this eveningas well. It's difficult to separate

(15:01):
the fortunes of Los Angeles, thecity from Los Angeles to county. Just
about every issue which plagues the cityof La plagues the county from crime,
homelessness, to illegal immigration and more. From where you sit, what is
at the top of the list ofwhat's staring La County in the face and
must be addressed. Well, obviouslyyou know the whole issue surrounding the homeless

(15:24):
population. And I've said this andI believe that we're not going to build
our way out of what's going onunless we address the mental health crisis on
our streets as well as the drugabuse that's taking place. And we're seeing
it firsthand, not only with what'sgoing on at the metro with the increased
violence, but also what we're seeinghappening on our streets that those that are

(15:48):
acting out and I've been told antedotallyand I believe it that meth combined with
mental health, you see a lotof aggression and a lot of paranoia facing
individual on our streets. Yes,there is a lot of overlap with these
issues when we talk about crime,homelessness, and mental health. But you
mentioned Metro, so let me gothere. Days ago, I saw that
you spoke out regarding the state ofMetro, how you wouldn't feel safe writing

(16:14):
it, solo, I said,when I read your remarks, if Supervisor
Barker is saying this publicly, Ican only imagine what she's been saying privately.
Let me put it in my terms, what the hell is going on
with Metro On the administrative side,Hey, I said it last year.
I've been very public with my concernsabout the fact that this board needs to

(16:36):
take action as it relates to safetyof our passengers and also the people that
work there. This has been likea pot of water on a stove that
has been simmering and now is boilingover. We are seeing on our buses,
on our light rails, on oursubways, individuals that are attacking and

(16:59):
in one case murdering somebody, aninnocent bystander that was merely taking the Metro
home. And then yesterday, acouple of days ago, a transit officer
was attacked and ended up killing Theyended up killing an individual that was aggressive.
So I mean this is as aresult of wanting to take the public

(17:25):
safety side out, put ambassadors in, and when I talked to our ambassadors,
they say the one tool they needis public safety in order for them
to do their job. There's apolitical aspect to this. I heard Eli
Mayor Bass say recently when she wasgiving her public budget proposal that La Metro

(17:45):
is safe. Why is it?How is it? She's making those public
statements and they are in stark contrastto what our own I see what you've
seen and what you've said. Ihave the utmost respect for the mayor.
But when I look at the statsthere were one hundred and sixty assaults on
our public trans operators in twenty twentythree and over seventy percent increase in the

(18:07):
number of assaults committed in twenty nineteen, it tells me that it is getting
worse. It is not a simplematter. Security services are provided by a
complicated web of agencies. We've got, you know, our transit security officers,
We've got the Sheriff's Apartment, LAPDand Long Beach. But there is
no question in my mind perception becomesreality, and I personally have had an

(18:32):
experience at one of our garages thattruly scared me to death, and I
bought it up at the Metro meeting. I will continue to voice my concerns.
I believe we need to let lawenforcement dictate what is needed to keep
our transit system safe instead of insteadof us telling them what they need to
do or what they cannot do,which I believe is in start contrast to

(18:56):
what needs to be done the issuesof the Metro apart and parcel of the
larger issues in Los Angeles. InLos Angeles County, we have the World
Cup, NBA All Star Game,the Olympics, all on their way to
Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.I mentioned Mayor Bass, she's the chair
of the Metro Board of Directors.She's made it clear that she wants LA
and the Metro to be ready tomeet the moment. You said we need

(19:17):
law enforcement to dictate what they needto make our public transportation safe. I
would ask this question, humbly,what is it we don't know at this
point which would make it safe.In other words, let me be flippant
for a second. I could respectfullywe have Metro ambassadors, but it doesn't
seem like Metro ambassadors are the problemor even approaching the solution. So why

(19:40):
is it we keep nibbling around theedges. That's not being flippant, that
that is a fact, that thatis true. The ambassadors serve a purpose,
but safety is not their purpose.And you know, let me be
clear, we are not going tobe able to arrest our way out of
the safety crisis. But there arethings that we are are doing and the

(20:00):
mayor has been supportive and in fact, when I brought into motion a couple
of weeks ago at Metro, shesupported it. And that is you know,
fairgate hardening. Right now, wehave a porse system where anyone can
walk on and that's both on ourheavy and light rail stations, and implement
latching fair gates upon exit right now, again people can come in and out.

(20:22):
There is no way to stop individualsand that are not paying the fairs
to get on our Metro and areliving on the Metro. And let me
be clear, not all criminals areferravadors, but what we're seeing is the
far evators are committing the crimes.So we need to address the fact that

(20:44):
people getting on our system are notpaying and they are opportunists in some cases
where they are robbing people. Butthere are also those that are unhoused homeless
that are getting on our train andare having psychotic episodes that are impactings.
Supervisor Barker, could you make itclear for me, I know the most
recent incident and involved a Metro securityeither contract employee or security employee. What

(21:11):
type of security does Metro employ presently, so it's a blend. We've got
the transit security officers which are armedand that was the case that I mentioned
the most recent case where an individualattacked and in the end with shot.
We have Transit Ambassadors which are unarmedand they are the ones that are in
green shirts that typically will kind ofhelp direct you to where you're going.

(21:34):
We also have the Sheriff's Department LAPDand Long Beach who are doing a phenomenal
job under the circumstances. And Metrohas outsourced security to these three agencies for
over thirty years, so we knowwhat they can do, but it makes
accountability difficult. It's a very blendedsystem. So I'm looking to our CEO

(22:00):
working with the fifty personnel over atMetro to bring us a plan that makes
sense and is going to in factfor tech not only our employees, but
also the writers that, by theway, have no choice. I mean
I have a choice whether to getin my car or not. There are
individuals that are transit dependent that haveno choice. I mean Murda. Murda

(22:22):
who was murdered. The sixty sevenyear old grandmother that was stabbed in the
throat had no choice. She wascoming off of work early morning and dependent
upon our transit system to get herhome. If you're just tuning in,
my guest right now is La CountySupervisor Catherine Barker, who represents the fifth
District. We'll have more in justa moment. Keep it right here.

(22:42):
It's Later with mo Kelly. You'relistening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand
from KFI AM six forty. Onthe line with me is my guest,
Supervisor Catherine Barger, who represents thefifth District of Los Angeles County. And
Supervisor Barger our feelings and facts.Then people will use facts and statistics to

(23:03):
represent or misrepresent the state of LosAngeles and Los Angeles County. I hear
conflicting information about crime is down dependingon if his violent crime versus property crime.
Let me move all that out ofthe way. You are someone who
is inside Los Angeles County that matrix. What is the state of Los Angeles
County as it relates to crime?Are we moving in a worse direction or

(23:25):
a positive direction? You know,I truly do believe the pendulum is swinging
back toward understanding that that law enforcementis a vital component to keeping our community
safe. So I'm seeing Sheriff Luna, I'm seeing you know, the new
cheap over, the acting chief atLAPD recognizing that quality of life begins with

(23:49):
public safety. So I do havehope, but make no mistake if we
do not invest in the mental healthand recognize is that we don't have the
capacity to hospitalize individuals that need itright now. We need to build an
infrastructure that is going to address what'splaguing us right now, and that is

(24:10):
the lack of mental health services toget these people to help they need.
And then also substance abuse treatment.I mean, I truly do believe that
that decriminalizing substance abuse use has createdthis problem. And it didn't happen overnight.
It did not happen overnight. Thishas been slowly, slowly percolating up
and now we are seeing it hitthe streets and hit the quality of life

(24:33):
of each and every one of usthat can't walk their child to school,
can't get our public transit system.You know, it is in fear of
being being out late. I don'tlike driving late at night because you know,
I wonder if someone next to megoing to shoot. I mean,
this is not the society that Igrew up in, nor is it something
that I'm going to tolerate. You'vementioned mental health and substance abuse more than

(24:57):
once, but that is directly connectedto the homelessness issue. That is something
which is also often discussed. Butit doesn't seem like eyeball tests that we're
making any headway. Are we makingany headway? We are, but not
to the level that I believe issatisfactory. I mean, if you look
at if you ask people how theyidentify the homeless on the street, they're

(25:19):
going to say those are the mostdisruptive. Those are the ones that we
have to provide the services for,and many of them is going to be
involuntary. I mean, they donot want it involuntary. They do not
want it, but the reality isthey need it, and it's a danger
to themselves and it's a danger toothers. And I use that criteria as
it relates to the gravely disabled.We need to build a system that is

(25:45):
going to keep them out of ourjails, which right now seventy percent of
the people in our jails are sufferingfrom some sort of mental illness. I
don't want to criminalize the people thatwant to keep the status quo are criminalizing
the very people that they say needneed understanding and help. So my goal,
and I'm going to continue to fightfor it, is to build a

(26:06):
mental health infrastructure within LA County,working with our federal partners, because we
need a federal waiver in order tobuild that capacity in our hospitals and building
infrastructure that's going to support what's needed. Right now, before I let you
go to Supervisor Barker, thank youfor the spending this time with me this
evening. I made the point onmy show a few days ago that not

(26:26):
only has society in a violence andcriminality sense, change, I think we
as citizens have changed. I makenote of the fight which was caught on
video between the LA Dash bus operatorand a homeless person tying all these things
together. And I was amazed andalso disappointed and disenchanted with how no one

(26:47):
tried to intervene, no one triedto help. I think that there's something
that we have we've lost in ourcommunity. You said that this city is
not what it once was, orthis county is not what it once was.
I also wonder have we as peopleand sit and read changed and abrogated
our responsibility to our fellow man andwoman. So I have two responses to
that number. One twenty years ago, if I saw someone laying on a

(27:08):
sidewalk, I've called nine. Whenone now as a common occurrence, people
walk by and don't even think twiceabout it. So that tells me that
we've become desensitized to that. Buton the ladder, when you talk about
people not getting involved, far toooften you hear about a good smart and
getting involved and ending up costing hisor her life. I get it because

(27:29):
I'm one of these people that likesto jump into action and think I can
save the world. I take astep back now because I recognize that you
don't know what's going on with thatindividual, and you could be the victim.
It's important to call nine when one. It's important for us to work
with our law enforcement officers to makesure they have the support and the number
of people they need on the streetsin order to protect us. But that

(27:53):
I think is playing more in therole of people's fear about the fact that
getting involved could cost them in theirlives. And we've seen that. How
many times do you turn on thenews and heard about a vit smarton that
was trying to help somebody and endedup being the victim. So you know,
it's a slippery slope, and Igive grace to those that are there.
I mean, I know I wouldwant to jump into action. That's

(28:15):
just in my DNA, And youknow, I think twice now, Supervisor
Barger, is there any good newsthat you'd like to report? There is
good news. The good news isthat I got reelected for four more years
and I'm not going to let downmy voters that expect me to be a
voice of reason, common sense andto continue to fight to make sure that

(28:38):
we have a system not only atMetro but also within the county. Because
as a Metro board member, myjob is to make sure we have a
state transit system. But as anLA County Board of Supervisor member, my
job is to make sure that ourmental health system is in fact operating to
the degree that needs to and thatpeople are getting the services that they need.
Supervisor Catherine Barger is the LA CountySupervisor representation in the fifth district.

(29:00):
This was our first conversation and SupervisorBarker, I sure hope it's not our
last. Thank you for opening thisline of communication, and let's stay in
contact and make the city and alsocounty better than what it presently is.
You got it. I look forwardto many more conversation with you to solve
all the world's problems. Amen tothat. It's later with Mo Kelly CAF.
I am six forty. We're liveeverywhere on the iHeartRadio app, phone,

(29:25):
car radio, smart toaster. Wedon't care how you listen, just
that you do KF I'm KOST HDtwo Los Angeles, Orange County, live
everywhere on the d