One way you can understand the current authoritarian situation in the local Democratic Party is by looking at some of my questions in this questionnaire  for current candidates running in their respective districts.  As just one example, refusing to allow elected members to unmute during Zoom meetings takes their right of voice completely away, and this is inherently anti-democratic.

From Day 1 when new members took office in 2020, there were shenaningans. Questionable election practices sparked a formal complaint we filed with the LACDP rules committee.  LACDP 2020 Officer Election Challenge Letter and Response, July 28, 2020.

Things got progressively worse from there. 

Members have been experiencing regular bullying and harrassment from the Chair, Mark Gonzalez, and within the first year of his reign, he took to removing members from the Zoom meeting claiming they were disturbing the meeting by using the chatbox. When Zoom participants are removed, it's unbeknownst to the rest of the electorate as they are disappeared from the meeting, and they are prohibited from opening the Zoom again. Here is a Petition signed by 37 to see the evidence for why the LACDP ejected several members from the February - March 2021 meetings. 

Authoritarian leadership

Over the last four years on Zoom, the current LACPD Chair Mark Gonzalez deliberately and consistently 

• keeps members muted

• keeps the chatbox disabled

• ignores and/or lowers delegates' raised Zoom hands

• turns off delegates' videos because they projected messages such as "unmute me!" or "point of order!"

• ejects members from the Zoom for no reason

If they have a question, want to participate in debate or share their thoughts, make an announcement at the end of the meeting, want to pull a candidate from a consent item, or need to call a point of order or publicly correct an error made during the meeting, it's not possible.  None of the officers in his cabinet have ever publicly opposed him. 

Even after the COVID emergency was deemed officially over and ignronig members' entreaties to return in person or hold hybrid meetings, he keeps everyone locked on Zoom. 

• Videos of Chair Mark Gonzalez in action.

Conflict of Interest

Now for the March 5, 2024 primary, which many consider a conflict of interest, Mark Gonzalez is running for public office as an assemblyman in central and eastern Los Angeles. (John Yi is running against him.) He hasn't stepped aside from his Chairmanship. 

Even after yet another private meeting in November 2023 with Chair Mark Gonzalez, things have not changed.  At  the December 12, 2023 meeting, he again ignored and forcibly lowered hands of those he didn't want to hear from, and when members were given one minute to make an announcement, he interrupted her and put her on mute mid-sentence. Also, there was disenfranchisement of the vote of several members of an endorsement sub-committee who were ignored or ejected. Whether they are alternates or elected members, whether both are present at the same time, everyone has the right to be recognized, because the LACDP bylaws explicitly give [the] right of voice and motion to both elected members and their alternates.  The Parlamentarian allows him to violate the bylaws. This article was written about that meeting: Did Campaign Money Cause LACDP Chair to Favor Local Candidate? (Dec. 21, 2023, LA Progressive) 

Under Chair Mark Gonzalez for the past four years, people are silenced electronically, and the Zoom meetings have been run with a goal of quashing dissent rather than controlling it using fair rules. There is a spirit of meanness and bullying conferred by the electronic mute button. And the refusal to return to in-person meetings where dissent cannot be controlled. For over a year, members have been arguing it is high time to return to meetings in person; the rest of society basically has. But going back in person would make it hard to continue the authoritarian silencing, so the last LACDP meeting, when important endorsements were being decided on was, suprirse surprise, on Zoom, even though the October 2023 meeting had been in person, the first time since the pandemic. 

The quest for transparency, accountability and fairness has yielded no results

Whether it's through private meetings with him or taking more formal actions, his despicable behavior continues. 

• Member C. Robson's formal Complaint of Violation of the Code of Conduct, Anti-Harassment and Reprisal Policies of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (Central Committee) by its Chair, Mark Gonzalez  May/August 2022

• Member R. Wolfsberger's Examples of LACDP Bullying, Oct. 2020-May 2021

Several members met with LACDP Chair Mark Gonzalez in 2021 hoping he would address these areas of concern and implement changes. Since then, he has done none of the following requests:

Agenda and document transparency

• The agenda will be followed and any changes will be made is done by Robert's Rules of Order, as deemed in the LACDP bylaws.

• Members should be able to suggest new orders of business, as per Robert's Rules of Order.

• Financial reports of all accounts and the spending will be itemized and shared

Members and transparency

• The list of credentialed voting members present at a meeting will be made available to all members as the first order of business of the meeting (for example, a link to a shared spreadsheet can be put in the Chat box before starting) and also will be included in the minutes of the meeting.

• When anonymous votes are cast through the Zoom poll feature, it will be revealed to all members while announcing the results. 

• At the beginning of each meeting, as a courtesy the Chair will remind members and alternates present at the meeting on methods of raising hands, casting votes, and keeping themselves self-muted

• To insure all members are who they say they are and to promote community amongst members, members should be encouraged turn on video mode during meetings and/or present a current and recognizable picture of themselves.

Standardized Voting procedures

• Unless by acclamation voting on online platforms like Zoom will occur by unmuted roll call, or by the polling feature, with the motion written out. If the polling feature is used, the results will be shared. 

• The full vote count will be included in the minutes. If the polling feature is used, the result will be screen-captured.

• The language of all motions will be displayed whenever possible, such as when using the polling feature, so members can read the motion prior to voting. Before every vote, the chair needs to repeat the motion clearly, not have the motion-maker reiterate it because each time they do, it tends to change. 

Calling on members /muting/communication

• The chair will recognize members by electronic “raised hands” in the order that the hands were raised.  (Zoom shows who raised their hand first, second etc.) 

• As in an in-person meeting,  in order to raise points of order, information, and privilege, members and their alternates shall first raise their hands, but if they are not recognized, they should be able to unmute themselves

• The Chat Box shall be open for members to chat with each other.

Feb. 2, 2024:  Ballots mailed out by LA County Registrar’s Office

Feb. 20, 2024: Last day to register to vote as a new Democrat if necessary 

(You can also register/re-register at a voting center, then vote --> Same Day Voter Reg)

Feb. 24, 2024: First day to vote in person, if you prefer

Tues. March 5, 2024 (8pm): All ballots in! via mail or dropped off at any voting center in LA County

More info at LAvote.net