In one of the more bizarre political pairings Los Angeles has seen in recent memory, District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Los Angeles City Council member Ysabel Jurado stood shoulder to shoulder on October 6th to demand tougher laws against copper wire theft, the same crimes ravaging Jurado’s own district for the years.
But the optics are jarring. Jurado, a Democratic Socialists of America endorsed council member, has built her career on vilifying law enforcement – from openly calling to defund the police to being caught on video shouting “F*ck the Police” when asked about abolishing the LAPD. Her campaign rhetoric included plans to redirect police resources away from retail theft, car theft, and smash-and-grab robberies, crimes that have since skyrocketed across Los Angeles.
And yet, here she is, appearing at a press conference alongside pretending to be law-and-order District Attorney Nathan Hochman, George Gascon supporter and pro-criminal Assembly member Mark Gonzalez urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign Assembly Bill 476, legislation aimed at cracking down on copper wire theft that’s left neighborhoods dark and taxpayers footing millions in repair costs.
A Crime Wave Five Years in the Making
For five years, copper theft has stripped Los Angeles bare.
According to city data, 40% of the 46,000 streetlight outages reported last year were directly tied to copper wire theft. LAPD Commander Lillian Carranza has repeatedly sounded the alarm, pleading for stronger laws and resources to combat the criminals responsible.
But while officers were working overtime to protect the infrastructure, Council member Jurado was publicly demonizing them, dismissing thefts as “property crime” and calling for “community-based alternatives” to policing.
Now, with the crisis spilling across her own district and residents fed up, Jurado suddenly wants to stand beside the very people she’s spent her career attacking.
Hochman’s Credibility Problem
For DA Nathan Hochman, a prosecutor elected on promises to restore accountability and rebuild trust with law enforcement, the alliance raises serious questions.
By sharing a podium with an anti-police politician, Hochman risks alienating the very base that supported his election — officers, deputies, and victims’ advocates desperate for reform after years of soft-on-crime policies under George Gascón.
It’s one thing to build coalitions. It’s another to legitimize a council member who has openly undermined public safety, slept through council meetings, and campaigned on dismantling the police.
The February 26, 2025 photo of Jurado asleep at her desk during a City Council meeting remains seared in the public consciousness, a visual metaphor for City Hall’s chronic disengagement while the city’s infrastructure literally falls apart.
Political Theater Over Public Safety
Make no mistake, AB 476 is a good bill. It would finally hold junk dealers and recyclers accountable by requiring identification, proof of ownership, and harsher penalties for selling stolen metals.
But pairing a law-and-order DA with an anti-law-enforcement socialist isn’t reform. It’s yet another a photo op dressed as policy.
For five years, copper thieves have stripped Los Angeles of its light, security, and sense of order. And for five years, Ysabel Jurado has stripped public trust from law enforcement – mocking, minimizing, and mobilizing against them.
Now, under the glare of news cameras, she’s pretending to be part of the solution.
If the District Attorney’s office truly wants to fight crime, it shouldn’t be standing beside politicians who’ve spent their careers justifying it.
Because Los Angeles doesn’t need more photo ops or hollow alliances — it needs consistency, conviction, and leaders who believe public safety isn’t a partisan issue.
When a self-proclaimed socialist who said “F*ck the Police” becomes the face of law-and-order messaging, something’s gone terribly wrong in Los Angeles politics.
And the city’s lights aren’t the only thing going dark.
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