Steve Hilton Blasts California Homelessness After 23 Arrests on Skid Row
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 12
Steve Hilton Blasts California Homelessness After 23 Arrests on Skid Row
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 12
Summary
Skid Row became a campaign flashpoint as Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton toured the area and called California homelessness a “political scandal” ahead of the Nov. 3 governor’s race.
23 arrests in a federal drug sweep Thursday sharpened that attack, with Hilton arguing Democratic leaders spent billions while allowing encampments, open drug use and street disorder to persist.
Hilton tied the crisis to what he called a nonprofit-and-developer “crony game,” citing a September fraud case in which a homelessness nonprofit founder was accused of misusing funds after receiving more than $118 million in public contracts.
On the ground, a woman who said she had lived on Skid Row for five years told Hilton she liked being on drugs but was considering treatment, underscoring the addiction issues he says policy has failed to address.
The tour also widened pressure on Democrats including Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, as local residents and volunteers voiced frustration over unmet promises on homelessness.