LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s former chief of staff allegedly called a local Black Lives Matter chapter “annoying” in private emails sent between 2016 and 2017, copies of which were obtained by VICE News.
Ana Guerrero, who was Garcetti’s chief of staff during that time, also disputed the meaning of “structural racism” and belittled a newly appointed civilian police commissioner who worked with the activists in the emails sent to colleagues. Garcetti was referenced and copied in several of the emails, although he did not participate, VICE News reported.
In one of the messages from October 2016, Guerrero expressed her irritation over the praise Garcetti was receiving after he declared L.A. a sanctuary city, where law enforcement won’t alert federal agents to the presence of undocumented immigrants, the outlet reported.
“I am getting annoyed by all the lefties who are making that their f***ing issue of the day. Not as annoying as BLM, but getting close,” Guerrero wrote in an email to the chief of the Office of Immigrant Affairs after watching a video of the mayor agreeing with a protester, according to VICE.
There were also emails sent in September of 2016 in which Guerrero criticized a new civilian police commissioner’s ties to BLM on the day of her nomination, and said her use of the phrase “structural racism” meant that she was “calling us … racists,” VICE reported.
“He [Garcetti] didn't like that she referred positively to BLM,” Guerrero wrote. “He sort of jokingly said her first meeting should be with [the Los Angeles Police Protective League].”
“While I have been an advocate for her to be our next appointee to police, I will humbly admit I never anticipated that she would be this time-consuming. She was super low maintenance… and behaved as all former staffers turned commissioners do—like a loyal soldier. Very naive on my part.”
Guerrero was placed on administrative leave in June 2021, after calling labor rights icon Dolores Huerta a Spanish term that means “jealous old lady,” and writing “I hate her,” in a private Facebook group.
In a statement, Guerrero said her comments were “offensive and wrong,” apologizing to her City Hall colleagues and “anyone who looks up to and depends on me to set an example for leadership.”
Guerrero returned to Garcetti’s office as a strategic adviser in November with no change to her $248,000 yearly salary, according to VICE.
Guerrero was not immediately available to respond to VICE.
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