That’s Not Bonin: News Station Mistakes Random Man For Councilman

VENICE, CA — KTLA5 thought a Venice neighbor was Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin in a story on the growing homeless population in the pandemic and rising number of fires. But it was the wrong person.

"Outcry and calls to remove hundreds of tents that line the Venice boardwalk. Local residents say they have growing concerns about a rise in violent crimes in the area including reports of assault with a deadly weapon, shootings and fires. Councilmember Mike Bonin tells KTLA5 people living in an encampments along the Venice boardwalk, well that's unacceptable," KTLA5 reported.

The mistaken man — Mark Ryavec, who ran against Bonin in the last election and is a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council and runs the Venice Stakeholder's Association — suggested that the same model applied to clearing camps at Echo Park should be used in Venice. This is something Bonin has not endorsed.

Bonin's office tells Patch it doesn't have any response and KTLA said they are fixing it.

The councilmember is pushing forward to help house people living on the streets and has proposed a series of solutions and alternatives. Bonin represents District 11 and the communities of Venice, Mar Vista, Playa Vista, Westchester, Ladera, Del Rey, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and West Los Angeles/Sawtelle.

"What I am proposing is this: While we step up efforts to house people, the city should conduct a feasibility analysis of whether a number of different locations, including LAX land and three beach parking lots, could be used for different types of temporary emergency shelter," Bonin said in a statement last week.

Bonin has proposed to add more homeless shelters, including "tiny homes" and "safe camping" sites in areas such as Los Angeles International Airport, Marina del Rey and Pacific Palisades. He submitted a motion March 31, calling on the city to push to end homelessness and sidewalk encampments.

"I have also asked that the feasibility analysis consider whether two local parks with existing encampments could restore the bulk of recreational space to public use by designating a certain area for existing unhoused residents," he said. "In all cases, the proposed solutions would provide security, sanitation and services, and focus on getting people into housing."

Last week, the motion passed in the L.A. City Council Homelessness & Poverty Committee to add more temporary housing options.

"These are not encampments," Bonin said. "They are an emergency response—an alternative—to encampments, and they are temporary solutions meant to get people off the streets and into homes."

In Westchester, 44 new housing units were opened at a former motel last week, he said. In June, the city plans to add 33 more units at a former Venice motel.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced billions in state dollars to help fight homelessness. Bonin hopes this can be used for a variety of purposes and solutions, including short-term rental subsidies, master leasing apartment units, shared housing, converting motels into housing, building new units, reunifying people with their families, expanded health care and mental health services, substance abuse programs and job or skills training.

"My priority is on long-term and interim housing," Bonin said.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 9:58 a.m. to include additional information about the error in the KTLA report.

Dear @KTLA,
Not all residents are harassing the unhoused in Venice or are fear-mongers and more importantly, that person in the video is NOT @mikebonin.
cc: @GroundGameLA @KnockDotLA @IndivisibleCA43 pic.twitter.com/BzMEeWh9Ok
— Andrea Leon Grossmann she/her/ella (@AndreaLeon) May 19, 2021

So @KTLA ran a segment on the Venice Beach encampment with an interview with Councilmember Mike Bonin. Only problem…it’s not Bonin.

I’m told by someone in Bonin’s office that they are working to fix the error. pic.twitter.com/d02zvNm5Xv
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 19, 2021

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