Redondo Beach Mayor Faces Criticism After Crude Emails Were Revealed

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Emails between Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand and a small group of supporters, shared with the Los Angeles Times, added to criticism against the mayor for the crude language exhibited in the conversations.

The series of emails were obtained through a public records request by a developer and shared with the Times and contain controversial language that Brand's critics claimed encourages racism and other divisiveness to further their agenda.

Conversations in the emails include Brand saying he wanted to "ram" an editorial up the "cancerous ass" of an opponent who suffers from colon cancer. Another email includes Brand arguing the "increasingly latino laden Coastal Commission" would oppose a project because it was too luxurious and exclusive, according to the Times.

Brand, who is a 65-year-old white former airline crew chief, also joked with a Black supporter that she may become an "angry Black woman."

Brand told the Times that the private conversations were "cherry picked" by CenterCal Properties, the developer that obtained them, to spark outrage. He said CenterCal and other developers view him as an obstacle in their pursuit to make a lot of money.

The language and racial overtones in Brand's emails mirror the scandal currently paralyzing Los Angeles City Hall, where racist statements from prominent members of the council were leaked causing the resignation of former president Nury Martinez and protests in the city.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times: Crude emails reveal nasty side of a California beach city’s crusade to halt growth