Dear Editor,
Trump hates Jubilo Village, so why would we?
Jubilo Village is exactly the kind of project that Trump would dedicate a late-night, hate-filled, screed to. Something like, “CULVER CITY IS PAYING SO THAT POOR PEOPLE CAN MOVE INTO PRIME REAL ESTATE IN AN ILLEGAL PARTNERSHIP WITH CHURCHES, NOT FOR PROFITS AND LEFTIES AND THIS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN IN AMERICA AND I WILL STOP IT.”
Trump and the MAGA movement hate affordable housing, specifically calling it out in Project 2025 because building a diverse, welcoming community conflicts with the me-first MAGA agenda. For Trump, our dollars should subsidize tax cuts for the rich, business deals for billionaires and increasing a $1 trillion dollar annual military budget. Housing, Education and Healthcare are all targets because they support community equity–the idea that we all do better when we support one another, not just me, me, me.
We all see MAGA dress up their opposition to equity-based-policies by claiming “Fiscal Responsibility”. Spending freely on border walls, ICE raids, drilling on public lands, deportations and the military are fiscally responsible, but spending on Housing, Education and Healthcare are wasteful and undermine the future of our nation. I know we’re all frustrated and sickened by this, but this leads me to ask: Why does this sound so similar to the Jubilio Village conversations on Culver City’s Facebook pages?
In Culver City, we don’t have the easy labels of Democrats or Republicans in our politics, so we have to look harder at policy debates to see how our personal values really apply. Is Jubilo Village a “me-first” moment or a “we all do better together” opportunity? Is using City funds (much of it earmarked for affordable housing) really “fiscally irresponsible” or is that just a convenient, conservative tactic to oppose something that increases diversity, equity and inclusion? As a long time progressive activist for healthcare equity, workers rights, the environment and school funding, I support funding for Jubilo Village because it represents my values and what I believe Culver City should be. I’m tired of conservatives in Washington DC using fear tactics to divide us and I hate seeing them used in Culver City. Culver City’s budget has been scrutinized and evaluated over and over again to set the record straight, but nothing will stop local conservatives from repeating the same debunked lies again and again. I guess when your agenda is me-first, spreading fear is the only tactic you can rely on.
Culver-Palms United Methodist Church is welcoming new neighbors to Culver City by relocating their church and opening up space for affordable housing. It’s the kind of generosity we would expect from a faith-based group and reflects the values most people want to see in our City and larger community. I’m proud to stand up for those values. I reject “fiscally responsible”, “me-first” rhetoric designed to mislead and divide us.
If I want to see Trump and the MAGA agenda gone, then it starts by calling it out when it creeps into Culver City and standing up for Jubilo Village and affordable housing in our community.
Greg Maron