[dropcap size=big]M[/dropcap]ike Bravo, a Chicano who identifies as a Purépecha Mexican-Indigenous fifth-generation resident living in Venice’s Oakwood neighborhood, recently won a coveted seat on the Venice Neighborhood Council.
“There’s a lot of pessimism in the political scene here, kind of because of the gentrifiers and NIMBYS, not to use that as a derogatory term, but just people who came here post-93’, post-gang injunction, that kind of stuff,” Bravo said, but seeing a Venetian of color on the council “stirs up a little more faith and encouragement to get people involved. It sparks a lot of fires.”
In 2014, Bravo ran for a seat on the council after learning about the Echo Park Neighborhood Council’s vote against the city’s gang injunction in 2013. He wanted to know how local politics worked in general. That year, he won and got a taste of what it means to be involved in your community.
“I went from having PTSD from dealing with the police to being on the council, and the police are doing their presentations or whatever, and they walk over and go ‘how’s it going, Mr. Bravo?’ It’s kind of a mind fuck to me,” Bravo said, “They’re shaking my hand and smiling. So that was always interesting to me.”