By Nick Antonicello
Jane Fonda, the longtime Hollywood actress and daughter of the legendary Henry Fonda has endorsed the candidacy of council candidate Erin Darling in his race to succeed outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin.
Fonda, a cultural warrior and influencer dating back to her days in opposition to the Vietnam War, the workout craze of the 1980’s as well as high profile relationships with former state legislator Tom Hayden and CNN founder Ted Turner was recently diagnosed with cancer.
The actress announced on Friday that she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a treatable form of cancer of the lymph system, and that she would be undergoing chemotherapy treatments for six months.
“This is a very treatable cancer,” she wrote in a post on her Instagram account. “I feel very lucky.”
Fonda, 84, a highly decorated star who has long been an activist for social causes, also wrote in her Instagram post that she felt lucky to have health insurance as well as “access to the best doctors and treatments.”
Fonda’s passion on the issue and her endorsement of Darling come at a critical time in the council contest.
“I’ve spent my life fighting for what I believe in. When I was 32, President Nixon had me arrested. 50 years later I was arrested five times for protesting the government’s inaction on climate change. It’s no secret that I have a history of ruffling feathers in Washington,” said Fonda on her website.
“Today, support for climate action is unprecedented. The public is voting with the climate in mind, but the people we elect are not. This has led me to reflect on what we need to do to secure meaningful action on climate. Our planet is on fire and our leaders are failing us, so if we can’t change the minds of the people in power, we need to change the people in power. It is for that reason that I started Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is laser-focused on one goal: Do what it takes to defeat fossil fuel supporters and elect climate champions at all levels of government. I believe this is the most important thing I will do in my lifetime,” offered Fonda.
Darling noted he is committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2035 and will fight to shut down gas extraction and storage facilities on the Westside and the rest of Los Angeles.
In particular, Darling wants to shut down the Del Rey methane storage before it becomes what he described as another “Aliso Canyon disaster.”
Darling is proposing limited growth in environmentally sensitive locations like the Santa Monica Mountains and Fonda’s PAC endorsement comes after securing the Sierra Club as well.
Here is the team behind the Jane Fonda PAC.
Jane Fonda has famously dedicated her life to activism, most recently mobilizing thousands of people to take action on climate through Fire Drill Fridays, a set of weekly climate demonstrations on Capitol Hill. Her book, What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action, equips activists with the tools needed to engage and take action on climate change.
Ariel Hayes is a political professional with two decades of campaign and advocacy experience. Most recently she served as Sierra Club’s National Political Director, where she ran the largest and most effective political mobilization in the organization’s 125-year history. Under her leadership the Sierra Club engaged a record 30,000 volunteers and made more than 5 million calls to voters in battleground states. Prior to coming to the Sierra Club, she worked for SEIU, the DSCC and several candidates and members of Congress.
Annie Leonard is an experienced and prominent climate change leader in the United States. She has a track record of over 30 years of activism and is currently the co-Executive Director of Greenpeace US where she leads a team to inspire and mobilize millions of people to take action to create a more sustainable and just future together.
The legendary star is not only an acclaimed, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and physical fitness guru of the 80s, she has also been a powerful voice for women, the downtrodden, and veterans for several decades. Formerly married to CNN founder Ted Turner for a decade, the couple separated and divorced in the early 2000’s. When Fonda divorced her third husband, Ted Turner, in 2001, she got a significant settlement from the media mogul: Differing reports claim that she pocketed anywhere between $40 million and $100 million in the split in the form of cash and stocks.
Fonda enjoyed a 17-year marriage to Hayden as well, the former Chicago 7 defendant and SDS activist.
Term-limited out of the California legislature, Hayden challenged LA Mayor Richard Riordan, who succeeded Mayor Tom Bradley in 1993. Riordan was elected as a Republican and defeated Hayden for reelection in 1997 capturing 61.49% of the vote or 250,771.
In other campaign news Darling was awarded the “Mom’s Demand Gun Sense” designation as well as the support of the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
Nick Antonicello is a longtime Venetian covering this race of two Venice residents seeking to succeed outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin. Antonicello has filed more stories on the CD-11 race dating back to the summer of 2021. Have a take or a tip on the race? Contact Antonicello via e-mail at nantoni@mindsprng.com
