As KTLA 5 pointed out, the Los Angeles Times has published political endorsements in every presidential campaign for the past 16 years.

However, the paper's owner recently blocked its editorial board from getting behind Vice President Kamala Harris. That move has led one major figure to announce her resignation. 

Head of editorial board steps down

KTLA 5 noted that until Wednesday, Mariel Garza was in charge of the Times' editorial page. She explained her decision to step down in a telephone interview with Columbia Journalism Review executive editor Sewell Chan.

"I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent," Garza told Sewell. "In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I'm standing up."

"I didn't think we were going to change our readers' minds—our readers, for the most part, are Harris supporters," she continued.

"We're a very liberal paper. I didn't think we were going to change the outcome of the election in California," the former Times editor insisted.

Garza: "You speak your conscience no matter what"

"But two things concern me: This is a point in time where you speak your conscience no matter what," Garza went on to declare.

"And an endorsement was the logical next step after a series of editorials we’ve been writing about how dangerous Trump is to democracy, about his unfitness to be president, about his threats to jail his enemies," she asserted before adding, "We have made the case in editorial after editorial that he shouldn't be reelected."

Chan observed that the decision not to put out an endorsement was made by Patrick Soon-Shiong, who purchased the Times in 2018. He elaborated on the move in a social media post.

So many comments about the @latimes Editorial Board not providing a Presidential endorsement this year. Let me clarify how this decision came about.

The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH…

— Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) October 23, 2024

"The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate during their tenures at the White House, and how these policies affected the nation," Soon-Shiong wrote.

Publisher want readers to "decide who would be worthy of being president"

"In addition, the Board was asked to provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years," he recalled.

"In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being President for the next four years," Soon-Shiong maintained.

The publisher concluded by writing, "Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision."