Van de Kamp Says He Opposes East L.A. Prison

Attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor John K. Van de Kamp announced his opposition Monday to a proposed state prison in East Los Angeles.

He acknowledged a “desperate” need for more prison cells in California, but said a November bond issue he is seeking would finance cheaper “drug prisons” in the desert areas of the state and avert the need for a new and controversial urban prison here.

“I promise you this,” Van de Kamp told a group at Lincoln Park’s Plaza de la Raza, “If the East L.A. prison is still on the drawing board when I become governor, it will never get off the drawing board.”