Santa Monica Post Office Mail Collection Box Removed

Nicole Charky
·4 min read

SANTA MONICA, CA. — You wouldn't notice it—unless you look closely—but a mail collection box was removed outside a post office in Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood.

The collection box was removed sometime over the last several weeks. At the location, all that remains are the cement imprints from the mail collection box.

Google Maps satellite image of the post office at 2720 Neilson Way shows a collection box was at the location.

The location is near several senior housing locations along the shore and serves a high number of local residents.

Democratic Southland legislators gathered at postal facilities across the area Tuesday to decry what they allege is a concerted effort by the Trump Administration to scuttle post office operations ahead of an election expected to rely heavily on mail-in ballots.

Democratic leaders across the country have been lashing out about what they call apparent slowdowns in mail delivery due to operational changes implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The Democrat-controlled House is expected to approve a $25 billion spending package for the postal service this weekend in an effort to approve operations.

"We're going to pass a bill on Saturday to give the Post Office the $25 billion it needs for operational expenses, but also to provide guard rails to the post office and postmaster general in order to revert of a lot of the changes that were done," Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, said at a downtown postal facility. "That means putting back the sorting equipment, putting back the boxes, putting back what was already done and approving the overtime."

DeJoy on Tuesday issued a statement saying he was suspending operational changes until after the November election "to avoid even the appearance of any impact" on the handling of mail-in ballots.

"The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall," DeJoy said in a statement. "Even with the challenges of keeping our employees and customers safe and healthy as they operate amid a pandemic, we will deliver the nation's election mail on time and within our well-established service standards. The American public should know that this is our number one priority between now and election day. The 630,000 dedicated women and men of the Postal Service are committed, ready and proud to meet this sacred duty."

DeJoy, a major Trump donor, has been criticized for cuts at the agency, including the removal of some sorting machines and collection boxes. The moves came amid continued criticism by Trump about mail-in balloting, which he contends will lead to widespread election fraud. DeJoy insisted in his statement that some cuts at the agency pre-dated his arrival at the post office.

Southland legislators, at a series of events at various postal facilities Tuesday, lashed out against cuts that have already been made, while expressing skepticism about DeJoy's assurances.

"Vote-by-mail has become a very important part of our democracy, so we have to make sure that given all the election challenges that we have, we have to make sure the post office is up and running and is able to deliver on democracy on time," Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, said.

Following DeJoy's announcement, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, continued to express concern.

"In spite of the postmaster general's commitments that he will support USPS operations, we must make sure he takes EVERY possible action to ensure USPS operates at full strength and delivers mail swiftly now and in the future. Our health, our finances and our democracy are at stake."

Trump, who during a recent Fox News interview expressed reluctance to provide the post office with funding amid what he called Democrats' efforts to expand mail-in voting, later denied trying to scuttle the agency or the election.

"The U.S. Post Office has been failing for many decades," he wrote on Twitter Monday. "We simply want to make the post office great again, while at the same time saving billions of dollars a year for American taxpayers. Dems don't have a clue."

Have you seen a mail collection box removed on the Westside? Let Patch know: Nicole.charky@patch.com.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on the Santa Monica Patch