LA City Council: Who's running in the Nov. 5 general election and why it matters
Your overview to the L.A. City Council races and issues in the Nov. 5 general election. On the ballot: Districts 2, 10 and 14.Those who follow city government closely say the Los Angeles’ City Council is the most powerful city council in the United States.
At just 15 members, each person elected to serve represents about 260,000 residents within a specific geographic area. How does that stack up against other big cities? Well, two other large cities in the nation — New York and Chicago — have 51 and 50 city council members, respectively. Back in 1925, when the city made the switch from at-large representation to districts, each council member represented fewer than 39,000 people. Some observers of L.A. politics, including the Los Angeles Times editorial board, argueYou can keep trustworthy and independent voter guides coming with your $10 donation now., you can keep our voter guide accessible and up to date, helping you and your neighbors make informed choices in local elections.The seats are staggered over election cycles. Seven seats were up for grabs earlier this year, and all but three of those races were decided in the primary. This fall, there are only three seats on the ballot: District 2, 10 and 14. With so much power in relatively few hands, the relationship the mayor has with the council is particularly important. The mayor needs the council's support to enact policy. Think of the council as L.A.'s legislature. While the mayor can make proposals and rally public support, it’s the council that writes and passes the laws.Council members also vote on the mayor's proposed annual budget, which allocates funds for city departments. In all, the city employs about 50,000 people — second only to New York City — in more than 40 departments. It’s a lot of money to hold the purse strings for: The city’s proposed FY 2022-23 budget totaled just under $12 billion.Our election newsletter helps you make sense of the choices on your ballot and what the results mean for your life in SoCal. Starts again this fall.Oversee social services like mental health Make decisions regarding people who live in unincorporated areas of the county or people who live in other incorporated cities, like West Hollywood or Inglewoodcovering everything from when and how often it meets to who runs the meetings and how the public can participate. In addition to regular meetings of the full council, there are numerous committee meetings focused on areas like transportation, public health, budget and finance, immigrant affairs, public safety, and information and technology. Some cover a range of topics, including the Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and River Committee and the Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee. A City Council term is four years; a council member can serve a maximum of three terms. The current annual salary for a council member is about $224,000.The City Council works as a collective to pass laws that affect the entire city, but your council member can have a big impact on your community. That’s because council members have a lot of power to direct funds within their districts. For example, council members typically have discretion over money earmarked for transportation safety improvements in their district. LAist previously reported on how this played out in— in District 5, traffic safety upgrades came less than two months after the pedestrian died, while the other community, which sits in District 10, has been waiting for more than two years for similar improvements., which forbids people who are unhoused from camping on public property that's close to schools, parks, libraries, underpasses and other locations. If the ordinance is not enforced consistently, this means a person living outside in a tent might have a significantly different experience depending on which district they live in.The City Council sets the budget for the L.A. Police Department, and funding for law enforcement remains a contentious issue. Some residents continue to call for cutting the LAPD budget, some call for defunding the police altogether, and others want more police hired to combat crime.The number of people living on the streets continues to climb. The City Council is the main check-and-balance to control how money is spent on the homelessness crisis. Under L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ administration, that’s big money. The mayor ushered induring her first year in office. City council members have a lot of control in their districts over how city dollars are spent, what type of housing is allowed where, and how LAPD officers handle enforcement against unhoused people. City Council members play a big role in where development is allowed in their districts, as well as what types of housing is built. State law requires the city of L.A. to plan for 185,000 new low-income homes by 2029. That means those decisions have urgency. Council members will be working with constituents to update community plans that set rules for housing density and other future development. They’ll also need to cut down on bureaucratic delays that have. The end of COVID protections for renters is likely to mean new challenges as rents rise again and some worry a wave of evictions is coming, which could worsen the homelessness crisis.The city is falling far short of promises to end traffic deaths by 2025, with the death toll instead rising sharply. The city council recently called for an audit of, the program created to meet that ambitious goal. In the recent past, council members who tried to implement what’s known as “traffic calming” measures to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety have faced sharp pushback from constituents. In the last few years, three former city council members have been convicted of corruption. Two more stand accused of it. In response, the city council has placed on the November ballot a measure to create an independent redistricting commission that would draw council boundaries instead of council members doing it themselves. More reforms are being considered, including the council considering two more measures on the ballot. One would expand the size of the council in an effort to make it more representative of L.A. residents. Another would enact a series of reforms to make the city Ethics Commission more independent and better able to guard against corruption.Incumbents Nithya Raman , Imelda Padilla , Marqueece Harris-Dawson and John Lee won more than 50% of the vote in the March 5 primary to retain their seats. The following districts went to runoff elections and are on the Nov. 5 ballot: District 2, District 10, and District 14.Current councilmember Paul Krekorian has been in office for 14 years, but can’t run again because of term limits. The candidates facing off in November in this district are:Has the most Armenian American voters in the city; three of the seven candidates to replace Krekorian, who is Armenian American, are also Armenian AmericanNazarian came out of the primary with 37% of the votes. Burgos had 22%. They were the top two finishers in a field of seven candidates.Heather Hutt, who was appointed to the District 10 seat, is running for a full elected term. The candidates facing off in November in this district are:Hutt was appointed to the position in September 2022 after the previous District 10 representative, Mark Ridley-Thomas, was indicted on federal corruption charges. Critics of Hutt's appointment say a special election, while costly, should have taken place to uphold the democratic process.Hutt and Yoo were the top two vote-getters in the March primary. Hutt finished with a slight lead over Yoo at just under 38% of the votes to Yoo's 23%.Kevin De León has been representing the district since 2020 and is running for his second term. The candidates facing off in November in this district are:having a conversation tinged with racist remarks that centered on using the city’s redistricting process to amass more power. De León has faced continued calls to resign over his participation in that conversation. His predecessor, José Huizar, was suspended from the city council in 2020 after being arrested by federal agents. Huizar wasIn a crowded race — there were eight candidates, including the incumbent — Jurado and De León had a close finish, with each getting about 24% and 23% of the votes respectively.Before you read more, we wanted to take a moment to tell you about our mission here at LAist, and why we're so dedicated to helping you get ready to vote. In the lead-up to this important election, our hard-working reporters and editors spent hundreds and hundreds of hours researching and writing these detailed guides and fact-based resources. We invested that time because we're here to help you vote confidently and make your community a better place. But we cannot do this essential work without your help. We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you. At a time when the need for local journalism has never been greater, many newsrooms are facing cutbacks, including LAist. Member support — your support — is what will sustain a free press in Southern California. LAist’s mission is to be here for you, so please be here for us now with a donation to power our trusted local reporting. Step up right now and make the choice to give. Because that’s exactly what it is — a choice. It's choice with consequences. If readers do not choose to step up and donate, the future of fact-based news in Southern California will not be as strong.You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about how to interpret the results or track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2024 general election on Nov. 5.The repayment demands, detailed in Orange County letters obtained by LAist, come as officials found that the nonprofit Viet America Society failed to show that meals to seniors were handed out as required under a county contract. Supervisor Andrew Do did not respond to requests for comment.After San Gabriel's city council rejected the proposal as"too narrow", one city councilmember argued the entire DEI commission, created in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, had"run its course."Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian has yet to schedule a meeting to discuss ethics reforms — more than a year-and-a-half after they were first proposed.LA's Progressive DA Is In A Fight To Keep His Job — Why That May Turn Into A National Throwdown Incumbent George Gascón faces a more conservative challenger, Nathan Hochman, on the November ballot. The race could drive passions and fundraising on the part of advocates for more reforms and backers of law and order policies.Deadline is blown to account for millions OC supervisor sent to his daughter’s group. What happens next? Supervisor Andrew Do directed millions to the group, which was supposed to go toward feeding needy residents. “If they can’t prove then they should pay the money back,” Supervisor Katrina Foley told LAist.Under pressure to account for millions from taxpayers, OC nonprofit announced it was shutting down Orange County officials say they are scrambling to understand what’s happening at a county-funded nonprofit led by O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do’s 22 year-old daughter. The county says the group has failed to account for millions in taxpayer dollars.Why we villainize coyotes, and more things you need to know about themWhy homelessness has more than doubled in LA County’s once-affordable northern desert
California Elections Elections 2024 Grace Yoo Heather Hutt How Do I Know Who My City Councilman Is? Jillian Burgos Kevin De Leon LA Voter Guide Laist Voter Game Plan
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