L.a. Voters Will Cast Ballots In Eight City Council Districts, Two With Open Seats

Los Angeles voters will formed ballots successful 8 City Council territory elections adjacent week, including for 2 unfastened seats wherever incumbents are leaving because of word limits.

The contests for nan seats being vacated by Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield and Curren Price person drawn ample fields of candidates, but nan biggest spending has been successful nan Westside’s District 11, wherever incumbent Traci Park is facing challenger Faizah Malik, a nationalist liking lawyer and 1 of 4 assembly candidates backed by nan section section of Democratic Socialists of America.

Park has raised $1.3 million, according to nan latest run finance reports revenge Friday, while challenger Faizah Malik reported astir $520,000 successful contributions. In addition, much than $3 cardinal has been spent successful nan title by alleged independent expenditure committees that walk money to elite aliases conclusion candidates but which are barred from coordinating their activities pinch nan campaigns.

The territory includes Venice, Mar Vista, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades, which was devastated by wildfire successful January 2025.

Malik said Friday she is assured heading into nan superior election, saying astir of her donations are nether $100 each, and that she hasn’t taken money from corporations.

Los Angeles City Council campaigner Faizah Malik attends a canvassing arena March 15 successful Westchester.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

“This is what it intends to beryllium a grassroots candidate, and it is conscionable much grounds that nan group of CD11 judge successful our imagination for a Westside that is affordable for mundane people,” Malik said.

A Park run adjutant said Park’s haul is suggestive of nan councilmember’s grounds of getting results.

“But nary 1 is taking thing for granted,” nan adjutant said successful a statement. “We’re moving until nan last ballot is formed because this predetermination will find whether nan Westside keeps moving guardant aliases gets pulled backward into nan aforesaid grounded ideological authorities Angelenos are exhausted by.”

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, center, pinch members of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City connected May 12.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Park has emphasized her defense for occurrence betterment efforts, including pushing for licence interest waivers for residents wanting to rebuild. Malik has said Park has been excessively focused connected single-family homeowners and said she would attraction much power connected renters.

They person contrasting views connected policing: Malik said she opposes expanding nan size of nan Los Angeles Police Department and alternatively supports shifting much resources to nan city’s unarmed situation consequence program. Park said nan Police Department should person astir 10,000 sworn officers, up from astir 8,700 currently. She voted successful favour of a 2023 LAPD statement that gave raises to officers and accrued salaries to caller hires.

They guidelines successful opposition of each different connected nan Venice Dell lodging improvement project, which would move a metropolis batch into 120 lodging units for low-income and bum people. Park opposed nan completion and alternatively wants to move it into a “mobility hub” and move nan lodging task to an adjacent lot. Malik, who represented nan developer that revenge a suit against nan metropolis claiming Park and others sought to termination nan project, said nan task was a motivating facet for her campaign.

District 9

Six candidates are vying to switch Councilman Curren Price, who deed nan 12-year limit, successful District 9. The territory includes nan Convention Center, USC and communities on nan Harbor Freeway.

The candidates vary connected cardinal issues, including policing and housing. Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of nan Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Los Angeles, is backed by nan Democratic Socialists of America. He has called for reducing nan LAPD fund and redirecting costs to different metropolis departments.

Two different candidates — Jorge Hernandez Rosas, an educator, and Jose Ugarte, who antecedently worked for Price — said they support hiring much constabulary officers. Another hopeful, Elmer Roldan, executive head of Communities successful Schools of Los Angeles, said he believes successful keeping nan LAPD astatine its existent size.

Ugarte, Roldan, Rosas and Martha Sánchez, a therapist, each support enforcing Municipal Code 41.18, which bars bum encampments adjacent schools and daycare centers. Mazariegos and Jorge Nuño, an entrepreneur, opportunity nan codification doesn’t lick homelessness and alternatively conscionable moves group around.

Ugarte has raised nan astir successful contributions of immoderate campaigner and has been endorsed by nan Los Angeles County Democratic Party successful nan nonpartisan race.

District 3

Three candidates are competing for an unfastened spot successful District 3, wherever Councilmember Bob Blumenfield has termed retired of office. The territory encompasses Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka and Tarzana.

The candidates are Tim Gaspar, who founded an security company, Barri Worth Girvan, territory head for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, and Christopher Robert “C.R.” Celona, a tech entrepreneur.

The 3 candidates are likewise positioned connected nationalist safety, backing Mayor Karen Bass’ semipermanent extremity to summation nan LAPD ranks to astatine slightest 9,500 officers. All 3 besides support enforcing Municipal Code conception 41.18.

Gaspar and Worth Girvan person some scored cardinal endorsements. Gaspar is backed by Blumenfield, billionaire developer Rick Caruso and Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Tim McOsker and John Lee and billionaire developer Rick Caruso. Worth Girvan has endorsements from a agelong database of authorities Democratic lawmakers, nan region Democratic Party, nan Sierra Club and labour unions.

Gaspar leads successful run contributions, followed by Worth Girvan. Celona, who has promised to resuscitate nan city’s intermezo industry by fast-tracking movie permits and cutting reddish tape, trails acold behind.

District 1

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez faces 4 challengers successful District 1, which stretches from Highland Park connected nan northeast to University Park connected nan southwest. She is backed by nan section Democratic Socialists of America, and her challengers declare nan territory has suffered nether under her leadership, pointing to MacArthur Park arsenic emblematic of nan homelessness and supplier addiction situation plaguing nan city.

Hernandez counters pinch a database of accomplishments, including helping unafraid a $6.3-million authorities assistance to location bum individuals adjacent nan Arroyo Seco riverbed and advocating for a citywide web of unarmed situation consequence teams.

She faces challenges from Maria Lou Calanche, a erstwhile Los Angeles constabulary commissioner and laminitis of nan nonprofit Legacy LA; Nelson Grande, an executive advisor and erstwhile president of Avenida Entertainment Group; Raul Claros, laminitis of California Rising; and Sylvia Robledo, a small-business proprietor and erstwhile assembly aide.

Hernandez’s run has besides faced an onslaught of accusations of “dark money” spending. A group called Neighbors First has sent message pieces captious of Hernandez and different leftist City Council candidates.

District 5

Incumbent Katy Yaroslavsky faces 2 challengers for her District 5 seat, some of whom reason her stance connected lodging and nationalist information spending. The territory includes immoderate of nan city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, including Bel-Air, Westwood, Cheviot Hills and Hancock Park.

Challengers Henry Mantel, a tenants’ authorities lawyer, and Morgan Oyler, an accountant, opportunity Yaroslavsky hasn’t done capable to summation nan district’s lodging supply. Yaroslavsky, who holds a wide lead successful fundraising, has said she supports expanding lodging density adjacent transit centers but cautioned against building much than nan metropolis tin sustain.

District 13

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who is besides backed by nan Democratic Socialists of America’s L.A. chapter, faces 3 challengers successful District 13, which includes Atwater Village, Glassell Park, Elysian Valley, Echo Park, Silver Lake and East Hollywood.

The database of challengers includes Colter Carlisle, vice president of nan East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, Dylan Kendall, who runs Grow Hollywood, and Rich Sarian, vice president of strategical initiatives for downtown’s South Park Social District.

While Soto-Martínez supports expanding nan city’s unarmed unit program, Carlisle and Kendall would for illustration to grow nan constabulary force. Sarian has said he supports nan unarmed unit programme and wants to analyse nan LAPD’s existent size and resources.

District 15

Incumbent Tim McOsker is facing disconnected against organization organizer Jordan River successful District 15, which covers Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro, Watts and Wilmington. McOsker has decades of acquisition successful nan governmental world, having worked successful nan mayor’s office, and nan metropolis attorney’s agency earlier joining nan City Council successful 2022. Rivers, who is unemployed, is simply a personnel of nan Green Party.

District 7

Monica Rodriguez is running unopposed for nan District 7 spot successful nan northeast San Fernando Valley.

Times unit writers David Zahniser, Noah Goldberg and Sandra McDonald contributed to this report.