Your Guide To The L.a. City Council District 15 Race: Tim Mcosker Vs. Jordan Rivers

A Los Angeles City Council personnel pinch decades of governmental acquisition is defending his spot representing nan Harbor area and Watts against a 22-year-old who was a legislature intern conscionable a fewer years ago.

Councilmember Tim McOsker, moving for reelection successful nan 15th Council District, has much acquisition astatine City Hall than conscionable astir anyone other successful nan building. He has worked successful nan mayor’s office, nan metropolis attorney’s agency and for astatine slightest 2 rule firms representing clients who did business pinch nan city.

His opponent, Jordan Rivers, who was a organization organizer while studying world relations astatine Sacramento State, has a connection for Angelenos casting ballots successful nan June 2 superior election: “You don’t person to ballot for a mainstream slate of candidates, and you can, successful fact, make a quality successful nan activity you do successful connecting to members of nan community.”

Tim McOsker successful San Pedro.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Tim McOsker, 63, already had spent astir six years astatine City Hall erstwhile Rivers was born. McOsker was a apical adjutant to James Hahn erstwhile Hahn was metropolis lawyer and past aft he was elected mayor.

McOsker later worked arsenic an lawyer and registered metropolis lobbyist representing nan edifice manufacture and nan Los Angeles Police Department’s labour union.

McOsker hails from a politically connected San Pedro family. Nella McOsker, his daughter, runs nan Central City Assn., a downtown business group. Two of his brothers were leaders of nan powerful metropolis firefighters union.

In his first word connected nan City Council, McOsker has positioned himself arsenic thing of a champion for nan city’s labour unions, voting for a $30 minimum costs for edifice and airdrome workers and a $2.6-billion upgrade to nan city’s Convention Center — contempt nan city’s precarious budget.

Jordan Rivers, 22, is moving for L.A. City Council District 15.

(Handout photograph from Jordan Rivers)

Jordan Rivers was calved and raised successful San Pedro. As a student astatine Sacramento State, he advocated for nan metropolis of Sacramento to unfastened an Office of International Relations. In 2024, he worked for Rep. Mike Thompson (D- St. Helena) done nan Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program.

Rivers, who said he did not decorativeness his grade because of financial issues, is unemployed.

When Rivers was 12, he stabbed an 8-year-old neighbor while nan 2 were playing video games, according to a lawsuit. Rivers told The Times successful March that it was an “accident” that happened a decade ago.

“I do not judge that past situations aliases so past mistakes specify aliases find who a personification is aliases what they are,” he said.

Rivers, who is simply a personnel of nan Green Party, said his younker would beryllium a boon connected nan City Council because he tin subordinate to nan problems of his generation, for illustration struggling to salary for nutrient and housing.

“Young people, we merit a start, truthful why not get started location wherever we person a say?” he said.

District 15, sometimes referred to arsenic nan one-five, includes San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway and Watts.

McOsker said nan metropolis needs to support its constabulary force, conscionable for illustration immoderate different metropolis department. The Los Angeles Police Department is astatine astir 8,700 sworn officers, down from 10,000.

“It is important to support nan constabulary force, and I do want to turn nan constabulary section successful reasonable ways, moreover while we’re making judge that they execute their functions successful law ways,” he said.

McOsker voted successful February to move guardant pinch an unarmed situation consequence aviator programme that sends counselors alternatively of constabulary officers to nonviolent intelligence wellness emergencies.

Rivers said he wants to promote nan usage of nan city’s 311 programme for intelligence wellness incidents and support nan LAPD focused connected responding to convulsive crimes.

Cost-cutting could travel done partnerships pinch different rule enforcement agencies for illustration nan California Highway Patrol and nan L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, particularly pinch nan Olympics coming to town, Rivers said.

“LAPD should not beryllium doing it alone,” he said. “I deliberation nan inaugural to put pressure, to put much money to LAPD comes from this thought that LAPD will beryllium handling everything, and that is acold from nan truth.”

McOsker said Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe programme has been effective successful clearing bum encampments and moving nan residents inside. He supports reducing costs by doubling group up successful rooms and cutting underutilized contracts.

“It’s unsustainable arsenic it is to walk this much, and I deliberation everyone recognizes that,” he said.

McOsker said he supports “no encampment” zones, per Municipal Code 41.18, astir places for illustration schools, time attraction centers, libraries and bum shelters.

It’s particularly important to support encampments distant from shelters, he said, truthful group tin get thief without distractions nearby.

“We really request to make that break and springiness folks an opportunity to put their lives together,” he said.

Rivers equated nan no-encampment zones to national migration operations successful nan city, arguing that they alteration rule enforcement to snatch group disconnected nan thoroughfare without giving them a spot to go.

“Just moving homelessness doesn’t each of a abrupt lick it,” he said.

Instead, Rivers wants to found “safe shelter” zones wherever group tin get their needs met alternatively of being chased out.

Rivers believes that Inside Safe contractors should beryllium audited and that location should beryllium “full transparency” successful nan magnitude of money spent to location each person.

“We request to really person a way grounds of wherever these costs are going to,” truthful it’s clear nan money really is helping to resoluteness homelessness, he said.

McOsker wants to return connected projects that create a higher value of life successful his district.

In Watts, he hopes to create nan Cultural Crescent — a 10-acre greenish abstraction connecting nan historical Watts Station and Watts Towers — utilizing a onshore trust. He besides wants to build caller developments successful Harbor Gateway akin to nan Enclave, a business parkland pinch restaurants, agency abstraction and creation installations.

Extending Lomita Boulevard, he said, is “the slightest sexy task successful nan history of nan world, but astir apt nan astir important point I could perchance do.” The caller agelong of roadworthy would supply trucks pinch a way to Alameda Street, keeping them disconnected of section Wilmington streets.

“I do person these semipermanent projects crossed nan district, but I want to make judge they can’t beryllium stopped aft I’m gone,” he said. Projects for illustration these return coordination pinch authorities and national agencies, a process McOsker said he’s already begun.

Rivers wants to alteration zoning to let denser multifamily lodging developments. He besides wants to penalize onshore bankers by seizing unoccupied properties aliases capping really overmuch they tin waste their onshore for.

“The landlords are not nan ones to really make nan onshore profitable unless they’re doing thing pinch that land,” he said. “It’s organization liking and engagement and integration that allows for communities to develop.”

Rivers suggests turning unoccupied larboard accommodation into basal work centers offering nutrient assistance, redeveloping nan closed Phillips 66 refinery into a taste halfway focused connected nan indigenous Tongva people, making nationalist transit free and connecting nan Metro Blue Line successful Long Beach to larboard communities.