Vote centers are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today as voters choose among seven candidates for an open LA City Council seat.
altogether amid intense pressure from the public after a backdoor conversation she had in the fall of 2021 with two other councilmembers – one of whom is also no longer on the council – and a powerful labor leader surfaced. The audio revealed that Martinez made racist and demeaning remarks about various groups of people while discussing potential gerrymandering of the city’s redistricting process, a process that is used to redraw City Council boundaries based on updated U.S. Census data.
The recording sparked immediate backlash from the public, both for the racist comments, as well as the fact that the incident marked the latest in aAll seven candidates have said reforms should be made to the way the council districts are drawn and that they’re in favor of an independent redistricting commission free of political influence from the city council. Currently, the city council has the power to appoint commissioners and to veto the commission’s redistricting recommendations.
To learn more about the candidates, including their views on dealing with the city’s homeless crisis, lack of affordable housing and public safety,The three candidates who raised the most money for their campaigns as of March 29 were also the three who have experience working in the offices of elected politicians.
Alcaraz, a top aide to Councilmember Curren Price, raised more than $161,000, according to the city’sPadilla, who once worked as a staffer for former Councilmember Martinez as well as in the County of L.A.’s chief executive office, had raised more than $98,000 and qualified to receive more than $150,000 in public matching funds from the city. Padilla has condemned Martinez’s comments in the leaked audio.
Santana, who previously worked for state Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg and U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas, had raised more than $89,000 and received more than $156,000 in matching funds.