Starting Monday, March 6, Los Angeles County 6 voters began receiving ballots in the mail for the April 4 special election, which will allow them to choose a council member to replace Nuri Martinez.
District 6, which covers the central and eastern San Fernando Valley; and includes areas such as Sun Valley, Arleta, North Hollywood, North Hills, Panorama City, and Van Nuys, has not had a representative since October, after Nuri Martinez resigned as councilor and president of the Council of Los Angeles after the release of an audio containing racist comments.
8 candidates apply for the vacancy, Marco Santana, Director of Organizational Relations Family housing in Los Angeles; Douglas Sierra, business consultant; Marisa Alcaraz, Deputy Head of the Curren Price Team; Pastor James Thomas; Roza Grigoryan, Armenian immigrant marketer, Armenian TV reporter; Isaac Kim, owner of a skincare business; and community organizers Imelda Padilla and Antoinette Scully.
If neither wins 50% of the vote in the April 4 elections, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the second round of the June 27 elections.
The candidates with the highest chance of winning are Marco Santana, Marisa Alcaraz and Imelda Padilla. All three are children of immigrants from Mexico.
Santana, 32, said in a recent interview Opinion that if he wins the seat, his priorities will be to build more affordable housing, reduce homelessness, ensure mental health, public safety, and ensure that services are available to those he represents.
Another of his main priorities will be to make sure that the people of the area are heard, that they have the appropriate response services and the right to vote in the Council at meetings.
Santana is the son of immigrant parents from Jalisco, Mexico. He was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, accompanying his father to Union meetings. Artists and related professions District Council 6.
He worked with Congressman Tony Cardenas and Senator Bob Hertzberg, and through his work in the organization Family housing in Los AngelesProvides housing and services to over 12,000 Angeleno residents in 2021 to end homelessness.
“Another big challenge the area is facing is access to services. For six months they did not have an adviser, and even before the departure of Nuri Martinez, some communities did not have a field representative.
Marisa Alcaraz has worked with two advisors: Richard Alarcon from 2009 to 2013; and from 2013 to present for Counselor Karren Price, where she is Deputy Chief of his team.
He ensures that the main advantage he takes over other candidates is his experience.
“I have been working in local government for 15 years. There would be no learning curve with me, and when I talk about plans and policies, I want to do it because I can do it from day one.”
If he wins the April 4 election, addressing the problem of the homeless is among his priorities, cutting red tape to build more shelters and housing not only for those already on the street, but affordable homes for workers.
He made it clear that the second priority would be to improve public transport, social and environmental justice.
He said that it was not his intention to compete for a seat on the Council, but after a row in the Council involving several Latin American leaders, he felt called to participate.
“I felt like I had to take a step forward and come out from behind the scenes because I was always the person in the background. And it’s hard when you are a single mother, but at the same time, I want to be an example for my daughter and other girls and women.”
Imelda Padilla is a community activist who has worked in the City and County of Los Angeles and in non-profit organizations. Beautiful Pacoima And Alliance of Los Angelessaid Opinion that the residents of their area will have an adviser who will make sure that they have all the services, such as cleaning the streets.
But she also said she would be ready to build temporary emergency housing for the homeless and stop the streets from becoming waiting rooms for housing.
“I’m going to put a lot of pressure on LAHSA to reach out to the homeless. The city and county give them money, but no one forces them to do their job or makes them responsible for helping the homeless in our community.”
Padilla reported that 60% of District 6 residents speak Spanish and identify as Hispanic.
Source: La Opinion
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