Global Courant
The two women running in the June 27 elections for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council representing the central and eastern San Fernando Valley have striking similarities. Both are Democrats in their 30s, hold master’s degrees, and were raised in the Valley by relatives who emigrated from Mexico.
Candidates Marisa Alcaraz and Imelda Padilla also agree on many city issues. Both support city-mandated minimum wage increases, the hiring of more police officers and the ability to ban the homeless from setting up tents near elementary schools.
Voters casting their ballots in the District 6 elections — which include all or parts of the neighborhoods of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood and Sun Valley — may not see much of a difference in the candidates.
“To the average voter, they both look quite similar,” said political adviser Eric Hacopian, who is not involved in the race. “Elections like this, especially in the middle of summer, are won by whoever has the better turnout schedules.”
Yet there is a remarkable contrast between the professional backgrounds of the candidates. Padilla, 35, has held a variety of jobs over the past decade, including working with a medical group, for an LA County program to help young women, as a counselor and, briefly, an assistant in District 6.
Alcaraz, 38, has worked at city hall for the past 10 years for a South LA city council district that is mostly Latino and working class.
During a debate at Van Nuys last week, Alcaraz described himself as a “policy nerd” who has worked on legislation and policies that have helped city workers, supermarket workers and others.
“It comes down to who is going to fight for the working class – for the families of the Valley. Who’s going to fight for tenants, who’s going to fight for immigrants?” Alcaraz said in an interview. “You can see through my track record and what I’ve worked on that I’ve always been someone who stood up for working-class people.”
In an interview, Padilla praised her work cleaning up an abandoned supermarket lot on Sunland Boulevard — one of many quality-of-life issues she has worked on — and her time serving on the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council.
“My experience in the community will make me a better candidate, knowing how to hit the ground running and prioritizing what City Hall should be doing from day one,” Padilla said.
The special election was sparked by the resignation of City Council President Nury Martinez, whose inflammatory comments about her colleagues and various groups on a leaked recording last year sparked outrage.
Municipal councilor Wijk 6 candidate Marisa Alcaraz speaks during a debate in Van Nuys on June 14.
(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
Both Alcaraz and Padilla grew up in the Valley and have support from a wide range of unions, community leaders and politicians. Alcaraz’s backers claim she has the relationships with City Hall to provide resources for the district, while Padilla’s supporters point to her track record in the Valley.
Alcaraz works as Deputy Chief of Staff for Councilman Curren Price, representing neighborhoods in South LA and the area around the downtown convention center.
Price was indicted last week on 10 criminal counts – which he called “unjustified” – in connection with development votes and his wife’s medical coverage from the city. Alcaraz called the allegations “sad”.
Alcaraz, who lives in Lake Balboa, also briefly served as a councilor for former Councilman Richard Alarcón in the northern San Fernando Valley, where she helped resolve equestrian issues, among other things.
At Price’s office, she spearheaded some of the council member’s biggest initiatives.
Alcaraz was pivotal to the city’s 2018 street vending ordinance approval, said Rudy Espinoza, executive director of Inclusive Action for the City, an economic justice organization. The law legalized street vending and was the culmination of years of protests and hearings supported by immigrant groups.
Espinoza said Price’s office was willing to support street vending when other council offices would not discuss the issue. Alcaraz was “consistent and practical” in moving the ordinance forward and helping other council offices support it, he said.
“There’s a lot of value in being understated and getting the job done,” Espinoza says of Alcaraz’s approach.
The street vending issue was personal to Alcaraz, whose father is from Tijuana and sold bottled water to motorists struggling with overheating cars at the U.S.-Mexico border, she said in an interview.
Alcaraz also played a key role in championing a program called Solid Ground, which helps individuals avoid homelessness through financial aid and advice.
The program launched in 2018 in LA County. Soon after, Alcaraz helped bring it to the city, said Leticia Andueza, associate executive director at New Economics for Women, a community economic development organization. Today Solid Ground is active in 16 centers in the city.
“She was instrumental in moving it to the city,” Andueza said. “Absolutely, it has an impact. It helps stabilize families.”
District 6 candidate Imelda Padilla speaks at a debate in Van Nuys on June 14.
(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
Padilla’s supporters point to her work in District 6. She was part of a group pushing for the “Clean Up Green Up” program, targeting dangerous and unhealthy businesses in the Valley and other parts of the city.
Signed into law in 2016 by former mayor Eric Garcetti, the ordinance aims to reduce health risks from industrial businesses and traffic pollution.
Padilla, who lives in Sun Valley, also worked for several nonprofits, including the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, where she helped push the city’s minimum wage increase.
Ten years ago, she worked as an assistant for Martinez for about a year and a half, doing several cleanups around the district, she said.
Padilla “knows the needs of the people in this community,” said Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who has worked with Padilla since the nominee was a youth organizer and Rodriguez worked for former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan.
Rodriguez also praised Padilla for her work in creating an annual event that helps Los Angeles Unified high school and high school students explore college opportunities and careers.
Padilla’s brother was incarcerated when she was 18, she said. That led her to focus on helping young people, she said, noting that she saw a lack of highly educated young men coming back into the community to inspire boys.
“She’s brimming with energy,” says Thomas Soule, who sits alongside Padilla on the board of the Los Angeles Valley College Foundation, a nonprofit that’s part of the Los Angeles Community College District. “She always has a lot of good ideas.”
Padilla is chairman of the board and has, among other things, collected money for students who are in the country without permission. She attended Valley College while still in high school, she said, and the school has a “very happy special place in my heart.”
The polls will close at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will be re-elected to this seat in March 2024, when Martinez’s term would expire.
