2023 Los Angeles special election

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2023 Los Angeles special election
Flag of Los Angeles, California.svg
  2022 April 4, 2023 (first round)
June 27, 2023 (runoff)
2024  

1 out of 15 seats in the City Council
8 seats needed for a majority
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Democratic Independent
Seats before131
Seats won10
Seats after141
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1Steady2.svg

The 2023 Los Angeles special election was held on April 4, 2023 with a runoff occurring on June 27, 2023. [1] Voters will elect a candidate in a nonpartisan primary, with runoff elections potentially scheduled. One of the fifteen seats on the Los Angeles City Council was up for election due to the vacancy of one member, councilwoman Nury Martinez of District 6, who resigned in the wake of the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal. [2] Sharon Tso was installed as a caretaker to the district, but no formal appointment was made. [3] There was potential for a recall over Kevin de León's statements made during the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal as well, though due to the lack of signatures turned in by the deadline on April 1, 2023, the petition to recall de León failed. [4] [5] Former City Attorney Mike Feuer also proposed that a special election be held on a referendum to replace the Council's ability to redraw the City Council districts with an independent commission before the 2024 elections. [6]

Contents

Municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan, and candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.

District 6

2023 Los Angeles City Council District 6 special election
Flag of Los Angeles, California.svg
  2020 April 4, 2023 (First round)
June 27, 2023 (Runoff)
2024  
  Imelda Padilla, 2024.jpg Marisa Alcaraz (cropped).jpg Marco Santana 2023 (cropped).jpg
Candidate Imelda Padilla Marisa AlcarazMarco Santana
First round3,421
25.69%
2,812
21.12%
2,515
18.89%
Runoff8,520
55.79%
6,751
44.21%
Eliminated

  Rose Grigoryan 2023 (cropped).jpg Isaac Kim 2023 (cropped).jpg Antoinette Scully 2023 (cropped).jpg
CandidateRose GrigoryanIsaac KimAntoinette Scully
First round1,980
14.87%
1,452
10.90%
744
5.59%
RunoffEliminatedEliminatedEliminated

City Councilor before election

Vacant [lower-alpha 1]

City Councilor

Imelda Padilla

The 6th district includes the neighborhoods of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood, and Sun Valley, as well as Van Nuys Airport and the Sepulveda Basin. [7]

Although the election was officially nonpartisan, all qualified candidates were members of the Democratic Party except Rose Grigoryan, who was registered as "no party preference." [7]

Candidates

Declared

Qualified write-in candidates

Disqualified

Declined

Endorsements

Imelda Padilla
Federal politicians
Local politicians
Labor unions
Marco Santana
Isaac Kim
Organizations
Antoinette Scully
Organizations
Douglas Sierra
Declined to endorse
Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of February 18, 2023 [24]
CandidateContributions
Marisa Alcaraz$100,606
Rose Grigoryan$23,379
Isaac Kim$13,275
Imelda Padilla$55,362
Marco Santana$53,900
Antoinette Scully$5,688
Douglas Sierra$8,113

Political positions

CandidateEliminate
parking
minimums
Increase
upzoning [lower-alpha 2]
in District 6
Refuse donations
from real estate
and police interests
Support
Healthy
Streets LA [lower-alpha 3]
Close
Whiteman
Airport
[lower-alpha 4]
Police
staffing
level
Reallocate
police
funding [lower-alpha 5]
Repeal
Section
41.18 [lower-alpha 6]
Marisa AlcarazNo [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Increase [17]
?
No [7]
Rose Grigoryan
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Isaac KimNo [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] No [17]
Status quo [17]
Yes [17] Yes [7]
Imelda PadillaYes [29] No [29] Yes [29] No [17] Increase [17] No [17] No [7]
Marco SantanaNo [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [17] Increase [17] Yes [17] Yes [7]
Antoinette ScullyYes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [17] Decrease [17] Yes [17] Yes [7]
Douglas SierraYes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Yes [29] Increase [17] No [lower-alpha 10] [17] Possibly [lower-alpha 11] [7]

General election

2023 Los Angeles City Council district 6 special election
CandidateVotes %
Imelda Padilla 3,42425.66
Marisa Alcaraz2,81921.13
Marco Santana2,52318.91
Rose Grigoryan1,98514.88
Isaac Kim1,45510.90
Antoinette Scully7455.58
Douglas Sierra3932.95
Write-in 1621.23
Total votes13,506 100.00
Imelda Padilla 8,52055.79
Marisa Alcaraz6,75144.21
Total votes15,271 100.00

District 14 recall attempt

Kevin de León's recall was first introduced in October 2022, in the midst of the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal. The recall petition was approved by the city clerk office on December 6, 2022. [30] The petition failed on April 1, 2023, as only 21,006 of the required 25,000 valid signatures were turned in. [4]

Polling

Hypothetical polling
Should Kevin de León be recalled?
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
YesNoUndecided
Strategies 360 January 10–16, 2023400 (RV)± 4.9%58%25%17%

Notes

  1. After the resignation of Nury Martinez, Los Angeles Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso acted as a nonvoting placeholder. Tso's only responsibilities were to maintain the day-to-day operations of the 6th district council office, and the seat was still considered vacant.
  2. Altering the zoning of certain areas to allow for the construction higher-density housing
  3. An initiative on the 2024 ballot to make Los Angeles streets safer by increasing the number of dedicated bus lanes, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian-priority areas. [25] Nury Martinez, the seat's previous incumbent, opposed Healthy Streets LA. [26]
  4. Some have called to close Whiteman Airport due to concerns over pollution and recent plane crashes. [27]
  5. Take funds from the police budget and use them to finance mental health and homelessness outreach programs
  6. A section of the Los Angeles Municipal Code that "prohibits sitting, lying, sleeping, and storing property in many public areas," functioning to limit public homeless camping. [28]
  7. "If the community seriously feels the airport needs to be closed, that's something we should seriously consider."
  8. Would eliminate parking minimums for housing built "near public transit"
  9. Would convene neighborhood councils of nearby areas to decide whether or not to close the airport.
  10. Would audit LAPD to find ways to save money, but would not cut police funding
  11. Would not enforce 41.18 without adequate housing

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References

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Official campaign websites