Election
Park entered politics in 2020 when she organized to block the city of Los Angeles from converting a Ramada Inn on her street into housing for homeless people. [6] Park said she sought to restrict what kind of homeless people could live on the property (only elderly homeless people,families with children,or female victims of domestic violence). [6] She joined an unsuccessful recall effort against incumbent Los Angeles City Council member Mike Bonin of the 11th district after his office declined to set the restrictions Park asked for. [6]
In July 2021,Park announced her candidacy for Los Angeles City Council,hoping to unseat incumbent Mike Bonin of the 11th district. [11] After Bonin announced his retirement,the seat became open. [12] Both Park and Erin Darling advanced to the general election,with Park narrowly behind Darling in the results. [13]
During the campaigns,Darling criticized Park for representing the city of Anaheim against a city employee who accused a supervisor of using the N-word;Park countered by accusing Darling of representing "unsavory criminal defendants." [14] [15] Park also criticized Darling for his association with Bonin,as well as Bonin's record with homelessness in the district. [16] In the election,Park defeated Darling by a six-point margin. [17]
During her election campaign,Park opposed converting two city-owned parking lots on Venice Boulevard into 140 housing units for the homeless. [6]
Tenure
During her swearing-in ceremony,protesters were removed after trying to interrupt Park's speech. [18] She voted in favor of the 41.18 ordinance,a measure which aimed to curtail homeless encampments by banning sitting,sleeping and storing property within 500 feet of schools,day-care centers,parks,recreation centers,in a contrast to her predecessor's refusal to support the ordinance. [19] In 2024,Park expressed opposition to Measure HLA,which would create hundreds of miles of bus lanes and bike lanes. [20]
Park worked with Mayor Karen Bass to clear homeless encampments. [21]
She opposes California state legislation that restricts the ability of localities to ban new housing. [22] In 2023,she assured residents who were protesting plans to build apartment buildings on the Westside,that "there's going to be a lot of meetings" about the plans. [23] That same year,she expressed opposition to tearing down the Marina Freeway and replacing it with housing. [24]
Her district was ravaged by the 2025 Palisades Fire. According to the Los Angeles Times,Park had become the "face of the recovery" from the Palisades Fire due to her frequent public events. [5] After the fires,she called for modernization of L.A. fire hydrants. [25] [26]
