LOS ANGELES – Asaad Alnajjar is campaigning to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.
His goal is to “engineer a stronger Los Angeles.”
Who is Asaad Alnajjar?
Alnajjar has worked as an engineer for the City of Los Angeles for the past 36 years.
During an interview with FOX 11, he said he’s worked on nearly every single inch of the city, from streetlights and traffic lights, to the automated traffic system, the 311 non-emergency system, and was part of the team that built trains and the people mover.
He said running for mayor has been in his DNA since he was first hired by the city in 1989.
“We are, at a time, in a state where the city’s budget is a mess, the sidewalks are a mess, the potholes, the wire theft. We are in chaos. And it’s time for an engineer like myself, to take over the leadership rather than having it being managed by the administration we have,” Alnajjar told FOX 11.
Some of his priorities as mayor include public safety, homelessness, affordability, city services, and community partnerships.
In terms of homelessness, his 90-day plan focuses on the budget.
“Go to my budget, trace the money, and go and track every single dollar. The system is there. We have had the plan since 2016. It’s a 277-page that nobody read, nobody implemented. It was written by experts who are more experienced than me from approaching it as clinic-wise or from social services. If I address my budget and rebalance my checkbook, I can get the program back on track. The program right now is the blind guiding the blind, and the money is going everywhere,” he explained.
Race for mayor
The statewide primary election will be held on June 2, 2026. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in the general election on November 3, 2026.
Mayor Karen Bass announced she would be running for re-election. In October, former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner announced his candidacy for mayor. Beutner’s entry into the race comes as developer Rick Caruso, who lost to Bass in 2022, is also considering a run and has been a vocal critic of the mayor’s fire response.
RELATED: Rick Caruso says he’s considering possible run for LA mayor or California governor
As of November 11, 2025, the LA City Ethics Commission website has a total of 13 mayoral candidates listed.
The Source: Information for this story came from an interview with Asaad Alnajjar. Previous FOX 11 reports contributed.