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Welcome back, Angelenos, to the 2026 Primary edition of the Knock LA Progressive Voter Guide. If this is your first time using our guide, thank you! We\u2019re glad you\u2019re here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This midterm election is an opportunity for LA voters to double down on the progress our city has made, like the expansion of unarmed crisis response teams and ULA\u2019s funding of more affordable housing. However, the same players as usual \u2014 corporations, police leagues, landlord lobbyists, billionaires, and more \u2014 are operating from the shadows, continuing to pull strings and leverage huge amounts of money behind their \u201cRepublican in everything but name\u201d candidates.<\/p>\n
So the choice is yours, voter. Will LA continue on this painstaking upward trend, or will the greedy hands of MAGA fools pull us back?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our voter guide is a labor of love for a better Los Angeles. This guide reflects dozens and dozens of conversations with organizers, government staffers, lawyers, and everyday Angelenos. We pour in countless hours of research, writing, fact-checking, and editing to bring you these recommendations. A round of applause to the team that makes this possible!<\/p>\n
We hope that this guide leaves you with the knowledge to navigate the politics of Southern California, and the confidence to get involved even after your ballot has been counted.<\/p>\n
If you find this guide useful, we would be so grateful for any donation you can give<\/a>, especially if you can become a monthly donor. These funds support our November edition of the voter guide and enables us to pay writers and editors for their stories on surveillance<\/a>, union organizing<\/a>, and encampments against the genocide in Palestine<\/a>, among many others.<\/p>\n Knock LA is a journalistic project of Ground Game LA<\/a>.<\/p>\n City of Los Angeles<\/p>\n As long-time readers are aware, city council in Los Angeles is a different animal compared to other major cities. With only 15 districts, each representing a quarter of a million people, council elections can have far-reaching consequences. A shift of just a few seats can have a huge impact on the treatment of the unhoused, on whether safe streets and climate change are prioritized, and on the increased militarization of LAPD and their incessant demand for more and more of our resources. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n Council District 1: Eunisses Hernandez<\/p>\n Eunisses came to City Hall promising change, and she has delivered. A steadfast progressive ally, Eunisses has carried the message and priorities of the movement with her\u2014 standing up to abusive landlords, challenging a bloated police department, and fighting the criminalization of the poor and unhoused.\u00a0<\/p>\n She has been unafraid to take a lonely stand when principle demands it, but has also been able to put together coalitions to get her priorities passed. In 2023, she was the only vote against Mayor Bass\u2019 budget, arguing that it was a handout to LAPD at the cost of other city priorities; in 2025, as a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, Eunisses helped rework the budget to save over 1,000 vital city jobs while reducing LAPD\u2019s target hiring (for the first time in years). She voted with the majority to pass that budget as the three most conservative councilmembers lodged protest votes against it.<\/p>\n A priority of her first term was demonstrating that policing is not the best or only way to create real public safety. Her Unarmed Crisis Response pilot diverted over 20,000 9-1-1 calls away from LAPD and to medical and mental health professionals \u2014 an enormous success that we hope will be replicated citywide. Bringing street medicine, outreach, and harm reduction services to the troubled MacArthur Park area has cut overdose deaths by nearly a third, cleaned up enormous amounts of trash, and helped deescalate conflicts to avoid violent outcomes. After years of criminalization and disinvestment by the city, Eunisses is showing a new and more effective way forward.<\/p>\n Over the last four years she has also become a city infrastructure enthusiast, in the tradition of the Sewer Socialists of the early 20th century. Her stump speeches don\u2019t just discuss criminalization and policing \u2014 she also happily rattles off numbers of trees trimmed, potholes filled, and streetlights solarized. The nitty-gritty of making city services function is key to her approach to governance, and speaks well to her future in City Hall. As a public safety expert, infrastructure and budget hawk, and program pioneer, her record is secure. In housing she has transformed her district\u2019s approach to homelessness under challenging circumstances; in her second term we hope to see her boldly support the preservation of public housing, including William Mead Homes, located in her district.<\/p>\n Her successes with progressive policy and her outspoken calls to resist the Trump administration and ICE have put a target on her back for the right wing. Conservative groups like Neighbors First and Thrive LA \u2014 dark money organizations powered by real estate and venture capital money \u2014 have been spending big in CD 1, drowning mailboxes with anti-Eunisses flyers. But CD 1 is not for sale.<\/p>\n Eunisses is a real one. She deserves your vote once again.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 3: No Recommendation<\/p>\n One recurrent trope of Los Angeles politics is the candidate who talks about the need for change, and then goes on to propose the exact same failed policies that the city has already been pursuing. District 3 gets to choose from three different candidates who offer the same flavor of nothing.<\/p>\n Barri Worth Girvan served as director of community affairs for County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. She wants to hire more cops and give them access to harmful surveillance technology like drones and Flock cameras. She supports 41.18<\/a> and homelessness sweeps, but claims to want more shelter beds and wraparound services for the people she just violently displaced. She wants more housing development, but not just anywhere, you know \u2014 in the right places.<\/p>\n Tim Gaspar is the owner of his own insurance company. He wants to hire more cops and give them access to harmful surveillance technology like drones and Flock cameras. He supports 41.18 and homelessness sweeps, but claims to want more shelter beds and wraparound services for the people he just violently displaced. He wants more housing development, but not just anywhere, you know \u2014 in the right places.<\/p>\n C.R. Celona is a tech entrepreneur. He wants to hire more cops and give them access to harmful surveillance technology like drones and Flock cameras. He supports 41.18 and homelessness sweeps, but claims to want more shelter beds and wraparound services for the people he just violently displaced. He wants more housing development, but not just anywhere, you know \u2014 in the right places.<\/p>\n It\u2019s depressing, frankly.<\/p>\n Girvan has locked up most of the Democratic endorsements \u2014 clubs, unions, state legislators, and so forth. We were surprised to note, however, that she doesn\u2019t have a single endorsement from a sitting councilmember or City elected.<\/p>\n Gaspar boasts the endorsement of a murderer\u2019s row of police unions \u2014 LAPD, Deputy Sheriffs, and Airport Police \u2014 as well as the landlord lobby AAGLA. Oddly, unlike many of his endorsers, he has acknowledged that crime in Los Angeles is actually falling.<\/p>\n Celona calls himself a \u201ccompassionate capitalist,\u201d which made us roll our eyes so hard that we sprained something. He does, however, have a dog named Beowulf Rod Stewart.<\/p>\n None of these people have a plan to make LA a better place. They hardly have plans at all. We can\u2019t recommend any of the three.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 5: Henry Mantel<\/p>\n Incumbent councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky has been a huge disappointment. While obviously an improvement over Paul Koretz<\/a>, and superior to the right-wing goon that she beat in her race, her first term in office has been characterized by half measures, inaction, and attempts to play both sides.<\/p>\n One glaring example would be Yaroslavsky\u2019s approach to 41.18, the anti-camping ordinance. On arriving in office, she authored a motion for a report evaluating the effects of the law. The report came back, showing that it had accomplished nothing<\/a> and had simply shuffled people around, which the Councilmember acknowledged; then she began creating more 41.18 zones herself<\/a>. What is the principle at play here, beyond pandering to NIMBYs?\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a pattern that organizers have seen over and over again. Yaroslavsky takes meetings, she speaks with great sympathy and concern; nothing comes of it. When she should be leading, she instead reluctantly follows.<\/p>\n We recommend a vote for challenger Henry Mantel instead. Mantel is a tenants\u2019 rights attorney and a dyed-in-the-wool YIMBY, resulting in endorsements from both Abundant Housing LA and the Westside branch of the Los Angeles Tenants Union. The housing crisis is, naturally, a major focus of his campaign, and he takes a yes-and approach to policy. Mantel calls for an end to single-family zoning, but also endorses the construction of public and social housing. He is in favor of reforming permitting to speed development, but also increased relocation assistance payments and a fully funded right to counsel for tenants in eviction proceedings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mantel also seeks to expand public transit and pedestrian infrastructure, hold LAPD accountable for violations of civil rights and for the use of their budget, and expand the Unarmed Crisis Response program. He might talk about zoning reform so often that it seems like a bit, but his non-zoning platform is clear, measurable, and results-oriented.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 7: No Recommendation<\/p>\n Monica Rodriguez is running unopposed. We\u2019re just as upset as you are.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 9: Estuardo Mazariegos<\/p>\n Estuardo Mazariegos is exactly the type of person the LA City Council needs more of. An immigrant from Guatemala who grew up in South Central, Estuardo has devoted his life to his community. Over two decades of organizing, he has risen to co-director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), one of the most effective working-class groups in the state and a key part of the coalition behind victories such as the creation of the Tenant Anti-Harrassment Ordinance<\/a>. Mazariegos has spent his career fighting for the often-neglected constituencies of low-income renters to have a voice at City Hall and in Sacramento.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mazariegos\u2019 messaging has focused on the wage and rent exploitation by the billionaire class that extracts wealth from CD 9. His decades of both organizing experience and community-led policy advocacy means that his platform is deeply informed by conversations with tenants, workers, and marginalized people in the district. CD 9 contains the second-largest unhoused population in LA and is home to many Black Angelenos and recent immigrants; the district is under pressure to address gentrification and to curb pollution. His primary goals are to ensure safe, accessible streets; build affordable housing and protect renters; and create green space and climate improvements in CD 9 to overcome decades of environmental injustice and disinvestment.\u00a0<\/p>\n This race is very crowded, with eight candidates running in the primary. Mazariegos\u2019 most prominent opponent is Jose Ugarte, a staffer for the current CD 9 councilmember, Curren Price. Price is leaving office under the shadow of pay-to-play scandals and a criminal prosecution. Ugarte appears to be cut from the same cloth: he failed to disclose<\/a> years of income from the lobbying and political consulting firm that he ran at the same time he worked for Price, leading to a $25,000 fine from the Ethics Commission. Ugarte\u2019s limited policy platform includes more homelessness sweeps and 41.18 zones, more bans on sleeping in vehicles, and more LAPD patrols \u2014 in short, more criminalization of poverty.<\/p>\n Ugarte has earned the endorsements of many centrist Democratic clubs, while Mazariegos has the backing of DSA LA and the California Working Families Party as well as progressive politicians like Eunisses Hernandez, Kenneth Mejia, and former councilmember Mike Bonin. Their union support is fairly split, with Mazariegos picking up the support of more progressive unions like UTLA, SEIU, and the National Union of Healthcare workers, and Ugarte picking up more moderate unions such as the Building and Construction Trades and AFSCME.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you want a candidate who\u2019s devoted his life to serving the people and not political insiders, Mazariegos is the only choice. His combination of organizing experience, policy knowledge, and local understanding is extremely rare.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 11: Faizah Malik<\/p>\n Malik is managing attorney at Public Counsel, one of the city\u2019s most prominent nonprofit law firms. Throughout her career she has been laser focused on housing justice, crafting policy to protect tenants and fighting for the funding to build more truly affordable housing. She has fought successful campaigns to preserve eviction protections, expand tenant rights, and return Bruce\u2019s Beach to its rightful owners<\/a>. Most recently she has been fighting in court against incumbent Traci Park\u2019s attempts to scuttle the Venice Dell Community Housing development<\/a> \u2014 120 units of desperately needed affordable housing.<\/p>\n Her platform extends far beyond housing \u2014 to the infrastructure and climate resilience reforms required to protect a rebuilt Westside from the next fire, and to the street and transportation enhancements needed to reduce traffic deaths. She calls for the protection of legacy businesses, the procurement of low-interest capital for small businesses, and the expansion of affordable childcare. Her legal background also positions her well to work on some of the oversight challenges facing the city, such as enforcing and improving the Sanctuary City ordinance.<\/p>\n The incumbent councilmember, Traci Park, is one of the most reactionary and destructive figures in city government. At a time when the cost of living is at the forefront of Angelenos\u2019 minds, she has squandered millions of dollars fighting against the construction of affordable housing. When Los Angeles faced a severe budget deficit in 2025, she voted against a plan to save a thousand vital city jobs. When the Trump administration threatened our immigrant communities, the fundamental lifeblood of Los Angeles, she declared her opposition<\/a> to our Sanctuary City law. And when a historic firestorm destroyed the Palisades, Park chose climate change denialism<\/a> over actually working to protect her constituents.<\/p>\n With such a clear contrast, it\u2019s no surprise that Malik has been able to build up a broad coalition of endorsers: Democratic Party clubs; left-wing organizations like DSA-LA and the LA Tenants Union; environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Sunrise; and the Federation of Labor, SEIU, and Unite Here Local 11. Park, meanwhile, has been fundraising from Republican donors and leaning on the support of right-wing organizations like the Los Angeles Police Protective League, mass evictor Douglass Emmett, and dark-money operation Thrive LA.\u00a0<\/p>\n If that split looks like a Democrat vs. Republican race, it\u2019s because it really is. Perhaps it\u2019s time to talk about how ambitious conservatives in our Democrat-dominated city just change their voter registration (as Park did!), call themselves \u201cmoderates,\u201d and start pursuing the same right-wing agendas.<\/p>\n In the meantime, let\u2019s make sure there\u2019s one less. Faizah Malik should get your vote.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 13: Hugo Soto-Martinez<\/p>\n Union organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez came into office promising to work on behalf of labor and the working class, and his first term has been characterized by a number of victories that show the strengths of progressive policy.<\/p>\n For example, he fulfilled a campaign promise early on by taking down the dystopian fence around Echo Park Lake. Once fenced off by his predecessor to force out the unhoused, the lake and its surrounding park have been restored to a vibrant and open community space. Consistent outreach from his office ensures that people in need can find help, putting the lie to right-wing fearmongering about homelessness. The reopening of the park clearly models how policy that leads with care and compassion makes for a better community than fear, fences, and handcuffs.<\/p>\n Hugo has also been on the forefront of supporting the immigrant community in the face of ICE\u2019s Gestapo tactics. He was a key supporter of the Sanctuary City rule and has fought for protections to help laborers and vendors who lost work during the flood of federal agents. He has also actively organized with community rapid response networks to protect our neighbors.<\/p>\n Hollywood has also seen welcome changes during his term, including the installation of protected bike lanes and plans for public transit corridors and increased pedestrianization. We hope that this potential is fulfilled in his second term; CD 13 is full of neighborhoods that should be more walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly.<\/p>\n Hugo is putting CD 13 on the right path, and deserves another term.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Council District 15: Tim McOsker<\/p>\n Sometimes a candidate disappoints us with their performance in office. Sometimes we\u2019re pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n When McOsker ran in 2022, we feared that we were about to see another hard-right vote on City Council, a twin of Buscaino or Traci Park, a lapdog for the LAPPL and the landlord lobby. What we got, instead, was an actual moderate. Not a \u201cmoderate\u201d as a euphemism for right-wing (as per the nonsensical \u201cultra moderate\u201d<\/a> designation in the Los Angeles Times), but genuinely in the liberal center, a persuadable swing vote who has sided with the left more than once.<\/p>\n Progressive city staffers that we\u2019ve spoken to say that his office is reasonable to work with, and that policies from the left get a fair hearing and sometimes his support. Even though he\u2019d been heavily backed by the police union, during the 2025 budget fight he was willing to work with Eunisses to reduce LAPD hiring targets in order to prevent layoffs at the city level.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest surprise came when we looked at his record on 41.18, the anti-homeless zone ordinance. If you\u2019re a reader of Knock LA you\u2019ve probably heard about it<\/a>. While he has voted in favor of zones proposed by other councilmembers, McOsker has not moved to create any new 41.18 zones in his own district.<\/p>\n McOsker is not a candidate from the movement, but he\u2019s been a significant improvement over his predecessor.<\/p>\n The other candidate on the ballot is Jordan Rivers. His platform shows that he has the right goals and the right motivations behind his run, but he\u2019s only 22 years old. Unfortunately it\u2019s hard to consider his campaign a functioning challenge. He has not made any ethics filings around fundraising and expenditures, indicating a lack of activity and campaign infrastructure. Perhaps later down the line he\u2019ll be in a position to mount a fuller campaign.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Mayor: Rae Huang<\/p>\n We\u2019ve got a lot to say, so strap in.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n City Attorney: Marissa Roy<\/p>\n Marissa Roy, deputy attorney general, is the clear and necessary choice. She has the experience and vision to transform the office into a leading force for progressive change. Roy aspires to be a City Attorney for the people, using the power of the office to target polluters, slumlords, wage theft, and the Trump administration \u2014 which she does not hesitate to call fascist.<\/p>\n The incumbent city attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, is one of the most unqualified and incompetent officials in the entire state of California. Her term in office has been marked by abuses of power, humiliating scandals, and ballooning liability payouts that bleed the city budget.<\/p>\n City attorney is one of the most important but least understood elected positions in Los Angeles. On the one hand, the office acts as the prosecutor for misdemeanors and has a direct policy impact on the criminalization of poverty and homelessness. On the other, the office is the counsel for the city as both defendant and plaintiff in civil lawsuits. The city attorney also advises City Council on the law and puts proposed ordinances into legal language. It does not take much imagination to see how much potential the office holds\u2026 or how badly it could go off the rails.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since Feldstein Soto took office in 2022, liability payments from legal settlements and losses in court have increased 35% every year<\/a>, far outstripping the budgeted costs. In 2025 those outflows, primarily due to LAPD, reached $287 million. This is not simply a run of bad luck. Attorneys that spoke with Knock LA were uniform in their assessment: Feldstein Soto has no idea how to handle litigation. Cases that should settle early instead wind up on track for jury trial, resulting in vastly more expensive losses<\/a> for the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n Defending the indefensible is characteristic of Hydee\u2019s tenure. After journalists were targeted with rubber bullets by LAPD at an anti-ICE protest, they won a court injunction. Hydee went to court to try to overturn that injunction, arguing that LAPD should have the right to intentionally use excessive force against journalists. We realize that sounds insane, but that was literally her position<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Going into detail about Hydee\u2019s scandals and accusations would far exceed the space we have here, but it includes: claims of racist speech, Islamophobia, drunkenness in the office, targeting activists for prosecution without probable cause, retaliating against attorneys who pointed out that would be illegal, failed lawsuits against journalists, sabotaging affordable housing, accidentally dismissing important cases, accidentally leaking terabytes of confidential LAPD data, and letting private law firms bill the city for millions of dollars without prior approval. We\u2019re pretty sure we\u2019re leaving some out.<\/p>\n Out of the challengers, only Marissa Roy has a clear plan to not only defeat the incumbent but also change the way the office operates. She has the ability to speak convincingly to any audience without hedging her principles, and knows the value of education and politics that are needed to make progressive policy last.<\/p>\n In many ways, her campaign is one for basic fairness and justice under the law. What if the theft of money from a worker was treated as seriously as the theft of money from a corporation? What if laws around pollution, or predatory lending, or tenant harassment were treated as seriously and pursued as aggressively as sleeping on the street? The decision to treat laws that restrict the poor as sacrosanct and laws that restrict the rich as optional is a political choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n We can make a different choice. Vote for Marissa Roy.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Controller: Kenneth Mejia<\/p>\n City controller \u2014 a.k.a. the city\u2019s in-house accountant \u2014 plays the crucial role of monitoring the accounts of all officers and departments. They conduct audits of the city\u2019s programs and spending, and serve as the point through which all city payments pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kenneth Mejia<\/a>, the first CPA to hold the office, remains the best choice for controller. Throughout his first term, his office has prioritized and enacted both transparency and accountability. The City of LA has its first homelessness spending tracker<\/a> thanks to Kenneth as controller, as well as a slew of other charts and data tools to help us better understand our city government. Other accomplishments include getting the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to agree to strengthen oversight over homeless service providers, the refund of incorrectly issued red curb parking tickets, and increased transparency over the LAPD\u2019s use of military equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n As an unabashed progressive, Mejia has drawn the ire of the centrist establishment. Their chosen challenger, Zack Sokoloff<\/a>, has nothing to recommend him. He has no background in accounting at all, and the policies listed as priorities on his website are vague and confused. Sokoloff has been running ads blaming Mejia for homelessness spending and arguing for a plan that will require mental health and drug abuse treatment, which seems to suggest that Sokoloff has no idea what position he\u2019s running for or what the Controller actually does. Most embarrassingly, Sokoloff\u2019s campaign is bankrolled by his mother, who donated<\/a> $2.5 million<\/a> to try to buy the office for her little boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mejia has fundamentally fulfilled the promises he made when he ran, putting the office at the forefront of city accountability efforts and making their work accessible to all Angelenos. He absolutely deserves another term.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Los Angeles County<\/p>\n Board of Supervisors District 1: Maria Elena Durazo<\/p>\n Durazo\u2019s commanding list of endorsements, her long career as an elected official, and her tenure at the LA Labor Federation and the Democratic National Committee have cleared the field for her run. Considering the lack of real challenge, District 1 is a pretty cut and dried race. Durazo has some real legislative wins in recent years, including authoring SB 731, which dramatically expanded Californians\u2019 access to sealing of old criminal convictions, and co-authoring AB 969, which would address a major flaw in domestic violence victim support by expanding eligibility and ensuring that all domestic violence survivors<\/a> are able to request necessary CalWORKs waivers.<\/p>\n David Argudo is the pro-sheriff candidate, with just the lightest gloss of policy on his website. He relies heavily on his military experience but offers no credentials to suggest that he would be effective or have the expertise to tackle the county\u2019s complex issues, especially homelessness. Noel Almario has a \u201cbackground as a birth doula and advocate for maternal health.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unfortunate that there is no real contest in this race, as an actual campaign would clarify Durazo\u2019s plans for the powerful office and help the public understand her policies. As it stands, she is clearly the only qualified candidate, and we expect that she will cruise to victory.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Board of Supervisors District 3: Lindsey Horvath<\/p>\n The Board of Supervisors has been a much overlooked and very powerful part of local governance. Time and time again, the county has moved faster and more effectively at expanding tenant protections and supporting immigrant communities under attack by the Trump administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n In her first term, Lindsay Horvath has been a big part of that push. Horvath led the board in seeking to increase the evictable rent threshold to three months of rent, rather than letting renters be evicted the first moment they fell behind. While the board was not willing to meet her proposal, they agreed to a two-month rent threshold, a substantial win for renters at a time when ICE raids and rising costs of living have many living in economic uncertainty. Horvath has also been a reliable vote on the county\u2019s efforts to shore up financial support for immigrant communities though emergency relief measures.\u00a0<\/p>\n On these matters and many others, Horvath has been one of the most reliable proponents of progressive policy at the county level, far exceeding our original expectations.<\/p>\n On the flip side, many activists and organizers had concerns about the sloppy drafting of Measure G essentially undoing Measure J and endangering the funding set aside for Care First initiatives. While some have blown off these concerns, we are not playing when it comes to Measure J, a powerful anti-carceral measure that reflected the goals and needs of the entire county. It will be in part her responsibility to make sure that those reforms are protected.<\/p>\n We recommend a vote for Horvath.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Sheriff: Eric Strong<\/p>\n After handing a sound thrashing to neckless fascist Alex Villanueva in 2022, Sheriff Robert Luna has maintained a subdued status quo at the department over the last four years. It\u2019s been nice that the third largest police department in the country is no longer led by a Trumpian goofball who persecuted political opponents, hired abusers, and shut down internal misconduct investigations. But Luna has not done enough to address LASD\u2019s deep-seated problems. In many ways it seems that the goal of his tenure has been to cut down on scandalous headlines rather than fix underlying issues. Deaths at the county jail, which his department operates, have reached the shocking level of almost one per week, leading to a lawsuit by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Policies claiming to ban deputy gangs have resulted in no discipline and no public disclosures; Luna has essentially declared the problem solved.<\/p>\n In 2022 we recommended Eric Strong in the primary election. He\u2019s running again, and his argument is stronger in 2026. Compared to his first run he has developed a clearer vision of the policies he wants to implement and the reforms that the county needs, and understands that caging human beings is not a solution to every problem. While most of the candidates are in deep denial about the department\u2019s gang-ridden culture, Strong is quick to acknowledge that the issue is a real and continuing problem that demands action from department leadership. He emphasizes oversight, transparency, and dismantling the \u201cold boy\u2019s club\u201d that has blocked efforts at accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Casting a vote for sheriff is a matter of harm reduction. Strong is clearly the correct choice here.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Assessor: Jeffrey Prang<\/p>\n This low-profile office has the important duty of assessing the value of all taxable real estate and business property in LA County. The office also has a history of corruption, with former assessor John Noguez arrested<\/a> in 2012 for accepting bribes in exchange for lowering wealthy individuals\u2019 property tax valuations.<\/p>\n Jeffrey Prang, a licensed appraiser first elected to this office in 2014, is running for a fourth term and has generally received positive reviews for restoring integrity to the office. Prang has focused on closing loopholes and ensuring wealthy property owners pay their fair share. For example, in 2026 Prang\u2019s office identified 1,000 previously unassessed aircraft,<\/a> resulting in taxes levied on $3.5 billion worth of newly identified aircraft property in 2026.<\/p>\n Candidates Sandy Sun and Stephen Adamus appear more interested in protecting the wealthy, as they oppose reforms to Prop 13 that would cause wealthy homeowners to pay more. Candidate Rob Newland offers interesting ideas about using the department\u2019s extensive data to identify vacant property and illegal short-term rentals. Tax consultant Steven B. Palty is also in the race.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Los Angeles Unified School District<\/p>\n LAUSD District 2: Dr. Rocio Rivas<\/p>\n We recommend another term for Rivas, the LAUSD District 2 incumbent and the Board of Education\u2019s current Vice President. We recommended her when she first ran due to her extensive experience as a policy deputy to former Board Member Jackie Goldberg, her commitment to public schools, and her pursuit of policies like green and sustainable schools. Dr. Rivas is a Board Member of the School Boards Association and plays an active role in shaping state policy around education. She is also committed to the protection of immigrant students and their families at LAUSD.<\/p>\n Dr. Rivas is a leader in education. Give her your vote.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n LAUSD District 4: Ankur Patel<\/p>\n Ankur Patel is an LAUSD graduate and a public education advocate through and through. He previously worked at the LAUSD board office for district 3, and as UTLA substitute teacher for five years. His platform includes concrete solutions addressing the school-to-prison pipeline, smaller class sizes and better benefits for teachers, among others. He has been a consistent presence in the progressive movement in Los Angeles over the last decade, always seeking the improvement of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Ankur is a strong and devoted choice. He deserves the support.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n LAUSD District 6: Kelly Gonez<\/p>\n Kelly Gonez<\/a> is running unopposed. We like her, though, so we\u2019re not mad.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Judge of the Superior Court<\/p>\n In Los Angeles, judges are elected to six-year terms in countywide races, which in a county of 10 million people ensures that no candidate can reach more than the tiniest fraction of the electorate. This means that incumbents are impossible to beat unless they\u2019re up to their necks in scandal, and even then a judicial PAC protects even the most loathsome among them. Judicial hopefuls go to war over the open seats \u2014 futures are often decided by a game of musical chairs at the County Registrar, leaving a lucky few running unopposed. This is obviously a great system and a credit to democracy.<\/p>\n Finding meaningful information about the candidates also poses an enormous challenge. Your average campaign website has a list of endorsements, some vague language about fairness and the law, and a smiling photo of a person in a suit. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here. Our recommendations are based on dozens of conversations with progressive lawyers and organizers.<\/p>\n Part of the purpose of this guide is to push back against the biases built into what little information is available. The Bar Association, for example, rates candidates on their \u201cqualifications\u201d in a manner that privileges prosecutorial experience over defense or civil work. In the race for Seat 64, for example, they rated Public Defender Haymon as only \u201cqualified\u201d with 26 years of experience, and District Attorney Ghobadi as \u201cwell qualified\u201d with 17.<\/p>\n Many other publications also fall for the fiction that \u201cnonpartisan\u201d judicial races are politically neutral. The police unions certainly don\u2019t believe that; they endorse the judges they think will be most friendly to an agenda of criminalization and imprisonment. We also see the intervention of groups like the Crime Survivors PAC, a Trumpist Republican group<\/a> that prospective judges list proudly on their websites. Even without those extremes, there is a meaningful difference between a judiciary made up of white male ex-DAs and one with a diversity of cultural, class, and professional backgrounds.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 2: DDA Tal Kahn Valbuena<\/p>\n Valbuena is a deputy district attorney in the mental health court, and serves on the County LGBTQ Commission. He has a reputation as a fair and rehabilitation-minded prosecutor who approaches cases from a holistic perspective rather than trying to simply inflict punishment. He speaks openly about racial inequality in the criminal legal system, and would also bring the perspective of a refugee to the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n Valbuena would be an excellent choice in any case, but especially when weighed against incumbent Judge Robert Draper. Draper is facing severe misconduct allegations<\/a> of racist remarks on the record, sexually inappropriate conversations and unwanted touching, and questions about his fitness for the position, leading to censure and possible removal by the Commission on Judicial Performance. While the allegations are still pending, his behavior has already led to the court of appeals overturning a jury verdict from his court.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 14: DDA Angie Christides<\/p>\n This is a DA-on-DA election. We recommend Angie Christides, a 20-year prosecutor who also worked in the rehabilitation-focused settings of the Veterans Court and Community Collaborative Court.<\/p>\n Irene Lee left the DA\u2019s office during the Gasc\u00f3n administration to join the reactionary tough-on-crime chorus. Lee was the victim of a random attack in August 2020, and when the culprit was later arrested for attacking Olympian Kim Glass she went on a media tour denouncing \u201cwoke\u201d officials<\/a> for putting the man back on the street. What she left out, of course, is that it wasn\u2019t Gasc\u00f3n\u2019s office who released her attacker on probation or rejected felony charges in her case \u2014 it was previous DA Jackie Lacey. We have no confidence in her ability to be an impartial arbiter of the law.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 39: UNOPPOSED<\/p>\n See below<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 60: UNOPPOSED<\/p>\n See below<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 64: DPD Rhonda Haymon<\/p>\n Rhonda Haymon is an experienced trial attorney who boasts more than 25 years as a public defender. In our research we heard both pros and cons: praise for her grit and determination as an advocate, criticism of her ability to work collaboratively. She has the endorsements of judges Holly Hancock, George Turner, and Ericka Wiley, who won election as part of a movement to expand the diversity of background and experience in the judiciary; she also is endorsed by La Defensa, who helped power slates of progressive judicial candidates in previous cycles. We recommend her for this seat.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 65: Anna Reitano<\/p>\n Judicial Musical Chairs strikes again. Other open seats have a lone candidate who wins by default. This seat has four, two of whom we\u2019d be more than happy to support in any other race. In the running for Seat 65 are current deputy public defender Justin Clayton, a supervisor at the Inglewood office; and former deputy public defender Anna Reitano (now with County Counsel). While both would be strong choices, we recommend Reitano: as part of the first Defenders of Justice slate in 2022<\/a>, she helped open the door for progressive and community-focused lawyers to run for the bench.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 66: DDA Ben Forer<\/p>\n District Attorney Forer is well-suited for the bench, with a strong scholarly background as a teacher of cyber law at USC and as an ordained rabbi. At the courthouse he\u2019s known as a person who can help settle a case, and as a believer in earning second chances. He deserves your vote.<\/p>\n His opponent, Cheryl Turner, is a lawyer for and on the board of directors of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) \u2014 literally, the landlord lobby. It is hard to name an organization more devoted to impoverishing and disempowering the working class than AAGLA, a group that fights every day for your landlord\u2019s right to bleed you dry and kick you out of your home. This should be disqualifying in the eyes of any Angeleno.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 81: Dan Kapelovitz<\/p>\n Kapelovitz is a genuine old-school radical lawyer, steadfast in his commitment to transformative change in the system. He touts his commitment to the working class and a decade plus of a practice focused on low-income clients, with a particular pro-bono lane related to animal rights.<\/p>\n He\u2019s running against incumbent Judge Walgren who, unlike other incumbents mentioned in this guide, is not currently facing any disciplinary action. Even though it would have been an easier road for Kapelovitz in another seat, we give him our recommendation. If we\u2019re going to be choosing judges by election the scope of that pool should be expanded as much as possible.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 87: DPD Anthony Bayne<\/p>\n Anthony Bayne boasts a quarter century of experience at the public defender\u2019s office, including 19 years at the Compton Courthouse in roles ranging from defending the most severe felony offenses to the supervision of new misdemeanor attorneys. His broad experience with the courts at every level puts him head and shoulders above his challengers for the seat.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 116: DDA Paul Thompson<\/p>\n Incumbent Pat Connolly has been repeatedly disciplined for improper conduct,<\/a> and drawn censure for biased behavior such as: abusing his authority to hold a defense attorney in contempt, telling an acquitted defendant that he was sure the man was guilty, and attempting to intervene in the resentencing petition<\/a> of a man that he had prosecuted and who had accused him of misconduct. Judges rarely face discipline except in the most egregious cases; the simple fact is that Connolly, who the Bar Association classified as \u201cNot Qualified\u201d during his original election, has demonstrated through his own actions that he is unfit for the bench.<\/p>\n His opponent is Paul Thompson, a prosecutor who, among other things, won the rape conviction of Harvey Weinstein in 2022. He has the experience to support his run, and has chosen the harder road of taking on an incumbent who he considers \u201can unqualified bully\u201d rather than competing for an open seat. In a shocking display of incumbent solidarity, a judge who endorsed Thompson faced threats and harassment from other judges<\/a>. Vote Connolly out.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 131: DAPD David Ross<\/p>\n For those who don\u2019t know, the county has two public defender offices \u2014 the alternate public defender, where Ross has worked since the year 2000, handles cases where there are multiple defendants or conflicts of interest between them that would disqualify the public defender. Before becoming an attorney, he spent a decade as a journalist. He has an excellent resume and a commitment to the people left behind by our system, and in interviews with organizations he impressed with his thoughtfulness and temperament. He\u2019s both the progressive choice and the most qualified candidate.<\/p>\n Troy Slaten ran for judge in 2020 against a prosecutor with a history of misconduct<\/a>; in this race, however, Ross\u2019s greater experience wins out. Carlos Dammeier is a former police officer. His former firm represented the Costa Mesa police union, and wound up dissolving itself when the police union was sued for aggressive legal tactics by Costa Mesa City Council members. Nothing in his background suggests that he would be a good judge. Public Defender Donna Tryfman is also in the running. She\u2019s faced allegations of misconduct during her previous campaign for Beverly Hills School Board, and she has been accused of harassing coworkers for their opposition to the genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 141: UNOPPOSED<\/p>\n See below<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 176: DPD Zachary Smith<\/p>\n With 23 years in the public defender\u2019s office, Smith has demonstrated the depth of experience required for a judicial seat and is well regarded by other attorneys. His opponent, Gloria Marin, touts endorsements from reactionary former DAs Cooley and Lacey, and the Trump-supporting Crime Victims PAC.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Seat 181: Thanayi Lindsey<\/p>\n Both candidates in this race have quasi-judicial experience. Ryan Dibble, former deputy district attorney, was appointed a Superior Court commissioner in 2025 and has been hearing cases in Small Claims court. Thanayi Lindsey has been an administrative law judge since 2021, overseeing hearings relating to government agency actions such as professional license suspension. Both candidates are also, frankly, overselling their judicial experience in their campaigns. In this instance we\u2019d recommend Lindsey to increase the diversity of perspectives on the bench.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Unopposed Races<\/p>\n In Seats 39, 60, and 141, Public Defender Binh Dang, Glendale City Attorney Ann Maurer, and Deputy District Attorney Mariela Torres lucked into unopposed races and will now become judges. They might be wonderful, they might be terrible, but we don\u2019t have anything meaningful to say about them because no one is running against them. A judge is a position of enormous respect, with the power to transform the lives of the people who appear before them, and we\u2019re making the choice by the luck of the draw. Is this the system we want?<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Neighboring LA Cities<\/p>\n Glendale<\/p>\n Glendale sits at a crossroads and we don\u2019t mean the 134 and the 2. The same forces of right-wing reactionism that terrorized school board meetings across the San Fernando Valley, bringing Proud Boys, J6ers, and men with knives to LGBTQ+ events, are now making a coordinated run at City Hall. Meanwhile, federal funding is evaporating, the housing crisis is crushing renters, and wildfire risk is climbing every year. This city needs serious people. Fortunately, there are some on the ballot.<\/p>\n Glendale\u2019s turnout historically stays below 30%. That means an organized progressive minority can decide this election. It also means a bunch of MAGA loons can take over the city. Don\u2019t let them.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Glendale Unified School District<\/p>\n GUSD has been ground zero for the Southern California right-wing school board takeover movement since 2021, when Jordan Henry \u2014 a man with no children in the district \u2014 helped engineer a harassment campaign against a third-grade teacher who showed a Pride video to her class. That teacher received death threats and was transferred for her own safety. Henry went on to help spark a near-riot outside the June 2023 board meeting<\/a> that drew Proud Boys and January 6 insurrectionists (per Knock LA\u2019s own reporting). He ran for the board in 2024 and lost. His network did not go away. This cycle, that same ecosystem is fielding candidates in all three contested areas: Greg Krikorian in Area B, Debbie Blute in Area C (a Charlie Kirk enthusiast whose public social media includes praise for a gun-wielding anti-vax COVID conspiracist<\/a>) and Janet Balekian in Area D, Alex Balekian\u2019s sister (more on Glendale\u2019s Matt Gaetz below), whose notable early supporters include MAGA Chino Valley board member Sonja Shaw. Don\u2019t let any of them near this board.<\/p>\n Area B: Ingrid Gunnell<\/p>\n Gunnell is exactly what a school board member should be: a 25-year LAUSD educator, a GUSD parent, and now Board President. She didn\u2019t stumble into this \u2014 she co-authored the 2017 Safe Zone Resolution protecting immigrant students and helped GUSD pass its Black Lives Matter in Schools resolution in 2020, years before she held a seat. As she put it when she first ran in 2022: \u201cWe cannot allow anybody to get elected to school board who is not 100 percent in for public education<\/a>.\u201d The GTA and CTA both back her. So should you.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Area C: Kathleen (Kat) Cross<\/p>\n Cross is a trained social worker, single parent, and a genuinely effective board member who has spent four years doing the unglamorous work of institutional repair: pushing for an independent financial audit that exposed years of budgetary mismanagement, settling labor contracts in record time, and bringing in a new Superintendent through an actual process. She hasn\u2019t caved to the NIMBY parents who use \u201ctransparency\u201d as a cover for erasing LGBTQ+ existence from curriculum. That\u2019s the job. She\u2019s doing it.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Area D: Aileen Dinkjian<\/p>\n This is the one open seat on the GUSD board in 2026, and it matters enormously. Dinkjian \u2014 a Filipina-American renter, daughter of immigrants, wife of a first-generation Armenian-American, and mother of three current GUSD students \u2014 brings a doctorate in education and a master\u2019s in public health to a board that desperately needs that expertise right now. She has two decades managing public health budgets and writing grants, which is exactly what GUSD needs as federal dollars disappear. She\u2019s been vocal about protecting schools as safe zones from ICE enforcement, and she publicly supported SB 848\u2019s new oversight standards<\/a> after the sexual abuse arrest of a contracted employee rocked the GUSD community. Endorsed by GUSD Parents for Public Schools.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Glendale City Council: Dan Brotman, Elen Asatryan, and Alek Bartrosouf<\/p>\n Brotman co-founded the Glendale Environmental Coalition<\/a> and fought the Grayson gas plant renovation before he was ever on council. Since 2020, he\u2019s pushed building electrification, plastics reduction, expanded tree canopy, and bike infrastructure. At the March candidate forum, when asked about the budget shortfall, he didn\u2019t promise magic cuts. He acknowledged that two-thirds of Glendale\u2019s budget is police and fire, said he wasn\u2019t \u201cprepared to cut services and downsize this city like a failing enterprise\u201d (per Glendale News-Press coverage), and talked honestly about revenue generation. That\u2019s not a politician\u2019s answer. It\u2019s an actual answer.<\/p>\n Progressives should push him harder on explicit anti-displacement policies for renters and the use of FLOCK cameras for traffic safety. But in a field with Balekian in it, Dan Brotman is not a compromise \u2014 he\u2019s a genuine environmental progressive with a track record.<\/p>\n Glendale\u2019s first Armenian-American woman elected to council, first immigrant woman, and former Mayor. Before politics, she spent over a decade running a major ethnic advocacy organization and founded free legal clinics for Glendale residents in partnership with the Armenian Bar Association and Neighborhood Legal Services. As councilmember she\u2019s been a consistent voice for clean energy, transit access, and equity \u2014 and she launched a volunteer Community Resource Center during COVID to connect residents with relief programs before anyone told her to. Planned Parenthood and organized labor both back her.<\/p>\n Her business-consulting background produces some frustrating centrism on housing \u2014 \u201ccutting red tape\u201d rhetoric can mean a lot of things \u2014 and she needs to be pushed toward stronger tenant protections. But she\u2019s earned her seat.<\/p>\n The most compelling new voice in this race. An urban planner with the City of LA and Glendale Transportation and Parking Commissioner, Bartrosouf co-founded the Coalition for a Green Glendale and helped establish the Monterey Community Gardens. He\u2019s been an environmental activist in this city for 20 years. His vision \u2014 using public space, transit, and parks to build genuine community rather than just accommodate cars \u2014 is the most coherent urban-progressive platform in the field. Endorsed by both the Glendale Environmental Coalition and the Glendale Teachers Association.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a number worth knowing: according to the California Office of Traffic Safety\u2019s 2021 rankings, Glendale holds the worst ranking in the state \u2014 dead last among comparable cities \u2014 for crashes involving pedestrians 65 and older. The city\u2019s own police department acknowledged this on its website. Bartrosouf is the only candidate in this race who has spent two decades working professionally on precisely these problems: road design, transit access, and building a city that doesn\u2019t treat walking as an afterthought. When opponents call his ideas about bike lanes and transit \u201cradical,\u201d ask them what they plan to do about seniors being killed at Glendale intersections.<\/p>\n We\u2019d like to hear more explicit commitments on tenant protections and immigrant safety from him. But his professional expertise in land use and transportation is exactly what a city navigating SB 79, a housing crisis, and a transit expansion needs at the table.<\/p>\n The alternatives are not acceptable.<\/p>\n Alex Balekian is a MAGA Republican \u2014 he ran as one for CA-30 in 2024 and lost badly to Laura Friedman. After his loss, he and his political partner were publicly celebrating the removal of \u201cTrans\u201d from LGBT on federal websites. Friedman (who we\u2019re no fan of, but is still progressive on social issues) accurately described his inner circle as \u201csome of the worst anti-trans activists we have here in Glendale<\/a>.\u201d Community researchers and parent advocates documented that Balekian and allied candidates have \u201cfrequently appeared and rallied with individuals who voice open anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, and racism\u201d \u2014 the same \u201cLeave Our Kids Alone\u201d coalition that brought a riot to GUSD headquarters in June 2023, with Proud Boys and armed agitators in the crowd. At the March forum his budget plan was, nonsensically, to ban bike lanes. He has called climate advocates a \u201cclimate cartel\u201d even as Glendale\u2019s wildfire risk grows year by year. This man should not be anywhere near City Hall.<\/p>\n Patrick Murphy is the quieter version of the same problem. His platform opposes the city\u2019s housing density plans, wants to \u201cremove the City-Owned Residential Overlay,\u201d and frames every development question as a threat to \u201cneighborhood character\u201d \u2014 which in a city that is 60% renters is a direct attack on the people who actually live here. His social network overlaps with the same retrograde organizers who have spent years fighting transit, housing, and LGBTQ+ inclusion in Glendale. He wants to audit everything except the parts of the budget that benefit his homeowner base.<\/p>\n The remaining candidates are either clearly unqualified or a diet version of the two we just mentioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vote the full slate: Brotman, Asatryan, Bartrosouf.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n City Clerk: Suzie Abajian<\/p>\n The Clerk runs elections, keeps public records, and ensures the city complies with the Brown Act and the California Public Records Act. It\u2019s not glamorous \u2014 it\u2019s the plumbing of democracy. Dr. Abajian has been doing it well since 2022. A mathematician, 24-year educator, former school board clerk, and Congressional Woman of the Year, she has prioritized multilingual access, voter registration drives, and transparency. When hate fliers appeared in 2023 targeting Jewish, Arab American, and Armenian American residents, she didn\u2019t stay quiet. When a smear campaign targeted her, her community rallied harder<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her opponent, Susan Wolfson, is a CPA with city finance experience \u2014 fine credentials for a different office. But she\u2019s endorsed by Ara Najarian and Vartan Gharpetian, the conservative bloc on the current council, which tells you everything about whose vision of Glendale she represents. She describes her approach to the office as \u201cnonpartisanship<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a framing that sounds neutral but, in this political moment and context, is a dog whistle for the same forces trying to roll back the inclusive, multilingual, community-engaged approach Abajian has built.\u00a0<\/p>\n Abajian is the real thing. Re-elect her.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Glendale Community College Board, Area 2: Edit Khachatryan<\/p>\n Khachatryan came to Glendale from Armenia at age nine<\/a>, attended Glendale schools K-12, earned a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford, taught high school here, and spent years with the Carnegie Foundation improving community college math outcomes for exactly the students GCC serves. She\u2019s a current GCC parent. The GTA and State Senator Sasha Ren\u00e9e P\u00e9rez are behind her.<\/p>\n Her opponent Ross Erlich is a well-meaning attorney with good civic instincts \u2014 but no education background, no Glendale endorsements, and his campaign address is in Covina. This one isn\u2019t close.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n City Treasurer: Rafi Manoukian<\/p>\n The Treasurer\u2019s job is narrow but consequential: safeguard public funds, manage cash flow, and invest idle city money responsibly. Manoukian has been doing this since 2013<\/a>. Under his watch, the city\u2019s investment portfolio grew from roughly $375 million to more than $1 billion, generating over $250 million in earnings for Glendale while maintaining conservative practices that protect the principal. He\u2019s a CPA, holds an MBA, and is a Democratic Party member who has consistently backed the progressive candidates on this slate.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Ballot Measures<\/p>\n County Measure ER: Yes<\/p>\n Measure ER proposes a 0.5% sales tax for 5 years in order to offset funding cuts by the Trump regime to healthcare and essential service providers. This measure is straightforward. Without those federal funding sources, California needs to adopt new taxation methods to do basic things like keep public hospitals open. The alternative is millions of people losing access to care, healthcare workers getting laid off, and illness and deaths as a result of Californians not being able to see their providers. The choice is obvious. Vote yes.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n City Measure CB: Yes<\/p>\n This measure would apply the city\u2019s taxes on licensed cannabis dispensaries to unlicensed dispensaries as well. \u201cWait a minute,\u201d you might ask, \u201cAren\u2019t unlicensed dispensaries already illegal?\u201d Well, yes. And illegal businesses tend not to comply with tax rules. Instead, it creates another avenue to shut them down; think of Al Capone being convicted of tax fraud rather than running the mob.\u00a0<\/p>\n Up to now, the city\u2019s enforcement of cannabis licensing has mostly taken the form of police raids, and low-level employees who have no idea that the business is unlicensed wind up facing criminal charges under strict liability statutes. Attempts to amend the ordinance to prevent this injustice have stalled; with the new options created by Measure CB, hopefully we can see renewed action on that necessary reform.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n City Measure TC & TT: Yes<\/p>\n Measure TT and Measure TC are overlapping local hotel tax ballot measures, strategically timed with the impending approach of the Olympics to increase the city\u2019s revenues from what they hope will be a substantial influx of visitors. A perfectly reasonable thing to do, assuming that Trump doesn\u2019t manage to convince the rest of the world to boycott the Olympics entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n The core of both measures is changing the way the hotel tax is calculated for online travel agencies, third party sites, and awards programs, to be based on the final price to the consumer rather than the negotiated rate paid by the third party to the hotel. Measure TT also includes a rate increase from 14% to 16% through 2028, and to 15% permanently.<\/p>\n We believe that the Olympics are a hideous con, a form of self-inflicted disaster capitalism that increases inequality, exploitation, and authoritarianism in every host city \u2013 if you want to learn more, check out our friends at NOlympics LA<\/a> \u2013 but these measures are a reasonable and responsible thing to do in a tourism-heavy city like Los Angeles. Vote yes.<\/p>\n At posting time we have no idea why there are two measures here, given that TT includes all of TC, but if any of our City Hall sources want to explain it you know where to find us.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n California State Legislature<\/p>\n Statewide Races<\/p>\n Governor: Tom Steyer<\/p>\n The CA governor\u2019s race could be generously described as a goat rodeo. The state Democratic Party is directionless, and Governor Newsom is primarily concerned with anti-Trump memes and impressing his chud son by interviewing internet bigots on his podcast. Maybe it\u2019s for the best, though \u2013 if he\u2019s busy online he can\u2019t destroy unhoused people\u2019s possessions for a photo op. In the meantime, an endless parade of candidates have somehow put us in danger of a Republican vs. Republican runoff: MAGA dipshit Steve Hilton and Literal Fascist \/ Ambulatory Moustache Chad Bianco crawling over the finish line with 15% each.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re familiar with past guides we\u2019ve been more than happy to say \u201cdon\u2019t vote for either of these creeps.\u201d Not every race has a candidate who deserves your vote. But sometimes we as voters have to play a numbers game.<\/p>\n After many long conversations, we\u2019ve come to the conclusion that you should vote for Tom Steyer. A literal billionaire. I think I\u2019m going to vomit.<\/p>\n One of the inescapable issues of running for statewide office in California is that you\u2019re running for statewide office in California, with nearly 40 million people across a vast geographic range. As the race has progressed, the realistic field of candidates has narrowed.<\/p>\n Swalwell was a favorite of the moneyed establishment until long-rumored accusations of sexual assault finally surfaced and his supporters immediately dumped him \u2013 perhaps relieved that the other shoe they\u2019d been on the lookout for finally dropped. The big bucks have pivoted to Becerra, who after months of silence finally found the resources to bombard us with text messages.<\/p>\n Becerra isn\u2019t it. In the simplest sense, a person who can\u2019t say \u201cAbolish ICE\u201d is completely unfit to represent California. We in LA have borne the brunt of the federal Gestapo assault on our neighbors and if you can\u2019t stand with us you can go to hell. That\u2019s not his only failing, however \u2013 he\u2019s accepted a maximum donation from Chevron and consistently sides with the oil industry<\/a> including supporting new drilling and oil production<\/a> in California. He turned his back on single payer healthcare<\/a> to earn the backing of a health industry lobby. Becerra is only clay in the hands of wealthy corporations.<\/p>\n Katie Porter was definitely screwed over in 2024, when Adam Schiff (D-Raytheon) boosted Republican Steve Garvey in order to box her out of the runoff. But that doesn\u2019t make her a good candidate for governor. No one we talked to had a positive experience with her office during her time in Congress. Porter has also come out against the proposed Billionaire Tax, a small tax on people whose wealth is so great as to warp the world around them; unilaterally disarming in the class war puts her at odds with the working people of California.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s Steyer then, as disgusted as we might feel about another oligarch governor. His commitment to environmentalism is genuine, he supports single-payer healthcare, he backs the billionaire tax, he\u2019s unafraid to say that ICE should be abolished and that they should be prosecuted under state law for their crimes. It\u2019s a strange position to find ourselves in, but remember: an elected official is a battlefield, not a general. We don\u2019t count on elected leaders to simply take care of us out of the goodness of their souls \u2013 we have to engage with them, push them, and challenge them, even the ones we support, to accomplish our goals.<\/p>\n While we cast those ballots, however, we should also ask why the governor\u2019s race looks the way it does. Why are candidates backed by Democratic Party power players unwilling to call for the elimination of Trump\u2019s fascist stormtroopers? Why are candidates still willing to call for more oil drilling, against the will of the voters, in a state that has seen the devastating effects of climate change first hand? Why are our state politics, in a state with democratic supermajorities all up and down the line, still so captured by the wealth and influence of right-wing interests?<\/p>\n At this point, it\u2019s clear: if we want to keep MAGA out of the Governor\u2019s mansion, Steyer is the best choice.\u00a0And of course, he has the all-important Juvenile endorsement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Lieutenant Governor: Oliver Ma or Michael Tubbs<\/p>\n Out of the candidates for the office of Lieutenant Governor \u2013 a position that sounds like it should carry much more authority than it does \u2013 civil rights attorney Oliver Ma and Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, stand out as the best choices for the left. Both of them carry a mix of endorsements from unions and organizers: Ma has the Democratic Socialists of America and If Not Now, Tubbs has the Working Families Party and ACCE. Both want to reduce college tuition, one of the few issues on which the Lieutenant Governor might be able to directly intervene.<\/p>\n We do not have consensus to choose one over the other, but we consider both to be acceptable choices.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Secretary of State: Shirley Weber<\/p>\n The Secretary of State oversees state and federal elections, as well as managing the corporate filings for businesses, nonprofits, and lobbyists. Given the attacks on free and fair elections by the Trump administration and the Supreme Court, this normally-sleepy office becomes an important line of defense. California\u2019s elections are slow to be certified, and our data on lobbyists and campaign finance is hard to navigate.<\/p>\n Weber is endorsed by a broad coalition of labor, activists, and elected officials. Her goals for the coming term include strengthening cybersecurity and expanding voter registration outreach to high school and college students and the formerly incarcerated. She is also a consistent opponent of GOP-led \u201cvoter ID\u201d disenfranchisement schemes.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Controller: Meghann Adams<\/p>\n Similar to the Controller for the City of Los Angeles, the Controller for the state oversees financial disbursements, audits, and unclaimed property. Given the size and economic power of California, this is no small task. California has a country-scale budget, and transparency is critical for advocacy.<\/p>\n Our pick is Meghann Adams,<\/a> a school bus driver, union leader, and anti-war activist. Her policy platform calls for utilizing the auditing power of the controller\u2019s office to crack down on corruption, identify the landlords contributing to the rent crisis, and establish the economic effectiveness of Medicare For All. It\u2019s a clear plan to use the powers of the office to make the case for more progressive policy. Current Controller Malia Cohen will likely sail through via the advantage of incumbency, but we enjoy the thrill of voting for someone with a vision.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Treasurer:<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Attorney General: Rob Bonta<\/p>\n At this historical moment, the most important thing an Attorney General can do is use the legal system to throw up roadblocks in the way of the fascist in the White House. By that metric, Bonta has done an excellent job putting his foot on Trump\u2019s neck. His department\u2019s lawsuits have fought the federalization of the national guard, the weakening of environmental standards, anti-immigrant and anti-trans policies, and dangerous corporate mergers. The name of the game is resistance with whatever tools are at hand. Bonta should continue the work.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one you didn\u2019t think you had to think about. The Insurance Commissioner runs the Department of Insurance, responsible for licensing insurance companies, investigating consumer complaints and insurers, and punishing insurers for regulatory noncompliance. The Department of Insurance impacts home and auto insurance, life insurance, worker\u2019s compensation, and some aspects of health insurance (California, uniquely, splits oversight of Health Insurance companies between the Department of Managed Health Care, run by the Governor, and the independent Department of Insurance).<\/p>\n As insurance rates rise and home insurers abandon the state, working people are being shut out of the economy in a most basic way. Kim wants to create a nonprofit public disaster insurance plan, create transparency around costs and coverage, and to use regulatory powers to hold bad actors in the insurance industry accountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Look at this race like Kenneth Mejia\u2019s first run for Controller, but with less corgis. Insurance Commissioner is a technical and regulatory office that most people wouldn\u2019t look twice at, but also offers significant opportunities for a mission-driven public servant to make material improvements in peoples\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n The race has eleven names on the ballot, mostly offering more of the status quo. Lalo Vargas<\/a> and Jane Kim are the two offering a bolder vision that isn\u2019t a deregulatory fever dream, and between them only Kim has the statewide network of support to win. The former San Francisco Supervisor carries endorsements<\/a> like the California Teachers Association, the Working Families Party, and local and national elected officials from Bubba Fish to Bernie Sanders.<\/p>\n For Insurance Commissioner, vote for Jane Kim<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Member of the State Board of Equalization (3rd District): Sam Sukaton<\/p>\n What does Board of Equalization even do? Great question, we\u2019ve got answers. The BOE oversees the property tax systems, alcoholic beverage tax, and tax on insurers. It is a five member body that on paper might seem like a place to park your political career when you\u2019re figuring out your next step, but might secretly be one of the more underrated tools for budget equity in California.<\/p>\n Our state has been plagued with tax policies that benefit rich homeowners, corporations, and predatory companies. It is not news that right-wing organizations like the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association have been key players in developing and standardizing these regressive, trickle up taxation schemes to hoard wealth, resources, and power. A sharp administrator with an eye towards making the rich pay their fair share could do a lot for Californians.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why we\u2019re recommending Sam Sukaton, a labor organizer and a representative of the CA Working Families Party. He has institutional experience, having worked with the California Public Utilities Commission, Energy Commission, Air Resources Board, and Natural Resources Agency. His campaign commitments include equity for homeowners and small businesses across counties, increased transparency on taxation revenue, and safeguarding the environment.<\/p>\n Sukaton is part of a wave of candidates, like Controller Kenneth Mejia, who see the potential for progressive policymaking in more obscure and technical roles. Making a better California for everyone requires every tool at our disposal. Sukaton should get your vote.<\/p>\n Assemblymember Mike Gipson is also running for the seat. He has been repeatedly called out by Greenpeace<\/a>, Courage California, Project Super Bloom<\/a>, and Knock LA<\/a> for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of oil industry money to abstain on or vote against important environmental bills, at the same time as he was representing one of the most pollution-impacted districts. He doesn\u2019t deserve a second act at the BOE.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n Superintendent of Public Instruction: Frank Lara<\/p>\n The Superintendent is the elected executive of the state Department of Education\u2026 for now. It\u2019s possible that the position may change significantly in the future<\/a>, including no longer being elected, but that would be after this round of elections. This particular election has drawn a number of liberal to progressive candidates, and what little polling exists<\/a> suggests that the race is wide open.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here we\u2019d recommend a vote for Frank Lara<\/a>, a teacher and union leader from San Francisco. Lara is an organizer and open socialist, who seeks to not only fully fund public schools but also to build a path to free childcare and adult education as well. He also opposes the presence of police in schools, accurately viewing them as part of the school-to-prison pipeline and a source of harm to Black and Brown students. Nichelle Henderson and Richard Barrera both also have strong platforms, but Lara is our top pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n Less desirable candidates are former Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Anthony Rendon. Muratsuchi\u2019s checkered record included voting against a bill to prevent the transfer of imprisoned people to ICE custody. Rendon, as Assembly Speaker, directly helped kill single payer healthcare for California, letting Gov. Newsom off the hook for a campaign promise he never cared to fulfil. Neither deserve this responsibility. Also in the race is Sonja Shaw, an anti-LGBT maniac who has no business being near or responsible for children.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Senate<\/p>\n State Senate District 20: Caroline Menjivar<\/p>\n Caroline Menjivar<\/a> has been a strong progressive advocate<\/a> for this Burbank and San Fernando Valley district during her first term, and has earned a second. Roberto Lacarra<\/a> is a community college professor who previously worked in the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Probation Departments. Republican Tony Rodriguez is also in the race. Vote Menjivar.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Senate District 22: No Recommendation<\/p>\n Democrat Susan Rubio<\/a> has a sad track record of supporting corporate interests, including failing to support restrictions on private equity takeovers of health facilities (AB 3129), a state tax on the sale of user data by large corporations (SB 1327), increased regulation of driverless cars (SB 915), and local control over oil and gas operations (AB 3233). She also failed to support a key criminal justice reform of the school-to-prison pipeline that would have ended a requirement that school principals must notify police of students caught possessing small amounts of narcotics (AB 2441).\u00a0<\/p>\n Mike Netter<\/a> is a Republican activist and conservative media personality and a strong supporter of President Trump. Independent Robert R. Jimenez<\/a> advocates for failed reactionary policies like tying work requirements to social assistance, opposing laws allowing undocumented immigrants to work certain jobs, and stripping formerly incarcerated people of the right to vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n None of these candidates deserve your vote.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Senate District 24: John Erickson<\/p>\n Eight Democrats and two Republicans are running to replace Ben Allen in this Westside district stretching from Malibu to West Hollywood to Palos Verdes. West Hollywood City Councilman John Erickson<\/a> is a longtime advocate for progressive priorities including renter protections, universal childcare, medicare-for-all, and safe streets for pedestrians and bicyclists. John is endorsed by numerous labor unions representing working people, as well many progressive politicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n No other candidate has Erickson\u2019s track record of progressive advocacy. Dr. Sion Roy<\/a> is a cardiologist and associate professor of medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Ellen Evans<\/a> is a former union carpenter who founded a neighborhood association in West Hollywood. Gen Z candidate Zennon Ulyate-Crow<\/a> founded a nonprofit that advocated for affordable student housing. All three have decent policy priorities such as expanding healthcare access and protecting the environment, but none go as far as Erickson in supporting bold solutions.<\/p>\n The rest of the candidates lean more centrist or conservative. Venice real estate attorney Mike Newhouse<\/a> is a former president of the Venice Neighborhood Council and has received numerous endorsements from police associations. Brian Goldsmith<\/a> is a journalist, tech entrepreneur, and Democratic consultant who has endorsements from Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and the LAPD police association. Healthcare executive Eric Alegria<\/a> formerly served on the Palos Verdes City Council. Attorney Amaris Dordar<\/a> and Republicans Kristina Irwin and G. Rick Marshall are also in the race.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Senate District 26: Maebe Puldo<\/p>\n A crowded field of eight candidates is running to replace State Sen. Maria Elana Durazo in this Central LA district.<\/p>\n Silver Lake resident Maebe Pudlo<\/a>, who currently works as the program manager for the local homeless nonprofit nonprofit SELAH, is an outspoken progressive and is refusing all corporate donations. Maebe is a fierce critic of ICE<\/a> and supports universal healthcare through CalCare, universal childcare, strengthening renter protections, implementing a vacancy tax to push more housing units back to the market, and a housing-and-services-first approach to homelessness. Maebe would further vote against new leases for oil & gas drilling in California. She is also trans non-binary and was the first drag queen ever elected<\/a> to public office in the United States after being elected to the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n Real estate attorney Sara Hernandez<\/a> has served on the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees since 2022 and is a former LAUSD middle school teacher. She has endorsements from unions representing teachers, nurses, and other working people, as well as Dolores Huerta and the Sierra Club. She supports universal childcare, building denser housing near transit, and increasing incentives for film and TV productions in LA.<\/p>\n Wendy Carrillo is attempting to return to the state legislature after previously serving six years in the Assembly. During her previous tenure, she frustrated tenant advocates<\/a> with her reluctance to support renter protections and collected large corporate donations<\/a> from health insurance, pharmaceutical, and energy companies. Carrillo has also shown questionable judgment on multiple occasions, including a 2024 DUI<\/a> and attending a lobbyist-funded conference<\/a> in Hawaii in 2020 when everyone else was on COVID lockdown.<\/p>\n Glassel Park resident Sara Rasc\u00f3n<\/a> was born and raised in El Sereno and has worked in the government offices of Mayor Karen Bass and then-Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez. Echo Park resident Juan Camacho<\/a> formerly worked as a vice president for government relations at Fox Corporation and now leads a prominent LGBT organization. He has received campaign donations from three of the major movie studios and has relatively centrist political positions. No information is available regarding Paul Bowers. Two Republicans are also in the race.<\/p>\n Maebe is the antidote to politics as usual, which is exactly what this moment requires.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Senate District 28: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas<\/p>\n Lola Smallwood-Cuevas<\/a> is one of LA\u2019s most progressive assemblymembers, passing legislation<\/a> to increase worker protections, pushing to end oil drilling at the Inglewood Oil Field in her district, and supporting anti-displacement policies in South LA. She also co-authored a criminal justice bill that would have ended the requirement that schools report student behavioral or drug possession issues to law enforcement (AB 2441<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Independent Daphne D. Bradford and Republican Joe Lisuzzo voice outdated tough-on-crime positions and are out of step with the needs of working people. Lola deserves your vote.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Senate District 30: No Recommendation<\/p>\n In two terms representing this southeast Los Angeles County district, Democrat Bob Archuleta <\/a>has repeatedly favored corporate interests<\/a> over his own constituents. He has failed to support new laws protecting renters, including limits on the deductions a landlord can take out of a security deposit<\/a>, and failed to support proposed laws to increase transparency of corporate entities and to restrict private equity from taking over healthcare facilities. He also has a mixed record on criminal justice reform<\/a> and the environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the assemblymember\u2019s lone opponent, Republican Araceli Martinez,<\/a> is a right-wing agitator who has appeared at local colleges with a \u201cDeport All Illegals\u201d sign as part of a controversial debate tour. This district consistently votes for the Democratic Party by 20% margins, so it is not competitive. Send Bob a message and skip this race.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Assembly<\/p>\n State Assembly District 34: Randall Putz<\/p>\n Four candidates are running to replace term-limited Republican Tom Lackey in this sprawling High Desert district. Democrat Randall Putz<\/a> is an active leader in the Big Bear Lake community, serving as city councilmember, mayor, and school board member among other positions over the past 15 years. His platform includes ensuring big corporations pay their fair share, fighting to hold law enforcement accountable, more state support for affordable housing, and enacting tenant protections.<\/p>\n The Republicans in the race hardly cover themselves in glory. Former Democrat turned Republican Steve Fox was charged with sexually harassing<\/a> two female employees during his one term in the Assembly in the 2010s. Republican Charles Hughes is a former prison guard who has locked up endorsements from police associations and Republican politicians. Republican Manny Lin is a public school teacher who supports anti-LGBTQ+ \u201cparental rights\u201d rules and increasing criminal sentences. Putz is the best candidate in this race.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Assembly District 39: No Recommendation<\/p>\n Democrat assemblymember Juan Carrillo<\/a> remains a disappointment in this Latine-majority district that includes parts of Palmdale, Lancaster, and Victorville. Carrillo, who immigrated from Mexico at age 15 and previously served on the Palmdale City Council, opposed or failed to support bills strengthening oversight over offshore drilling platforms, private equity takeovers of hospitals, and subcontracting of public jobs.<\/p>\n Carrillo faces Republican Paul Marsh in a rematch of 2022 and 2024, both of which Carillo won with 57% of the vote. Neither candidate deserves your vote in this uncompetitive race.<\/p>\n Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n State Assembly District 40: Pilar Schiavo<\/p>\n Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo<\/a> has represented this swing district in Santa Clarita and Northwest San Fernando Valley since 2022. Schiavo, a former union organizer for the California Nurses Association, has supported tenant protections, worker rights, and affordable housing, but has been an inconsistent ally<\/a> on criminal justice reforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n She faces off against three Republican challengers. Elizabeth Ahlers is a Christian far-right leader in the anti-trans \u201cparental rights\u201d movement. Electric lineman and former police officer Rickey Hayes wants to increase criminal sentences and restore conservative values. Andreas Farmakalidis speaks in cliches and fails to state any policy positions. Vote Schiavo.<\/p>\n