Eunisses Hernandez declared victory Friday for a second term on the LA City Council, beating out several challengers who focused on frustrations around the unhoused population in the neighborhoods she represents.
Though counting was ongoing, as of Thursday night, 12,459 voters chose Hernandez, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. That put her on course to win more than 50% of votes, which, if confirmed by the final count, would allow her to avoid a November runoff.
In a statement to The LA Local, Hernandez thanked District 1 voters for their trust.
“This victory was made possible by an extraordinary multiracial, multigenerational coalition of neighbors, workers, tenants, immigrants, students, artists, elders, labor unions, community organizations, small business owners, and community leaders that believe in a city that refuses to leave anyone behind,” she said. “Together we knocked over 69,000 doors, made over 16,000 calls, wrote over 5,200 postcards, and built the kind of people-powered movement that no amount of special interest spending or dark money could manufacture.”
In 2022, Hernandez unseated former councilmember Gil Cedillo as a progressive alternative for the district that includes Koreatown, Pico Union, Westlake, Chinatown, University Park, Highland Park, Cypress Park and other pockets of the city. Among the issues she originally campaigned on were affordable housing and tenant protections, as well as providing alternatives to traditional policing.
Over the last four years, she voted on a variety of measures to promote housing affordability, while also supporting small business owners with grants and tackling quality-of-life issues like broken street lights.
“Our win is a reminder that even in a political moment defined by cynicism, division, and fear, people still believe in one another and in the possibility of a better future. I look forward to continuing the work alongside our communities to build a care-first Los Angeles that invests in all of its people,” Hernandez said in her statement Friday.
The 36-year-old had fielded attacks over the district’s unhoused population, street sanitation and the slow pace of the change she promised.
Her challengers included Sylvia Robledo, a former field deputy for Cedillo, as well as longtime Eastside community leader Maria “Lou” Calanche, who previously served on the LA Police Commission. Pico Union organizer Raul Claros and executive consultant Nelson Grande rounded out the ballot. In early results, they trailed behind her.
The race grew heated in April, Claros stormed out of a candidate forum at Franklin High School over what he described as disruptions from the audience and the lack of a Spanish-language translator.
Claros also drew attention when he parked an RV at MacArthur Park on Friday, saying he would stay there over the weekend to show his commitment to addressing the drug use, homelessness and other issues there.
Meanwhile, Hernandez faced attack ads from a shadowy group using the name Neighbors First; the Hernandez campaign described them in a statement to The Eastsider as misinformation and fearmongering.
A previous version of this story was mistakenly published ahead of Hernandez’s statement.
