By Frank Stoltze and Makenna Sievertson
Originally published Aug. 15, 2024.
If you live in the city of L.A., your city council member is probably the most powerful and important elected office you can vote for.
The makeup of the council determines what kind of laws might get passed that affect the entire city of L.A.
In the 14th District, Kevin de León is running for his second term, despite previous calls for his resignation. He faces Ysabel J. Jurado on the November ballot.
Fast facts on District 14
- State of the race: Kevin De León has been representing the district since 2020 and is running for his second term. He faced seven challengers in the primary and ended up with just over 23% of the vote to Ysabel J. Jurado’s 24%.
- Where: Northeast L.A., spanning Downtown L.A. to Highland Park.
- Key issues: Restoring trust in government, housing affordability, homelessness (the district includes Skid Row)
- Notable: Wondering why trust in government is such a key issue? De León was one of the three councilmembers caught on tape in 2022 having a conversation tinged with racist remarks that centered on using the city’s redistricting process to amass more power. De León has faced continued calls to resign over his participation in that conversation. His predecessor, José Huizar, was suspended from the city council in 2020 after being arrested by federal agents. Huizar was recently sentenced to 13 years in prison for racketeering and tax evasion while in office.
- March outcome: It’s often a safe bet that an incumbent will win with 50% of the vote and therefore win the primary outright, but De León’s fraught recent history made it a very competitive seat. Find out more about the candidates below:
Ysabel Jurado
Tenant Rights Attorney
Jurado is a tenants rights attorney and affordable housing activist. She describes herself as a single mom and daughter of undocumented Filipino immigrants. She is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where she specialized in critical race studies and public interest law and policy.
Platform highlights:
- On housing affordability: Jurado supports a vacancy tax to encourage property owners to rent or sell vacant properties. She also proposes charging a speculation fee to property flippers — people who buy a property relatively cheaply with plans to renovate it and resell it for a much higher price. Jurado also says we need to “focus” on community land trusts, in which a nonprofit buys and owns land on behalf of a community under conditions that allow residents to buy property there at an affordable price.
- On pedestrian and cyclist safety: Jurado says she would “re-introduce” on-demand sidewalk crossings, which allow pedestrians to trigger a walk signal when they need to cross, as well as other traffic calming measures such as roundabouts and raised crosswalks. She also supports wider sidewalks, more benches for resting, and protected bike lanes.
- On public safety: Jurado says making public transit safety is a top priority, and that making Metro free would help with that by decreasing the amount of cars on the road and providing “safety in numbers” on buses and trains. She also calls for greater investment in the Metro ambassador program to increase the number of ambassadors available, increase pay, expand their working hours, and improve training, including conflict de-escalation.
- On restoring public trust: Jurado calls for expanding the City Council to at least 25 councilmembers from its current size of 15 to “not only enhance representation but dilute the concentrated power wielded by a few individuals.”
- On public input: Jurado emphasizes the importance of sharing power with constituents. She says L.A. “desperately needs” participatory budgeting and that she would host frequent public meetings and forums.
Go deeper: Jump to Jurado’s full answers to the LAist candidate survey
More voter resources:
- Website: YsabelJurado.la
- Endorsements: See full list here
- Video: Ysabel Jurado looks to become first FilAm LA city councilor (ABS-CBN News)
Kevin De León
Los Angeles City Council member
De León has been District 14’s council member since 2020. He served in the California State Senate from 2010 to 2018, eventually becoming the leader of the senate. He served in the Assembly from 2006 to 2010, and before that was a labor organizer with the California Teachers Association. He unsuccessfully ran for L.A. mayor in 2022 and U.S. senator in 2018. He faced widespread calls to resign after a secret recording was released in 2022 revealing a conversation between him, two other councilmembers and a labor leader using frank and racist terms to discuss how to use the city’s redistricting process to amass more power.
Platform highlights:
- On housing affordability: De León says that addressing the housing crisis requires a “multi-pronged” approach with “common-sense programs.” He pointed to his role streamlining the ADU approval process by developing a set of pre-approved plans as an example of that. He also approved Downtown L.A.’s latest community plan update, which requires new developments to be built with a percentage of units for low-income tenants.
- On pedestrian and cyclist safety: Citing an increase in traffic deaths despite Vision Zero, De León said that he is working to “reverse this tragic trend.” He pointed to his success securing $90 million in grants to fund pedestrian and cycling improvements such as curb cuts, pedestrian lighting, street trees, and new bike lanes. He also authored a motion calling for the addition of warning lights to all pedestrian crosswalks.
- On public safety: De León said that although violent crime is down overall, it’s gone up in some parts of his district. “We need to equip police and prosecutors with the tools to go after the organized crime rings that are perpetrating crimes like the current rash of smash-and-grab robberies among other criminal offenses,” he said. He also called for more lighting in neighborhoods “to ensure there aren’t dark places that invite criminal activities” and an expansion of programs such as LAPD’s Community Safety Partnership.
- On restoring public trust: “I understand and empathize with Angelenos who feel discouraged by the recent criminal corruption scandals and demoralizing events that have unfolded in our local government. I believe that our city government needs to be more transparent and accessible to all Angelenos. I also believe that when a mistake is made that a true leader should own that mistake and reconcile it for the people we serve. That is why on day one, I have owned my role in the recorded audio tapes and have immediately apologized for any harm that I have caused to our city and my constituents. … [however] restoring public trust means delivering tangible, measurable results for the residents of Los Angeles.”
Go deeper: Jump to De León’s full answers to the LAist candidate survey
More voter resources:
- Website: KevinDeLeon.com
- Endorsements: See full list here
- Video: One-On-One with Black Los Angeles: A conversation with Tavis Smiley and Kevin de León (KBLA)
Follow the money
Here’s how Kevin de León and Ysabel Jurado stack up in campaign fundraising
