Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Race For City Council Seat Between Gil Cedillo, Joe Bray-Ali Will Likely Go To Runoff Election In May
Joe Bray-Ali. (Photo courtesy of Joe Bray-Ali)
()
According to the LA Times, Gil Cedillo remains at 49.4% of the vote for the Los Angeles District 1 City Council seat, just under the 50% required to prevent a runoff election in May. This percentage comes from the L.A. County Registrar's most recent count on Friday afternoon. The final tally is set to occur on Monday; 9000 ballots remain to be counted, and it's unlikely they will bring Cedillo over 50%. If a runoff election does occur, it will take place on May 16.
The runoff comes at the end of a high-profile city council contest between Cedillo and Bray-Ali. Cedillo, who served on the California State Assembly and California Senate before assuming his city council position in 2013, consistently stalled the development of bike lanes on Figueroa and considered displacement in his neighborhoods an "urban myth," according to the LA Times. With development, housing, and L.A.'s transit-oriented future all major local issues, this opened the door for a legitimate opponent to Cedillo's leadership. Bray-Ali entered the race as an underdog bike activist, but his campaign's focus on addressing the development crisis in his neighborhood brought him high-profile endorsements from publications like the LA Times, and now a legitimate shot at unseating Cedillo in the runoff.
The LA Times explains how, for the runoff campaign, Bray-Ali aims to focus on his specific plans for the district, including developing basic services and improving communication between City Council and the community. In response to the tight race, Cedillo has also expressed regret at labeling Bray-Ali's campaign "a hipster campaign or candidacy."
The contest between the two highlights the complex nuances of L.A.'s path into its future as a city. Cedillo was a member of the coalition against Measure S; the measure aimed to stop the majority of development in Los Angeles. The defeat of the measure was symbolic of L.A.'s transformation as an urban environment prepared to meet the needs of its growing population. Still, Bray-Ali's campaign paints Cedillo as an out-of-touch councilmember, demonstrating that some activists consider the relationships between city council and private developers as a more pressing problem than development itself.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist