The Battle For Nury Martinez’s Seat

Last October, the city council leaked tape heard ‘round the world was made public. The fallout was huge, leading, for one thing, to the resignation of the Los Angeles City Council President, Nury Martinez, who was caught on that tape making racist and other ugly remarks.

Now the moment has arrived to replace her.

Two candidates. Two vastly different resumes.

For months, several candidates have been vying for her San Fernando Valley seat in Council District 6; now there’s only two at the top who will square off during the runoff election on June 27: Imelda Padilla and Marisa Alcaraz.

The two Valley-bred Mexican American women may have similar politics, but they have particularly different backgrounds. My colleague Frank Stoltze wrote about the political fight between Alcaraz, the “policy nerd” and Padilla, the “grassroots organizer” in his latest story.

For Alcaraz, it’s all about the work she’s already done in political offices:

“I know how to write policy. I also know how to work on budgets, how to get resources, how to bring projects to fruition,” Alcaraz told Frank. “I’m a big policy nerd, really.”

For Padilla, it’s all about the work she’s done with communities on the ground:

“My role was to build out a base in the San Fernando Valley,” she said. “I got the community impact statements out here from the neighborhood councils, and got a lot of support from the nonprofits.”

Both have received the support from city hall lobbyists, labor unions and powerful politicians. And both agree on a lot of issues, like increasing the size of the LAPD and using more unarmed response teams for those suffering through mental health crises. But then there are some issues where they do disagree, like banning RVs from residential areas, vehicles that often serve as people’s temporary shelter.

Read the rest of Frank’s article to learn more about these two candidates' similarities and differences here.

There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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Wait! One more thing....

Remembering Mexico's missing through recipes

A photograph from the "Recetario Para La Memoria" exhibit at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

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Zahara Gómez Lucini

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Courtesy of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes

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There are more than 100,000 people who have been reported as missing in Mexico, and to memorialize them, there’s a new exhibit in L.A. showcasing recipes provided by families of favorite foods. My colleague Leslie Berestein Rojas wrote about Recetario Para La Memoria: a recipe book for memory, a new exhibit at the La Plaza Cocina inside of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes downtown.

Ximena Martin, La Plaza’s director of public programs and culinary arts, said this about the exhibit:

“It’s to highlight the power of food and memory, and that memory of our loved ones,” Martin said, “and in this case … to bring acknowledgement to the lost disappeared in Mexico.”

The showcase is open through Nov. 19. Read Leslie’s story for more info.