Kevin de León has conceded in the L.A. City Council race against tenants rights attorney Ysabel Jurado.
His concession Friday evening came as Jurado continued to widen her early lead in L.A. City Council District 14, with nearly 13% more votes than de León, the incumbent. Jurado's victory brings another progressive council member to the table.
In a statement released on social media, De León said he was "proud of the great work we have accomplished together and am grateful our office will have a lasting impact on the community that will be seen for years to come."
He offered Jurado congratulations on a "well-fought campaign."
De León has been representing the district since 2020 and had hoped to secure his second term. He was one of three council members 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. The scandal has hung over De León’s seat and campaign.
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What the candidates had to say
At her Election Night event at Block Party, a Highland Park bar, Jurado told LAist she's ready to go to work.
"In the first hundred days, we're going to go and start town halls because we want to know what the voters really care about," she said. "And sometimes, a lot of the times we find, even on this campaign trail, they have their own solutions to the problems that they're facing. And at the end of the day, they're the ones that are being the most affected by the policies I pass. So, working together and making co-governance a reality for them."
Jurado added that she didn't expect the early results to be so positive, and she's relieved that the nearly two year campaign journey is coming to a close.
"The outcome didn't matter to me — what we built, what we've done, was something worth noting as itself," she said. "So it feels like a cherry on top ... to feel this up."
Meanwhile, at his Election Night event at San Antonio Winery, De León acknowledged his role in the leaked tape scandal.
"I owned it, and I apologized," he said during a speech. "But I didn't quit on you because that was too much at stake, and it was too much if our district didn't have representation."
Instead, De León said his team dug deep to deliver the services, programs, and funding that council district 14 deserves.
"Even in the face of intense, relentless, scrutiny and pressure, we didn't flinch," he said. "We held strong for our community."
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