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.
At Election Night Parties, City Council Candidates And Their Supporters Wait On Future Of District 13
Echo Park Lake
(
Adoramassey, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
)
As of Wednesday afternoon, labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez leads incumbent Mitch O’Farrell in a tight race to represent Los Angeles’ 13th council district.
Here's L.A. County's schedule for the release of new vote totals
-
Estimated time of the following releases is between 4- 5 p.m.
-
Tue, Nov. 22 | Fri, Nov. 25 | Tue, Nov. 29 |Fri, Dec. 2
-
And if needed, Monday, Dec. 5
-
Read more about turnout: What We Know So Far About SoCal Voter Turnout In The 2022 General Election
-
The vote count as of Nov. 18:
-
- 2,441,323 ballots have been processed and counted
- 80% of those were mail-in ballots
- 20% voted in person
-
Still to be counted:
-
- Vote by Mail ballots: 22,200
- Conditional Voter Registration ballots: 3,000
- Provisional ballots: 50
Whether residents said they supported O’Farrell or Soto-Martinez, they identified the same key issues, including homelessness and affordable housing.
Support for LAist comes from
Samuel Muston cast his ballot across the street from Echo Park Lake, where nearly 200 unhoused people were cleared from an encampment in 2021. Muston visits the area often and particularly enjoys the swan boat rides and people watching.
“I think it's so important for the citizens to enjoy it as like, the beauty that it is,” Muston, a nearby resident, said. “It was really straying away from that.”
Muston said he respected how O’Farrell handled the park’s clean-up.
I want change. Everything.
— Iris Arias, East Hollywood resident
Jenny Moratay stopped to talk to Soto-Martinez, who was campaigning nearby before voting.
“My everyday life is very important. Obviously, the federal elections are very important. But the local elections for me have an everyday impact,” Morataya said. She’s encouraged by Soto-Martinez’s support for climate policy and transit infrastructure.
Iris Arias was one of the last people to vote at Ramona Elementary school in East Hollywood.
Support for LAist comes from
“I want change,” she said. When LAist asked for details, the mom of a 10- and 4-year-old said, “everything.”
Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell at his election night event at The Vermont in Hollywood, Calif. on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
(
Mariana Dale
/
LAist
)
O’Farrell gathered supporters Tuesday night at an East Hollywood event venue washed in purple-blue lights and covered in dozens of campaign signs, even in the restroom. He wore a suit with a lapel pin representing his membership in the Wyandotte Nation.
Soto-Martinez supporters huddled under a white tent on the patio of Atwater Village’s Club Tee Gee. When the party was ushered off the patio at 10:30 p.m., Soto-Martinez stood in the rain wearing a Unite HERE Local 11 windbreaker to thank departing supporters.
Five newcomers will be sworn in as L.A.'s newest city council members next month. Clockwise: Hugo Soto-Martinez; Eunisses Hernandez, Traci Park, Katy Young-Yaroslavsky; Tim McOsker.
(
Josie Huang/LAist
/
LAist
)
“It doesn't matter which issue it is, whether it's homelessness, housing, public safety, the environment, or transit issues, we simply are not doing enough,” Soto-Martinez said.
O’Farrell, a two-term council member, argued he has done plenty, from housing people to creating pandemic relief programs in a district that includes East Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Historic Filipinotown.
Support for LAist comes from
“It's not rocket science. It's hard. It takes daily work,” O’Farrell said. “It's a slog, but if we could do this in every council district, then it could be successful for the rest of the city.”
Whoever is elected to the seat will have to rebuild trust within the council and with Angelenos after recordings released last month revealed conversations between then-City Council President Nury Martinez, Council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera that included racist remarks and a discussion about how to cement political power.
More Election Results
City of Los Angeles
- Mayor | City Controller |City Council
- Measures: LH (how-income housing)| SP (parcel tax for parks) |ULA (aka "mansion tax")
L.A. County
California propositions
“People are sick and tired of backroom dealing, people carving up the city for their own selfish interest,” Soto-Martinez said. “That's the old way of doing things and we're trying to usher in a new way of doing politics.”
Martinez resigned her seat on the council last month. Cedillo and de León have refused to step down, but haven’t been back to any council meetings once protesters began interrupting meetings following the tapes’ release. The other members of the council voted to censure de León and Cedillo late last month.
O’Farrell said the council moves forward by getting to work, pointing to Tuesday’s council meeting.
Support for LAist comes from
“We can't let the refusal of a couple of council members to resign stop us from doing our business,” he said, giving as an example $2 million approved for grants to renters in his district that day.
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
-
After rising for years, the number of residential installations in the city of Los Angeles began to drop in 2023. The city isn’t subject to recent changes in state incentives, but other factors may be contributing to the decline. -
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
-
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
Best of LAist