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LA City Council Appoints Padilla To District 6 Seat Ahead Of Final Vote Count
Imelda Padilla points out on a map where she lives in Sun Valley.
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Frank Stoltze
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LAist
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The Los Angeles City Council unanimously appointed District 6 front-runner Imelda Padilla as a temporary voting councilmember on Wednesday. The move comes two days before the county registrar is set to certify her expected victory in the June 27 special election.
Padilla's replacing former Council President Nury Martinez, who resigned following the leaked audio scandal last year.
Padilla declared victory Friday in her race against Marisa Alcaraz, who conceded that day. As of the latest count, Padilla was leading with about 56% of the vote.
The winner of the special election was set to be sworn into office in early August. While the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder is scheduled to certify the final results this Friday, the council goes on recess after Wednesday's meeting.
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District 6 covers most of the central and eastern San Fernando Valley, including North Hollywood and Pacoima. The district has had a non-voting caretaker for nearly eight months.
Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Eunisses Hernandez welcomed Padilla to the chambers on Wednesday.
"Everything that you represent is who our community is," Rodriguez said. "Imelda is going to be bringing that passion, that history, and that connectedness of service."
DO I LIVE IN DISTRICT 6?
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Council District 6 in the San Fernando Valley stretches from Sun Valley on the eastern edge of San Fernando Valley to Lake Balboa, west of the 405. It includes Arleta, Panorama City, Van Nuys, Sun Valley, Lake Balboa, and parts of North Hollywood and North Hills. Input your address here to find out whether you live in this district.
Padilla took the oath of office with her family beside her and thanked them for supporting her over the years.
"I just want to let everybody know: Please feel welcome to call me Councilmember Imelda ... let's get to work," she said.
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Imelda Padilla.
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Courtesy of Imelda Padilla
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Padilla is a community organizer and one-time field deputy to Martinez. As a teenager, Padilla and activists fought over the expansion of a landfill in Sun Valley. She also worked for the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy, where she pushed to raise the minimum wage in L.A. in 2015.
Padilla received more than $700,000 in contributions from outside groups during her race against Alcaraz, with money coming from the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and the American Beverage Association. When asked by LAist how she will maintain her independence, she said she will keep an open door policy for everyone.
"These people just happened to believe in my ability to get here, and they were right," she said.
On addressing homelessness, Padilla said she'd like to see one, or perhaps two, Inside Safe sites added to her district. The program is L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' signature initiative aimed at getting people off the streets.
"There's definitely spaces and opportunities, especially with a lot of the motels, on places like San Fernando Road and Sepulveda Boulevard," she said.
Councilmembers Heather Hutt, Tim McOsker and Katy Yaroslavsky were absent during the vote. Curren Price hasn't returned to city council since the county district attorney charged him with embezzlement of government funds, conflict of interest and perjury. The council’s Rules Committee delayed a vote to suspend Price on June 23.
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LAist's Frank Stoltze and Sharon McNary contributed to this story.
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