Q&A With Imelda Padilla Who Has Declared Victory LA's Council District 6 Race

Imelda Padilla declared victory on Friday over Marisa Alcaraz in the special election for Los Angeles City Council District 6 in the San Fernando Valley.

The latest results show Padilla in front with 56% of the vote to 44% for Alcaraz. The results are not yet final, with more votes still to count. That said, the margin appears too wide to close.

The 35-year-old Padilla is a community organizer and onetime field deputy to former Council Member Nury Martinez. This special election was called because Martinez resigned her council seat in October after she was heard making racist remarks on a leaked secret audio recording.

LAist's Sharon McNary spoke to Padilla about her victory, and her plans for Council District 6.

Q: You worked for Nury Martinez — what did you think of what she said and what will you do to repair the racial wounds that were inflicted?

Padilla: When the audio was leaked, I had a lot of different emotions. A lot of members in my community had different emotions about it, too. Now that I’m through the campaign, I would talk about how we need to sit down town hall style or focus group style, and really figure out a way to, as a community, feel comfortable enough to talk about it, and plan out how it never happens again.

Q: City Hall has seen multiple council members indicted and convicted of public corruption. What will you do to address City Hall corruption?

Padilla: I think there's definitely an opportunity on the policy side. I know there's a committee that focuses on government operations and how we can be better at what we do. I'm curious to know if maybe there's some room to figure out how to cut things out or reduce corruption. But I know from a personal level, I'm going to always refer to a story my father told me about his own experience when he was 8 years old, and how it's just not healthy to be one who wants to live above their needs.

Q: Homelessness is the top concern among L.A. residents right now. The latest homeless count found the number of unhoused people grew by 10% in the city. What do you plan to do to address the crisis in your district?

Padilla: One of the first things I want to start working on is getting together with Mayor Bass and focus on hosting an Inside Safe, maybe even two, in my district. There's definitely spaces and opportunities, especially with a lot of the motels, on places like San Fernando Road and Sepulveda Boulevard.

I'm very ready and excited to figure out creative ways of how we can also bring in our partners from the county to really hone in on the service side of what some of these homeless individuals are going through.

Q: Outside groups spent more than $700,000 dollars on your campaign. The city firefighters union, The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and business groups like the American Beverage Association spent money on your behalf. How will you maintain your independence from these groups?

Padilla: You just have to have an open door policy for everyone, not just the people that support you, but also those that you have to not, and be intentional about reaching out to all of LA stakeholders. These people just happened to believe in my ability to get here, and they were right.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Frank Stoltze contributed to this report.