With the election to replace former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nury Martinez less than three weeks away, the two candidates vying to represent Angelenos in Council District 6 both went on the attack this week as they made their cases for why voters should elect them.
During a candidates forum in Van Nuys on Wednesday, June 8, candidates Imelda Padilla and Marisa Alcaraz, who came in first and second, respectively, in the April primary election, addressed issues ranging from homelessness and development to public safety and how they plan to engage with the local Armenian community if elected. The forum was hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.
Both candidates grew up in San Fernando Valley and have at least one parent who immigrated from Mexico. Padilla, 35, has a master’s degree in public administration. Alcaraz, a 38-year-old single mom, has a master’s in public policy.
Both have advocated on similar issues, including raising the minimum wage and environmental justice, though the roles they’ve played have differed, with Padilla advocating as a community organizer while Alcaraz has spent 15 years in City Hall, mainly working to draft policies. Neither of them supports defunding the police department but they agree that alternative, unarmed responses should be part of a comprehensive public safety program.
With the June 27 runoff election approaching fast, the candidates, who appear similar on paper in many respects, used this week’s forum to try to differentiate themselves — at times going on the offense.
“I have never worked for Nury Martinez or anyone from her political machine, unlike my opponent,” Alcaraz said at the start of the forum.
Alcaraz, a top aide to Councilmember Curren Price, who is Black, was referring to the former city council president who resigned in disgrace last October after being caught making racist and demeaning comments about Blacks and other groups of people in a secretly recorded…
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