LA City Council: Who’s Running In The 2022 General Election And Why It Matters

If you live in the city of L.A., your city council member is probably the most powerful and important elected office you can vote for.

The makeup of the council determines what kind of laws might get passed that affect the entire city of L.A. How do you feel about issues like rent control? Building more housing? Transportation and pedestrian safety? Consider what solutions you’d like to see to these problems when thinking about which candidate to support.

What does L.A.’s city council do?

• Create local laws, known as ordinances (the mayor then approves or vetoes those ordinances)
• Order elections
• Impose and regulate city taxes
• Authorize public improvements
• Approve city contracts
• Adopt traffic regulations 
• Vote on the mayor’s proposed budget 

If you want to know more about how the city council works and what decisions face the next council, head to our guide to the city council.

Fast facts on District 6

• State of the race: Imelda Padilla, the newest member of the council, is defending the seat she won in a special election last June.
• Number of candidates: 3
• Where: Sun Valley on the eastern edge of San Fernando Valley to Lake Balboa, west of the 405, including Arleta, Panorama City, Van Nuys, Sun Valley, Lake Balboa, and parts of North Hollywood and North Hills
• Key issues: Economic development, homelessness, pollution and noise from the Van Nuys airport, and responsiveness of city services for trash pickup and illegal dumping
• Notable: Former city council president Nury Martinez resigned in October 2022 after being caught on tape making racist remarks in a conversation with two other city council members. The seat was vacant until the June 2023 special election in which Padilla was elected.
• March outcome: If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, they’ll win the election outright. Otherwise, the top two candidates will make the runoff on your November ballot. Given that Padilla was just elected a few months ago, it’s pretty likely…