The two candidates in the special election for the Los Angeles City Council District 6 seat differ little on policy but offer distinctly different resumés in their quest to replace former Councilmember Nury Martinez, who resigned last fall over secretly-recorded racist remarks.
The scandal rocked City Hall and lurks in the background of a race that has turned increasingly nasty in recent days.
Marisa Alcaraz and Imelda Padilla are seeking to represent a district that stretches nearly 20 miles across the San Fernando Valley, from Sun Valley west across the 5, 170, and 405 freeways through Arleta, Panorama City and Van Nuys to Lake Balboa. It includes heavily industrial areas, leafy neighborhoods with rows of single-family homes and streets densely packed with apartment complexes and strip malls.
Padilla won the most votes, and Alcaraz finished second, in the first round of voting on April 4, when seven candidates were on the ballot. The top two finishers moved on to a June 27 runoff. Ballots have been mailed out, so voting is already underway.
The race is for one of 15 powerful seats on the council, where members control how development, policing, homelessness, and other policies are carried out in their districts. Councilmembers — who each represent about 260,000 people — also vote on citywide issues like the LAPD budget, models for unarmed responses, and housing policies.
Two San Fernando Valley natives
Alcaraz, 38, was born on the far western edge of the district in Lake Balboa, a residential area that straddles the Van Nuys airport. Today, she lives near her childhood home, where her parents still reside. Her father immigrated from…
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