7 candidates vie for LA City Council seat vacated by Nury Martinez

Seven candidates are vying for the open Council District 6 seat which was vacated last year by Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez. The councilwoman resigned on October 12, 2022, after her 2021 recorded racist comments were leaked.

In November 2022, The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-0 to approve the special election at an estimated cost to the city of up to $7.65 million. The special election to fill the San Fernando Valley seat takes place on April 4 and the winning candidate will serve the remainder of Martinez's term, which ends in December 2024.

The race is nonpartisan, yet all candidates but one are registered Democrats. All seven candidates are under the age of 40, and none have been elected to a major office before. 

Three of the candidates; Marisa Alcaraz, Imelda Padilla, and Marco Santana, have backgrounds working for local elected officials. The remaining four; Rose Grigoryan, Isaac Kim, Antoinette Scully, and Douglas Sierra, have never worked in government.  

Loyola Marymount University political science professor,  Fernando Guerra, said this is a tough election, as the goal is to fill an empty seat. 

"There is no major differentiating issue amongst the candidates. Special elections are incredibly undemocratic and they will solidify ... and whoever wins this, will probably end up in that position for about 13 years," said Guerra.

The Sixth District -- which includes central and eastern portions of the San Fernando Valley -- is currently being overseen by a non-voting caretaker, the city's chief legislative analyst, Sharon Tso. A non-voting caretaker does not hold a seat on the council, but oversees the council office to make sure the district provides constituent services and other basic functions.

Martinez, along with fellow councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and Ron Herrera, the president of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, can be heard making racist comments targeting Councilman Mike Bonin's two-year-old Black son, as well as several other ethnic groups during an Oct. 2021 recorded conversation. 

Hours after the audio was first leaked, Martinez stepped down from her presidency, then her full council resignation followed days later.