Early voting begins in LA City Council District 6 special runoff election
Early voting began Saturday for the June 27 special runoff election to fill the City Council's District 6 seat vacated when former Council President Nury Martinez resigned.
The Sixth District consists of Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley and the eastern portions of North Hills and North Hollywood.
All registered voters in the Sixth District received a vote-by-mail ballot late May, according to Los Angeles City Clerk Holly Wolcott. Voters can cast ballots at three vote centers that opened Saturday, at a ballot drop-box, or by mail. The deadline to submit a ballot is June 27.
The locations of the vote centers or ballot drop-boxes is available here.
The vote centers are open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for accessible in-person voting, or to return a completed vote-by-mail ballot.
Imelda Padilla, a community relations manager, and Marisa Alcaraz, a City Council aide, took the two top spots in a seven-candidate field in the April 4 special election. With no candidate receiving a majority, the runoff between the top two vote-getters became necessary.
Padilla has pledged to prioritize "an immediate solution to the unhoused crisis because what is currently occurring is not working."
"I will propose an emergency remediation of encampments, connecting the unhoused population to essential services that will support them in finding housing, employment, and health services," Padilla said on her campaign's website.
"I will work cohesively with all stakeholders, residents, non-profits organizations, religious leaders, business owners and health organizations to develop and implement sensible hyper-local solutions that make our communities safer, sanitary, and sustainable."
The 35-year-old Padilla was born in Van Nuys and raised in Sun Valley, graduating from Roscoe Elementary School, Byrd Middle School and Polytechnic High School. She received a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a master's degree from Cal State Northridge.
Alcaraz has said she "will prioritize helping people without homes off our streets and into housing, where they can get the care they need to get back on their feet."
Alcaraz has said she supports conducting extensive outreach and having a "Housing First" approach.
"We need to continue to invest in outreach teams, especially the multi-disciplinary teams that include a nurse and mental health professional," Alcaraz said.
The 38-year-old Alcaraz is deputy chief of staff and environmental policy director to Ninth District Councilman Curren Price. She was raised in Lake Balboa and graduated from Birmingham High School. She received a bachelor's degree from UC Irvine and a master's degree from USC.
Eligible residents who missed the registration deadline can still vote at any vote center. Under California election law, conditional voter registration allows a prospective voter to register and cast a ballot.
Voters can track their ballots using "Where's My Ballot," a free subscription that sends automatic notifications by text, email or voicemail on the status of a ballot.
Martinez represented the district until October, when she resigned first her Council presidency -- and then, two days later, her seat altogether -- after she was caught making racist comments in a meeting that was secretly taped and leaked to the news media.
The Sixth District is being overseen by a non-voting caretaker, the city's chief legislative analyst, Sharon Tso. A 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.
The winner of the runoff will finish Martinez's term, which ends in December 2024.