Adlin Nazarian won the race to represent the San Fernando Valley region on the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, and Heather Hutt retained her seat to be appointed in 2022.
Isabel Jurado, who represents downtown and parts of the East Side, defeated incumbent Kevin de Leon, giving the city a majority of women for the first time.
Hutt sent an email to his supporters Tuesday thanking them for choosing him to represent the district, which stretches from Koreatown to the Crenshaw Corridor.
Hutt, 65, was first appointed to the post by council in 2022 after then-council member Mark Ridley-Thomas was indicted on corruption charges.
She was the first woman and first black woman elected to the seat. When the new members begin work on December 9, she will be one of eight women on the 15-member council.
“Seven was good, but eight would be great,” Hutt said in an interview Tuesday. She said eliminating homelessness, ensuring public safety and cleaning streets and sidewalks will be priorities over the next four years.
Mr. Hutt led the District 10 election Monday night with 63% of the vote, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk.
With the number of remaining votes dwindling, her opponent, Grace Yu, appears to have no way of catching up.
Hutt had the backing of Mayor Karen Bass and support from businesses and unions. She was a strong supporter of Healthy Streets L.A., passed by voters in March and requiring the city to build bus and bike lanes.
Mr. Yoo, an estate planning attorney and longtime critic of City Hall, raised nearly $500,000 in the primary and general elections, slightly more than Mr. Hutt. Yu has previously run for the District 10 seat twice, losing to incumbent Herb Wesson in 2015 and Ridley Thomas in 2020. Ridley-Thomas was indicted by federal prosecutors the following year and remains free while he appeals his conviction.
District 10 serves all or part of Mid-City, Little Ethiopia, Leimert Park, La Cienega Heights, Baldwin Hills, Jefferson Park, Koreatown, and South Robertson.
In the race to replace outgoing City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who represents the eastern San Fernando Valley, Nazarian, a small business owner and member of the NoHo area, had 54% of the vote as of Monday night. He led Gillian Burgos by nearly 10 points. Council.
Mr. Nazarian, a former state lawmaker and former aide to Mr. Krekorian, said in a telephone conversation Tuesday that he was “tired” but “in good spirits.”
The longtime politician raised more than $1 million during the campaign, a fraction of what Burgos raised. He has the backing of business and labor groups, as well as Bass.
Mr. Burgos, who was supported by many center-left groups, including the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, hoped to expand the bloc of “ultra-progressives” who had pushed the City Council to the left.
The group includes City Council members Unis Hernandez and Hugo Sotomartínez, and will soon be joined by Jurado, the new District 14 representative.
Neither Burgos nor Yoo immediately responded to requests for comment.
Nazarian, 51, said some of his first actions as a city council member will be to address homelessness in District 2, which includes all or parts of areas such as North Hollywood, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen and Valley Village. He said he would focus on
Nazarian summed up the atmosphere in the city by citing “a sense of anxiety that many people are feeling.” He said during the campaign, voters felt uncomfortable walking on the sidewalks and, in some cases, witnessed public drug use.
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