Six candidates are vying for Los Angeles City Council District 9, focusing on immigration, public safety, and neighborhood change.
Election season in South Los Angeles is sharpening as six candidates line up for the City Council District 9 seat, each presenting a different blueprint for what comes next in the community.
At the center of the race is Jose Ugarte. who has worked in local politics and ties his campaign to immigration enforcement fears affecting undocumented residents.. Ugarte says he wants to protect Angelenos from deportation efforts he associates with the Trump administration. including by pushing changes to a city policy known as Special Order 40. which is aimed at limiting how immigration status is policed.. His campaign also emphasizes protest-related boundaries he argues would reduce the appearance of collaboration between local police and federal immigration authorities.
This matters because immigration enforcement and local public safety policy are increasingly intertwined in city races nationwide, shaping how voters evaluate whether government can protect vulnerable residents.
Other candidates bring different angles on community organizing and local services.. Estuardo Mazariegos. a native of Guatemala who arrived in Los Angeles as an undocumented child before later gaining citizenship. highlights organizing work with lower-income Black and brown communities through a progressive statewide nonprofit.. He is based in the Vermont Square area and positions his candidacy around empowerment efforts that reach beyond election day.
Elmer Roldan, who immigrated from Guatemala as a child and also gained citizenship, describes a long path through education advocacy.. He points to experience in community-based efforts and later roles connected to supporting students. including work that focuses on preventing school dropouts. with an emphasis on what he says young people need to stay on track.
Meanwhile, Jorge Nuño is a South L.A.. native whose campaign highlights entrepreneurship and community space building through “The Big House. ” which he describes as both a business office for his design work and a venue for other local organizations.. He previously ran for the same council district and later sought a seat on the county Board of Supervisors.
Martha Sánchez. a professor and marriage and family therapist who also organizes in the community. frames her bid around gentrification pressures. economic decline. and public safety concerns in District 9.. Her background spans community organizing and counseling. and she argues that addressing neighborhood transformation requires a mix of social support and practical policy choices.
As the District 9 race develops, the common theme across campaigns is how to define safety, opportunity, and belonging in a neighborhood under strain. For voters, the question is not only which candidate has the loudest message, but who offers the most credible route to lasting change.