L.A. Democratic – The Los Angeles chapter of Democratic Socialists of America is backing candidates for city attorney and four City Council seats in the June 2 primary, aiming to move City Hall further left on homelessness, rent control, and public safety—while critics warn the
For the first time, the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is assembling what its leaders call the biggest slate of democratic socialists Los Angeles has ever seen—betting that a June 2 primary will translate organizing power into seats that can shape policy for years.
The group is backing candidates for city attorney and four City Council seats. Its stated goal is a more progressive City Hall. including policies aimed at homelessness. rent control and public safety. along with a socialist city attorney to help enforce them. The timing is deliberate: voters head to the polls on June 2 for the primary, then to the Nov. 3 general election.
Sean Wakasa, a UC Riverside graduate student who serves as DSA’s local co-chair, said the campaign is about turning ideas into concrete steps—making “a city that works for working-class Angelenos.”
At the center of that strategy is the city attorney’s race. DSA leaders are endorsing Marissa Roy, a deputy state attorney general, against incumbent City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto. Wakasa said the city attorney’s office is especially crucial. arguing that a socialist city attorney would not only advance new proposals but also enforce the progressive policies the city already has.
Business and civic leaders who oppose the movement see it differently. Stuart Waldman. president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. said the city is not better to live in now than it was before DSA gained traction. He pointed to homelessness he described as “running rampant. ” rising costs. and a lack of building as reasons he believes the city’s situation has deteriorated.
Waldman also said DSA’s elected officials are reluctant to compromise. “Most DSA elected officials are unwilling to meet with the opposition,” he said. “They believe what they believe. They’re not going to change. They’re not going to move. And so it makes it harder for deals to get cut.”
Those concerns are sharpened by the fact that DSA already has elected influence. Four of the current 15 council members, including mayoral candidate Nithya Raman, were elected with DSA support. City Controller Kenneth Mejia was recommended by the group, though not formally endorsed.
DSA is also seeking to expand. After the June 2 primary and the Nov. 3 general elections, the group could potentially hold six council seats, its leaders said. Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez were elected with DSA support in 2022 and are seeking reelection this year with DSA backing.
Beyond incumbents, DSA is backing Faizah Malik, a public interest attorney, against incumbent Councilmember Traci Park in her Westside district. The group is also supporting community organizer Estuardo Mazariegos for the seat now held by term-limited Curren Price. in a district that includes the Convention Center.
For mayor, DSA leaders said they recommended but did not formally endorse Raman.
Leslie Chang, DSA co-chair, pointed to a buildup of frustration behind the group’s rise. She said COVID-19. Trump administration policies and the Ukraine war contributed to people becoming disillusioned with their political leaders. and that DSA’s push was meant to answer those frustrations. She also cited the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s mayor as a boost.
On policy, Chang acknowledged both progress and limits. DSA-backed council members have worked with other left-leaning council members to cap rent increases on rent-stabilized properties at 4% per year. impose a $30-an-hour minimum wage for airport and hotel workers. and expand an unarmed crisis response pilot program that deploys trained mental health professionals to some emergency calls instead of police.
But Chang said the group has run into walls on matters where it can’t win over moderate Democrats. She said it has often lacked the power to limit anti-encampment zones around the city and to block police contract increases.
Chang said that if DSA candidates win this cycle. the group expects the city attorney’s office to go after landlords that violate rent ordinances. She also said it expects DSA-backed council members to oppose increases to the LAPD’s wage and operating budget and instead work to maintain wage increases for workers.
“Having more democratic socialists on City Council is, I think, going to be better overall for the way the city is managed and run,” Chang said.
Kamy Akhavan. managing director of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future. described DSA’s climb as part of a wider national shift. He said polarization has accelerated across the country—red cities getting redder and blue cities like L.A. getting bluer, particularly in states where one party holds a supermajority. When conservatives aren’t present in enough numbers to force compromise. Akhavan said contrasting ideas have to come from somewhere else.
One of the candidates challenging Hernandez. Kamy Akhavan’s assessment is not shared by Maria “Lou” Calanche. a self-described lifelong progressive who is running for reelection against Hernandez. Calanche called many DSA policies too ideological to be effective. saying they make her—though she identifies as progressive—appear more moderate.
She pointed to the open-air drug market in MacArthur Park. which recently underwent a federal raid. as an example of what she said are weak DSA homelessness policies. “They are basically trying to become a political machine,” Calanche said. “So everything that they are working against, they are becoming.”.
Hernandez declined to comment, but Chang did not dispute the assertion that DSA is seeking to gain power. The disagreement, she said, is over how that power is pursued. Chang said DSA’s approach is rooted in grassroots activism rather than big-money donors. and that the group is focused on everyday workers in Los Angeles rather than special interests.
DSA’s rising influence has also spilled into the wider political conversation online and in viral media. Chang pointed to recent AI videos supporting Spencer Pratt featuring characters with “DSA” stamped on the backs of their jackets as thuggish masked enforcers. as well as “Star Wars” storm troopers fighting L.A. residents for Mayor Karen Bass and their shared opponent Raman.
Chang said she laughed when asked about the videos, but admitted they were unsettling to view at first. “DSA takes up space in the conservative consciousness,” she said, “because its grassroots support is a foreign strategy to its right-wing counterparts.”
Even if DSA wins all the endorsed races, Wakasa said the group’s power could be diluted if the city charter reform commission process results in additional council seats. Wakasa said DSA is focused only on winning its races.
There is no pause planned after June 2. Chang said that even with its sights set on the six races, DSA intends to start seriously considering support for candidates for county, state and even national seats to continue expanding its reach.
Los Angeles politics Democratic Socialists of America City attorney race Hydee Feldstein Soto Marissa Roy City Council races homelessness policy rent control public safety Sean Wakasa Leslie Chang Nithya Raman