L.A. District – In Los Angeles’ District 13 contest, Hugo Soto-Martínez and three challengers clash over homelessness policy, tenant protections, and state housing plans.
A fight over how Los Angeles should respond to homelessness is defining the L.A. City Council District 13 race, with incumbent Hugo Soto-Martínez and three challengers sharply divided on what “solutions” should look like.
Soto-Martínez. seeking to hold the seat. is centering his campaign on housing and services as a package. arguing that homelessness worsens when underlying crises such as mental illness. substance use. and domestic violence are not addressed.. He says he has built an internal office team focused specifically on homelessness and points to his time in office as evidence that the approach can reduce homelessness while keeping people housed longer.
At stake in District 13 is more than a single policy disagreement. The candidates are effectively debating what kind of city Los Angeles can afford to be, and how quickly it can translate funding into stable outcomes.
One of the challengers, Kendall, frames the issue from the perspective of impact she says she has seen up close.. Her work. she says. has shown that providing housing alone does not automatically solve the broader problems driving people onto the streets.. She cites the need for wraparound services and backs initiatives that combine housing with longer-term support systems. while criticizing one-size-fits-all approaches.
Kendall also opposes a state plan aimed at expanding high-density housing near major transit hubs.. Her argument is that housing growth should follow a more locally tailored strategy rather than a uniform template. a stance that mirrors how voters in many neighborhoods are weighing density. transit access. and community character.
Meanwhile. Sarian says the city is not truly solving homelessness but managing it. pointing to concerns about how programs are tracked and what their long-term effects look like.. He argues that some approaches may move people into housing quickly without ensuring sustainable progress. and he calls for better measurement and stronger involvement from partner agencies.
Sarian also highlights the role of housing supply. saying the city should streamline permitting to prevent delays that can slow construction.. Like Kendall and others in the race. he questions using the state’s transit-linked density plan as a blanket solution. saying building higher-density housing should be guided by neighborhood-specific factors such as traffic patterns and transit access.
In contrast. Carlisle focuses on homelessness spending and the city’s financial constraints. arguing that current efforts have not been held to enough accountability as budgets tighten.. He supports inside-the-system programs but warns that the strategy risks operating like a short-term fix rather than a durable plan.
He also says Los Angeles should enforce local rules that limit encampments near schools and daycare centers and support state changes that expand the definition of “gravely disabled” for purposes related to involuntary treatment. arguing that the city must intervene more directly for those he describes as the most vulnerable.
This race matters because it captures a larger Los Angeles question: whether the city will treat homelessness as an ongoing crisis to be administered, or as a problem that requires tighter accountability, more targeted services, and a housing strategy designed around measurable results.