Voters in Los Angeles split between candidates when it came to how the Los Angeles City Council should deal with homelessness, in looking at semi-official results in key council races, released on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
In Hollywood, voters backed a candidate who is more oriented toward homeless rights than current District 13 Councilman Mitch O’Farrell. But in District 11 on the Westside, semi-official results suggest voters preferred the moderate candidate Traci Park over Erin Darling, endorsed by Councilman Mike Bonin, the sole L.A. councilmember to oppose a ban on homeless camps near schools and childcare facilities.
Below is a look at where the four L.A. City Council races on the Nov. 8 ballot currently stand — the 5th, 11th, 13th and 15th Council Districts — based on semi-official results. More results are expected from the county registrar on Friday.
Runoff for LA’s Westside District 5, Katy Young Yaroslavsky, Environmental Attorney and Sam Yebri Non-Profit Director/Business owner. (Courtesy Photos)
Katy Young Yaroslavsky retained a lead over Sam Yerbi in the District 5 race, based on semi-official results released on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
She won 55.53% of the vote to his 44.47%, or 25,420 votes compared to his 20,357.
Yaroslavsky and Yebri campaigned to represent a Westside district of wealthy and working-class neighborhoods that meanders from Bel Air to Palms, Pico-Robertson, Greater Wilshire and Mid-City West. The seat is open because of the departure of City Councilman Paul Koretz, who is running for L.A. City Controller.
Yaroslavsky took a leave of absence from L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office in September 2021 to campaign after years of working for Kuehl as senior policy director for the environment and the arts.
Yebri, a nonprofit director and business owner, served on the city’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in 2013, chaired his neighborhood’s public safety committee and was a board member of the Anti-Defamation League.
Major differences between them included their approaches to public safety, the homeless and affordable housing.
Los Angeles City Council runoff for L.A.’s Westside District 11, Erin Darling versus Traci Park. (Photos courtesy of the candidates)
On Wednesday, Traci Park maintained a lead over Erin Darling in the District 11 race, winning 55.46% of the vote to Darling’s 44.54, based on semi-official results. She had 28,947 votes to Darling’s 23,248.
Darling and Park were looking to replace Bonin, who isn’t seeking reelection. Council District 11 includes Venice, Mar Vista, Westchester, Playa del Rey, Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades and is the wealthiest of the 15 L.A. City Council districts.
“Win or lose, I’m humbled by all the support from our community this past year,” Darling tweeted Wednesday. “We’ve grown together as a community, bonded by the kindness and solidarity that makes up the best of the Westside. That’s not going away regardless of the outcome. More than ever, I believe in us.”
Win or lose, I’m humbled by all the support from our community in this past year. We’ve grown together as a community, bonded by the kindness and solidarity that makes up the best of the Westside.
That’s not going away regardless of the outcome. More than ever, I believe in us.
— Erin Darling (@WestsideDarling) November 9, 2022
The candidates slugged it out during the campaign, each accusing the other of missteps in their legal careers and stark differences in their approaches to homelessness and public safety.
Park said during the campaign, “We cannot and will not criminalize poverty, addiction, or mental health disorders – but we can and must insist upon clean and safe streets, parks and neighborhoods.”
Darling is an advocate for the homeless and called for “coordination amongst social service agencies to help transition people from shelters to permanent housing.”
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, left, and labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez appear to be headed to the November runoff after neither got 50% of the vote for LA’s Council District 13 seat in the Tuesday, June 7, 2022 primary election. (Courtesy photos)
City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell was trailing Hugo Soto-Martinez in District 13 on Wednesday, according to semi-official results.
Soto-Martinez won 52.26% while O’Farrell won 47.74%. Soto-Martinez had 17,401 votes to O’Farrell’s 15,896.
“We’re up by nearly 5 points and if this continues we are certainly going to win — I actually think we already won — but we got to wait a little bit,” said Soto-Martinez in a video posted on Twitter on Nov. 9.
He added, “We led this campaign with a lot of love, solidarity and community because that’s what we need in the city of Los Angeles. … I look forward to working and really trying to change the city of Los Angeles for good.”
We’re in the lead by 5% with so many more progressive ballots to be counted!
To everyone who knocked doors,
phonebanked, donated, and lent their amazing talents to our campaign: Thank you!!
Together we’re building a multiracial multigenerational movement of love and solidarity! pic.twitter.com/qF8J3RrmfQ
— Hugo Soto-Martínez (@HugoForCD13) November 9, 2022
O’Farrell was elected to the City Council in 2013 to represent 256,315 residents in a sprawling district that includes Atwater Village, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Little Armenia and Silver Lake.
O’Farrell has said voters understand L.A. is at a crossroads as it emerges from the pandemic and grapples with a City Hall racism scandal, homelessness and public safety. He pointed, during the campaign, to his efforts to create affordable housing, reduce homelessness, protect renters and address climate change.
Soto-Martinez has been an organizer with Unite Here Local 11 and has worked on policy issues, pushing for a minimum wage and Airbnb regulations. The son of Mexican immigrants, his plan is to convert empty hotels and retail and office spaces into homeless housing.
Tim McOsker and Danielle Sandoval, candidates for Los Angeles City Council District 15. (Courtesy photos)
Tim McOsker was far ahead of Danielle Sandoval in the District 15 race, based on semi-official results released on Nov. 9.
McOsker won 64.83% of votes to Sandoval’s 35.17%. He had 15,321 votes to Sandoval’s 8,311.
McOsker, a nonprofit director and businessman, and Sandoval, an entrepreneur and community leader, are looking to replace two-term L.A. City Councilman Joe Buscaino. Buscaino unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the June primary, but in doing so had to forfeit his right to run for a third term on the city council.
McOsker has a background in local government as a top aide to Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn from 1997 to 2001, and then as Hahn’s chief of staff. Before that McOsker served as a city attorney to various Southern California jurisdictions.
Sandoval, a former restaurant owner, was president of the Harbor City Neighborhood Council and worked for 20 years in the hospitality industry, and also was part of a team that launched a firm offering low-cost legal assistance.