Elgin Nelson, Staff
The race for City Council representation in the 10th district has shifted into high gear with candidates recently submitting reports disclosing the front-runners in campaign fundraising efforts, which is providing insight into the dynamics of the contest. Grace Yoo is the top candidate with $186,714, with Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer close behind her with an impressive $179,126. Councilwoman Heather Hutt, who presently occupies the seat, isn’t far behind, having raised $174,785 in her campaign coffer.
Aura Vasquez, who previously ran for the 10th District seat, sits in the fourth position, only raising $90,351, and Pastor Eddie Anderson rounds out the top five candidates with $51,553 for his campaign. Total contributions have crossed the half-million threshold with $682,529.
While Yoo may have raised the most money and was the second-place finisher in a hard-fought 2020 campaign against Mark Ridley-Thomas for the Tenth District seat—this race remains wide open with most giving the edge to incumbent Councilwoman Heather Hutt. A former L.A. City Commissioner, Yoo worked as an attorney representing abused and neglected children at L.A. County’s Children’s Law Center and spent ten years serving as the Executive Director of the Korean American Coalition.
Jones-Sawyer—who announced his run in February “to end corruption”— has served as assemblyman for the 57th District (which includes the communities South Los Angeles, Exposition Park, and downtown Los Angeles) for more than a decade. A veteran campaigner, the 66-year-old legislator won reelection four times and has spearheaded multiple community initiatives to make local neighborhood schools and higher education more affordable and accessible.
Hutt is running for office to retain the seat she was appointed to fill with the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas. Hutt, the first black woman to serve in the Tenth District and the only Black woman currently serving on the City Council.
The Tenth District councilwoman recently introduced a motion that would ban cashless retail businesses in the city of Los Angeles. She previously served as the state director to then U.S. Senator Kamala Harris.
Anderson is a beloved long-time devotee of civil rights activism with historic ties within the faith community as the senior pastor of McCarthy Memorial Christian Church and a grassroots activist who is close to the issues that plague Angelenos in the 10th District. The Morehouse graduate, affectionately dubbed “Pastor Eddie” is a regional organizer for LA Voice (PICO), the co-Founder of Clergy4BlackLives, and a convener and former Co-Chair of the New Poor People’s Campaign in California.
The 2024 primary election is scheduled for March 5, 2024.