Latino, Asian political candidates’ contest may reshape L.A. Eastside

The text message that showed up on the phones of Eastside voters last month began with a warning: Forty years of Latino political representation is under threat.

The ad from Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León’s reelection campaign also featured a grainy, unflattering photo of his opponent, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado.

“We need to protect Latino voices,” the message said, “and re-elect Kevin de León for city council.”

Those words brought into public view an issue whispered about for months: Voters in the 14th District, which includes heavily Mexican American neighborhoods such as Boyle Heights and El Sereno, could soon elect a council member who is not Latino for the first time since 1985.

Jurado, 34, has been looking to make history by becoming the first Filipino American on the council. She has spent much of the campaign slamming De León over his participation in a secretly recorded conversation punctuated by crude and racist remarks.

That scandal left De León so politically weakened that two Latino state Assembly members, Wendy Carrillo and Miguel Santiago, challenged him for his council seat. But they lost in the March primary, and now their Assembly seats are up for grabs.

That chain of events could reshape the political landscape of the Eastside, the birthplace of Chicano activism in L.A.

In Tuesday’s election, Asian Pacific Islander candidates are running against Latino opponents to replace Carrillo in the 52nd Assembly District and Santiago in the 54th. Meanwhile, in the 34th Congressional District, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a son of Mexican immigrants, is facing off against attorney David Kim, who is Korean American.

Like the 14th Council District, those three districts are majority Latino and cover parts of the Eastside, which includes such communities as Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights and East Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León, center, sent a text message warning that Latino representation in his district is “threatened.” His opponent, Ysabel Jurado, called it racially divisive.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

If De León loses, Latinos will occupy just four of the council’s 15 seats — roughly 26% — while Latinos make up about half of L.A.’s population. That outcome would carry a special irony, since De León lamented Latinos’ lack of political clout on the leaked audio.

The potential for losing so many Latino representatives in so many majority-Latino districts worries Nilza Serrano, president of the Avance Democratic Club, which supports candidates who favor a “progressive Latino agenda.”

“I do think Latinos need to come out and vote for their candidates, and that representation is key for access to services,” said Serrano, who supports De León.

Jurado, who lives in Highland Park, called De León’s text message “racially divisive,” saying he learned little from the audio scandal.

“For him to make this assertion that only Latinos can govern Latinos is contrary to the reality that I know, growing up in a diverse city and a very diverse neighborhood and being able to cross those divides,” she said.

The 2022 audio leak upended City Hall, with community leaders voicing outrage over the racist and disparaging remarks on the hourlong recording. De León issued apologies but ignored widespread calls to step down.

With De León politically isolated, Carrillo and Santiago launched campaigns to unseat him instead of seeking reelection to the Assembly. Jurado, a political newcomer, finished first in the primary, with De León second.

De León’s reelection fight comes at a time of major losses for the Latino political establishment. Former L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina, viewed as a legendary figure in many circles, died of cancer last year. Former City Councilmember Richard Alatorre, who represented De León’s district from 1985 to 1999 and was known for his deft use of power, died in August.

Mark Gonzalez, now facing off against John Yi in the 54th Assembly District, said he is grateful to those who fought for Latino representation. He said he would not be where he is without their successes.

At the same time, he called the De León text message “distasteful.”

“It’s pitting groups against each other,” said Gonzalez, who is Mexican American and a former president of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

Pedestrian advocate John Yi and political aide Mark Gonzalez are running to replace Assemblymember Miguel Santiago in a district that includes Boyle Heights.

(John Yi; Mark Gonzalez)

Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said residents in L.A.’s majority-Latino districts have shown a willingness to cross racial or ethnic lines when voting.

Councilmember Curren Price, who is Black, has won repeatedly in a South L.A. district that’s nearly 80% Latino. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is Latino, represented an Eastside Assembly district for six years, only to be replaced by Councilmember Jackie Goldberg in 2000, once he was termed out.

“The idea that a Latino district went with an older, white LGBT representative is pretty phenomenal,” said Guerra, referring to Goldberg. “It shows the openness of that electorate.”

Wendy Carrillo, who steps down from her Assembly seat later this year, said she finds younger Latino voters are much more invested in a candidate’s positions than their racial or ethnic identity.

“There’s a newer Latino voting bloc that looks beyond ethnic politics and wants to see values-driven leadership,” she said.

Boyle Heights resident Derek Mejia, 28, echoed that view. Mejia, who lives at home with his mother, said he is more focused on the high cost of rent than a candidate’s race.

“I’m more interested in policy and results,” he said.

City Controller Kenneth Mejia, L.A.’s first Filipino American elected official, has been campaigning for Jurado in recent weeks. He’s also backing Yi, the former head of Los Angeles Walks, in the 54th Assembly and Kim in the 34th Congressional District race. Both Yi and Kim are Korean Americans.

Speaking at a campaign rally last month, Mejia said Jurado is on track to make history. At the same time, he warned against focusing too heavily on a candidate’s ethnic background.

Mejia said a Jurado victory would expand the bloc of council members willing to push back against Mayor Karen Bass’ budget — and police spending.

“Identity politics is cool,” he told the crowd. “But it’s not what makes change.”

Hoang Nguyen, who chairs the Asian Pacific Islander caucus of the California Young Democrats, also has been tracking the Eastside contests. In his personal capacity, he has volunteered for the campaigns of Yi, Kim and Jessica Caloza, who is Filipino American and running in the 52nd Assembly District. He also attended a comedy fundraiser for Jurado.

Nguyen, who lives in Koreatown, said he is backing those candidates not simply because they are API but because of their values and, in some cases, because he knows them personally. All four would work hard to represent Latino constituents, he said.

“They’re not going to be serving Asian Americans only. That’s not how this works,” he said. “All of them have done outreach to the Latino community and have done it intentionally.”

Yi, who is running to replace Santiago, said he’s been talking to voters in English, Spanish, Korean and — when speaking with Armenians — a bit of Russian. “I canvass 80% of the time in Spanish,” he said.

The council currently has three members with Asian heritage, including De León, who has described his father as a mix of Chinese, Guatemalan and Mexican. L.A.’s population is about 12% Asian, which includes Filipino communities near downtown.

Behind the scenes, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s legal team has raised concerns about whether the way the city’s 15 council districts are drawn provides sufficient representation for Latinos. Bonta’s team has pressed the city to create new maps, a demand that may be taken up by the council after the election.

Los Angeles City Council candidate Ysabel Jurado, in front of her family home in Highland Park in March. She said she won’t “sell out this district and these historically Latino communities.”

(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)

Despite weeks of vitriolic campaigning, De León and Jurado have much in common. Both were raised by immigrants and are allies of organized labor. Both have promised to fight the displacement of low-income renters.

Jurado said her life experiences are universal to the district. She had a child at 18, relied on food stamps and lives with her father, in part because of high housing costs.

Her campaign has posted Spanish-language videos featuring prominent Latino leaders, including L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis. The campaign also has staged events with Filipino civic groups in the district, which is 61% Latino and nearly 15% Asian.

Jurado, in an interview, said the district’s last two Latino representatives — De León and Jose Huizar, now serving a 13-year sentence on corruption charges — “betrayed” their constituents.

“I’m not here to pretend I’m Latino. I’m here to be a true ally,” she said. “I’m not going to sell out this district and these historically Latino communities.”

De León, 57, stood by his record and his campaign text message, saying it’s important for the district to have a representative who speaks fluent Spanish and shares cultural ties with a majority of its residents.

That connection, he said, is why he fought in the state Legislature to designate California as a “sanctuary state” and make driver’s licenses available to unauthorized immigrants.

“Representation is not just about checking boxes. It’s about lived experiences, and a deep understanding of a community’s needs and struggles,” said De León, whose mother was from Guatemala and cleaned houses.

At a recent bilingual candidate debate, De León spoke mostly in rapid-fire Spanish, while Jurado, relying on an interpreter and a discreetly hidden earpiece, gave all but her final remarks in English.

State Assembly candidate Jessica Caloza campaigns with Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, left, at Teresita’s in East Los Angeles.

(Nick Agro/For The Times)

In the race to replace Carrillo, Caloza has scooped up endorsements from dozens of labor unions and filled voters’ mailboxes with campaign ads. The Asian Pacific Islander Leadership PAC also has sent multiple mailers on her behalf, including one featuring a woman holding a sign with the message “Stop Asian Hate.”

When she was 4,Caloza moved with her family to the U.S. from the Philippines. Her parents worked low-wage jobs. The youngest of six children, she became the first in her family to get a college degree.

“My story of growing up in an immigrant, working-class family resonates with this district because that is this district,” said Caloza, a former public works commissioner.

Caloza’s opponent, Franky Carrillo — no relation to Wendy — has sent a single piece of campaign mail so far. His endorsements include U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Pacoima), state Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.

Franky Carrillo was wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for two decades. Now an advisor to the Los Angeles Innocence Project, he said a candidate’s “lived experience” and character are more important than their ethnic background.

Franky Carrillo, who speaks Spanish, said some residents have told him they want a Latino representative.

“But more often I hear from voters that they or a family member identifies with my experience of injustice in the justice system,” he said in an email. “They tell me that they, too, had a parent who suffered without health insurance and passed away.”

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he is not worried about non-Latino candidates prevailing in the Eastside contests. Given the demographics, whoever wins will need to serve their Latino constituents — or else find themselves in trouble politically.

“At the end of the day, this is what diversity means,” he said.