Knock LA’s Voter Guide: March 2024 Primary Election

In 2024, Los Angeles sits at a political inflection point. The city’s progressive movement made significant gains in the 2020 and 2022 elections, which led to meaningful changes like stronger renter protections and criminal justice reform. But now police associations, corporate landlords, and other entities that benefit from the status quo are gearing up to spend millions to reverse the progressive wave.

So voters face a stark choice: turn back to the failed policies of past decades, or press forward — to build and preserve affordable housing, stop planet-destroying emissions, reimagine public safety, and get people off the streets and sustainably into shelter and housing. The time is now!

The Knock LA Voter Guide is a labor of love for a better Los Angeles. These recommendations were made after extensive research by our team of our editors and writers. Many thanks to everyone that devoted time to this massive collaborative effort.

If you find this guide useful, we would be so grateful for any donation you can give — so we can produce another voter guide for this November.

Knock LA is a journalistic project of Ground Game LA.

Also available in Español (Spanish)

CITY OF LOS ANGELES

Council District 2: Jillian Burgos

California State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian is the frontrunner in the race for City Council District 2. He served as a staffer for Paul Krekorian, both in Sacramento from 2006 to 2010 and again in 2010 when Krekorian took office as councilmember. If he were to replace Krekorian, his tenure as councilmember would be more of the same — voting to expand the police budget, and shuffling unhoused people from street corner to street corner. Vote instead for Jillian Burgos.

Jillian Burgos is a healthcare worker, the owner of a small theater company, and a North Hollywood Neighborhood Council representative. During her budding career as a public servant, she has proven her progressive values by helping organize support for tenant protections and unarmed response pilot programs. She supports ending 41.18, moving toward fare-free access to Metro, and exploring a universal basic income program. Her endorsements include City Controller Kenneth Mejia, Burbank city councilmember Konstantine Anthony, and former candidate for mayor of Los Angeles Gina Viola. What we are seeing in CD 2 is a classic attempt to simply pass the baton and we recommend voters reject business as usual. Vote Burgos.

Council District 4: Nithya Raman

Nithya Raman has changed the game in Los Angeles city politics.

When she won in 2020 as an unapologetic progressive insurgent, she became the first candidate in decades to unseat an LA City Council incumbent. Her campaign, aimed at renters and backed by an unprecedented level of grassroots mobilization, was a revelation that blew the old, consultant-driven model out of the water and attracted national attention. She boldly placed the homelessness crisis at the forefront of discussion, daring to propose that the remedy was not a relentless, harsh treatment of unhoused neighbors. Instead, she advocated for housing, essential services, and, above all, humane sympathy and solidarity.

She came onto a council that treated dissenting votes as anathema and has proved willing to buck leadership. She has staffed her office with progressives and policy experts (often both) from outside the usual, incestuous circles of the local political establishment. Her office revolutionized homelessness outreach in the city with its emphasis on outreach, care, and building relationships of trust with unhoused constituents — a model that has increasingly spread throughout the council.

She and her staff have also worked with housing advocacy groups to build a true co-governance model for housing policy that has paid dividends in the major tenants rights package that passed a closely divided council in early 2023. She joined with two colleagues to oppose the disastrous new police contract — not enough to stop it, but an act of political defiance that would have been unthinkable before 2020.

Raman has tried to walk a delicate tightrope in balancing her core progressive tenets with the pragmatic political demands of needing to deal with council colleagues, disaffected constituents, police unions, real estate interests, and others who are implacably hostile to her and her supposedly radical policies. It has been a messy and sometimes awkward process at times — including her uncertain, stumbling path to endorsing a ceasefire in Gaza — but the overall picture of Raman’s tenure that emerges after nearly a full term is that she has persisted as stalwart progressive who remains committed to making LA City government more humane, more responsive, and more committed to serving all Angelenos, not just the privileged.

There is no better proof of the strength of her record — and of the threat she has posed to the old way of doing business — than how hard the old guard has worked to destroy her. Disgraced former council president Nury Martinez and her allies attempted to put Raman’s district in a “blender” during redistricting, and the new district that emerged is roughly 40% new, with significantly more conservative territory added on.

It is a tribute to Raman’s continuing reserve of political support that even with a new bespoke map tailored to oust her, the best challenger anyone could come up with is Ethan Weaver. Weaver, a former Republican and current neighborhood prosecutor with the LA city attorney’s office, is an obnoxious and anti-charismatic politician. His campaign is largely composed of outlandish and at times outright false claims about how Raman has reduced CD 4 to a smoking ruin, along with endless pictures of himself in front of firetrucks. (Software developer Levon Baronian is also running.)

That said, Weaver has attracted major outside funding support from police unions and shady developers, as well as fellow “ex”-Republican Rick Caruso, so Raman is not in the clear. She still needs strong support from progressives to carry her back into another term. And frankly, she’s earned it.

Vote Raman.

Council District 6: No Recommendation

This district, formerly represented by disgraced council president Nury Martinez, elected Imelda Padilla in a special election in 2023, after progressives split their support between three candidates and were shut out of the runoff. Upon taking office, Padilla promptly hired a former state Assembly staffer accused of sexual misconduct, then fired him after Knock LA reported the story. Her record includes voting for the budget-busting LAPD pay raises and repeated votes for inhumane 41.18 motions, which criminalize unhoused people and discourage long-term solutions to homelessness. Padilla cannot be recommended.

Her challengers are no better. Ely De La Cruz Ayao supports racist neighborhood watch programs and has been endorsed by Republican clubs. Carmenlina Minaslova supports more police funding and “military camps” for unhoused individuals. Knock LA declines to recommend a candidate in this race.

Council District 8: No Recommendation

Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson (MHD) frustratingly sits just outside the progressive bloc in City Council, sometimes voting with the bloc while other times deserting it. He has worked to implement democracy vouchers and voted for capping rent increases.* However, MHD voted for the massive, budget-busting LAPD pay raises in August 2023. In 2021, he voted to adopt LA Municipal Code 41.18, which criminalized unhoused individuals for sitting, sleeping, or lying in certain locations. He continues to vote for some of the 41.18 motions which criminalize new locations.

While MHD will likely win this race in a landslide, two other candidates are running. Jahan Epps is a real estate guy. Enough said. Cliff Smith is the union business manager for Roofers Local 36, who serves on the South Central Neighborhood Council. He supports full voting rights for immigrants and a $25 living minimum wage by 2025. He also advocates for an end to LAPD’s cooperation with ICE in city jails and supports the construction of a women’s shelter at Western and Figueroa. He also happens to share a name with Method Man, which doesn’t really matter, but is kind of cool.

Knock LA declines to make a recommendation in this uncompetitive race.

Council District 10: Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson has been a stalwart progressive activist for years. Senior pastor of the historic McCarty Memorial Christian Church and a staff organizer for LA Voice, Anderson has long been a familiar face and a strong voice in coalitions on transformation of the criminal legal system, racial justice, combating poverty, and other important issues in Los Angeles. He has also been active on local government commissions, including the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Committee for LAHSA and LA County. He also served on the LA City Redistricting Commission, where he did his job seriously and honorably amidst a corrupt and shambolic process.

Anderson would be an outstanding addition to City Council — he is knowledgeable, passionate, and deeply committed to movement politics, and would be a firm vote on the council’s growing progressive bloc.

The current incumbent, Heather Hutt, was handpicked by the local party establishment to fill the seat left open by the federal indictment (and subsequent conviction) of Mark Ridley-Thomas on corruption charges. In fact, the machinations to put her in place, along with her expected reliability as a compliant vote, were a major subject of the leaked Fed Tapes.

In wake of the tapes’ release, Hutt has positioned herself as a somewhat more progressive and independent voice, and has provided some valuable votes on issues such as tenants’ rights. But she has also cast lousy votes for the grotesque new LAPD contract, the city budget, and more. There is little reason to trust that her dabbles in decent governance have anything to do with an awakened conscience rather than political maneuvering.

Grace Yoo is running for this seat for the third time. She has a history of helping to lead some rather nasty protests against homeless shelters in Koreatown and has a long history of NIMBY activism.

Aura Vasquez is a former commissioner for LADWP who ran unsuccessfully for this seat in 2020. Reggie Jones-Sawyer has a decent record of service in the Assembly, particularly on criminal justice issues, but the history of members who wrap up a career in Sacramento for a curtain call on the City Council is not great.

Anderson is the strongest choice.

Council District 12: Serena Oberstein

Waiting for CD 12 to elect a progressive to City Council sometimes feels like waiting for Texas to elect a Democrat for a national office. It seems like it should happen sooner or later, but it never does. The previous councilmember, Mitch Englander, was a registered Republican. The current councilmember, John Lee, ran as an Independent. In 2020, he squeaked into office, defeating progressive Democrat Loraine Lundquist by 1%. Is this the year CD 12 finally flips blue?

Lee is perhaps best known for being identified as “City Staffer B” in the FBI’s corruption indictment of Englander, his former superior. The LA City Ethics Commission is now accusing Lee of accepting “multiple gifts from a businessperson and a developer” on the same Vegas trip that resulted in corruption charges against Englander. Lee is also the most conservative member of City Council, favoring higher rent increases, opposing City funding for homeless housing projects in his district, and advocating for budget-busting increases to the police budget.

Fortunately, Lee faces a strong challenger in Democrat Serena Oberstein. Oberstein has City Hall experience as policy analyst and neighborhood liaison, while also serving as the president and vice president of the LA City Ethics Commission from 2014 to 2018 — a stark contrast with the ethically challenged Lee.

Born and raised in the Valley, Oberstein attended LAUSD schools and is the child of two LAUSD teachers. She made a career in nonprofits, serving as the COO of Vision to Learn, which provides eye exams and glasses to under-resourced students, and currently is the executive director of Jewish World Watch. While Jewish World Watch, an anti-genocide and mass-atrocity nonprofit, has not publicly weighed in on the current conflict in Gaza other than to condemn Hamas, their ongoing campaigns spotlight mass atrocities committed against Uyghurs, Royhinga, and Darfuris.

Oberstein advocates for a housing-first approach to the unhoused crisis, increasing cooperation with houses of faith in the district to increase temporary shelter, fully staffing the city’s ethics commission, and increased public transportation.

She also advocates for a “blue to green” transition to a clean energy economy that maintains good-paying union jobs and supports the goals of LA’s Green New Deal, which includes the closure of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. This Sempra Energy facility in Granada Hills was the site of the largest gas blowout in US history, lasting 111 days, forcing the temporary relocation of 8,000 residents, and creating long-term health effects.

Knock LA strongly recommends Oberstein in this race.

Council District 14: Ysabel Jurado

Ysabel Jurado is the most viable progressive candidate in this race. The daughter of undocumented Filipino immigrants and a single mother, she understands the struggles working class Angelenos face, because she has faced them herself. As a teen mom, she relied on food stamps to feed her family and depended on the 81 bus line to get her from Northeast LA to Westwood, where she got her degree from UCLA after transferring from Pasadena City College.

This is what led her to become an eviction defense lawyer and work on the frontlines of the housing/homelessness crisis. She understands that in order to solve the homelessness crisis, we first need to stop it from continuing to get worse.

The Highland Park native is also no stranger to ineffective leaders who have sold out the needs of their constituents to special interests. In the face of gentrification, she has demonstrated an understanding of the urgency for community ownership models to fight against displacement, having provided legal support to housing cooperatives, worker-owned cooperatives, and community land trusts.

Jurado’s expertise and dedication to serving the community is reflected in her campaign platform. While a newcomer to politics, her website boasts detailed policy proposals that have been meticulously crafted with input from the community. Her proposals include expanding affordable housing, building community resource hubs, ending homelessness, supporting small businesses, tackling the climate crisis, and building a more just economy for all.

Her campaign has earned the endorsements of CD 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and City Controller Kenneth Mejia, along with organizations Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action, Food & Water Action, Ground Game LA, DSA-LA, and California Women’s List, among other progressive groups.

The crowded race includes seven other candidates, three of which are sitting elected officials. The incumbent, Kevin de León, was part of the backroom gerrymandering scandal exposed by the leaked LA Fed tapes, which also uncovered numerous racist comments. Following the leak, he made news for attacking an activist.

De León has not been a reliable vote when it comes to progressive items like capping rent increases or reducing police funding. He also supports criminalizing homelessness and has introduced a slew of 41.18 zones. This district, which had the largest population of unhoused individuals and the most eviction notices in 2023, needs better representation.

Current state assemblymembers Miguel Santiago and Wendy Carrillo are seeking to continue the tradition of musical chairs among elected politicians. Santiago touts many endorsements but, unlike Jurado, lacks support from community groups and leaders. In the Assembly, Santiago led efforts to weaken net neutrality and accepted donations from Chevron, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, and real estate law firms who serve landlords like himself.

Carrillo has similarly demonstrated her unfitness for office. Consider her recent DUI, a sexual assault scandal, and questionable donations (from real estate, gas, and law enforcement). CD 14 does not need another career politician.

Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas is the only other real progressive in the race. A public school teacher, he is campaigning with the support of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). While it is exciting to see a proud socialist running for the seat, Vargas’ campaign has failed to fundraise a competitive amount of money. In a crowded primary with eight contenders, it is important to propel viable candidates forward so that we can see them again in a runoff, and then hopefully in City Hall.

The remaining candidates in the race are real estate lawyer Teresa Hillery, former Huizar staffer Genny Guerrero, and healthcare advocate Nadine Diaz. All these candidates lack substantive policy proposals and face a question of viability.

The stakes are high in the Downtown/East LA district and if there is anything we have learned from the 2022 cycle, it’s that Highland Park femmes are not afraid of disrupting the status quo. Vote Ysabel Jurado.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Board of Supervisors District 2: Holly Mitchell

Since she was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2020, Holly Mitchell has been arguably the most progressive member of the Board while inarguably being a massive disappointment.

Mitchell came into the board from a stint in the state legislature, where she amassed a strong progressive record on anti-poverty funding and reform of the criminal legal system. She came into office as the board was making commitments to close Men’s Central Jail and embrace a “Care Not Jails” philosophy. The stage seemed set for her to lead the county in an exciting new direction.

Nearly four years later, Men’s Central Jail is still open, and the conditions are shocking — 45 people died in 2023 (and more since), and videos smuggled out the jail have documented nightmarish levels of brutality. Promises to transform the youth prison system into a more humane system rooted in care have translated into little but bureaucratic reshuffling, but the threat of a state takeover due to appalling conditions immediately spurred the board to find a fast $117 million in the couch cushions to reopen the previously shuttered Los Padrinos prison. The result? Probation officers running fight clubs among the imprisoned teens.

Mitchell’s response to all this failure has been the galling protest that she is just a poor, helpless supervisor — this from a member of the board that was, until recently, nicknamed “The Five Kings.” The reality is that Mitchell hasn’t put the political muscle into fighting for these changes.

More broadly, Mitchell has proved an inconsistent ally to progressives. Movement organizations have found that getting her vote, or even the ear of her staff, on matters such as housing is akin to pulling teeth. Her office has been woefully unresponsive on important community issues, such as keeping open a pharmacy in Del Rey that is vital to the otherwise underserved community. And she has made some terrible endorsements, perhaps none more so than backing pro-cop, anti-homeless bigot Sam Yebri.

We hoped for a lot more when we endorsed Mitchell back in 2020. While we’re recommending now that she be returned for another, our hopes are no longer very high. Maybe she’ll surpass them, but we won’t hold our breath.

Board of Supervisors District 4: Janice Hahn

Janice Hahn is a consistent centrist on the Board of Supervisors — she’s the most conservative after GOP member Kathryn Barger and the most likely to vote against renter protections or police reform, while still supportive of labor and minority rights. Under other circumstances we’d prefer to see a real progressive competing for the seat. This makes it somewhat ironic that fascist Alex Villanueva, an incompetent ex-Sheriff and one of the most profound failures in the history of Los Angeles government, would choose her district for his comeback attempt.

Villanueva, who you might have read about in Knock LA, set new lows for misconduct during his single scandal-plagued term. He ordered police raids on political opponents, protected LASD deputy gang members, rehired domestic abusers, and allowed his deputies to do despicable things without discipline. The closest Villanueva should ever be to power is reading his LADWP bill.

Also in the race is John Cruikshank, the mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes. He’s endorsed by the state and local branches of the Republican Party, promotes “reopening” jails, and wants to listen to developers on housing issues.

Vote Hahn.

Board of Supervisors District 5: Konstantine Anthony

Since his election to Burbank City Council in 2020 and rotation to Mayor in 2022, Konstantine Anthony has proven himself to be a remarkably capable politician and exactly what we need on the Board of Supervisors — someone who can listen to and address all of his constituencies’ demands without compromising his own principles.

A proud socialist and SAG-AFTRA member, Anthony puts his money where his mouth is, walking the union picket lines day after day or putting his body between the LAUSD school board meeting and an anti-gay mob. Knock LA recommended a vote for Konstantine during his first election; we were right.

The incumbent is Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the only remaining Republican on the Board. Since her election eight years ago she has served only to slow and water down necessary county reforms, with no actual accomplishments to speak of besides inserting charlatans like Dr. Drew into the legislative record.

Los Angeles should have a Board of Supervisors that reflects its actual values — replacing Barger with Anthony would be an enormous step in the right direction.

Democratic Assemblymember Chris Holden is also running for Barger’s seat. While he would absolutely be an improvement over the incumbent, Konstantine is better positioned to deliver the scale of change that the district needs.

District Attorney: George Gascón

District Attorney George Gascón has, to an impressive degree, made good on the promises of his election. Elected during the upheaval of the first year of the pandemic and the George Floyd Uprising, the ex–police chief and former district attorney of San Francisco offered a new direction for LA’s criminal legal system. His reforms have reduced the use of irrational and draconian prison sentences, kept children out of adult prisons, and increased the role of mental health treatment, addiction rehabilitation, and diversion programs that are proven to prevent recidivism.

This is exactly what Angelenos have been demanding for years! But from day one, Gascón’s reform policies faced unprecedented opposition from conservatives in his own office, the police unions, and even on the judicial bench — not to mention the usual cadre of Fox News mouthpieces who spend their time pretending that every left-of-center city has become some sort of Mad Max wasteland.

An assortment of fearmongers and opportunists are hoping to ride a wave of misinformation into the DA’s office, ranging from open reactionaries, to conveniently timed Republican Party departees, to “liberals” who claim to support criminal justice reform yet oppose the reforms that are actually happening. None of them have a resumé that can compare to Gascón’s, nor do they have any policies to offer beyond doing less and going backward.

Gascón’s tenure does have some clear weaknesses. His reforms tend to arrive as proclamations from on high, without real effort to promote or explain the moves to the county or even his own employees. His office has also been hesitant to bring charges against killer cops, leaving families of victims in the lurch — a key issue that previously swung the 2020 election in his favor.

That said, Gascón has made major strides to improve criminal legal practices in Los Angeles and will hopefully continue to build upon that framework. The alternative is to turn our backs on rational policy — San Francisco replaced reformist DA Chesa Boudin with the tough-on-crime posturing and drug war politics of DA Brooke Jenkins; violent crime rose in San Francisco even as it fell across the state, and overdose deaths began to soar.

The contest here is not reform against safety, but reform and safety against empty fear and prejudice. For a safer, more just county, Gascón deserves your vote.

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

LAUSD District 1: No Recommendation

In light of reports, confirmed by Kahllid Al-Alim, that he used social media to praise a flagrantly antisemitic book in October of 2022, we are rescinding our recommendation of him for LAUSD District 1. He has since apologized and renounced the book’s antisemitic views.

The other candidates in this race are all flawed in one way or another. Among those with the resources to run serious campaigns, Didi Clark is running with the backing of charter school supporters, while DeWayne Davis has earned the endorsements of a truly astonishing array of law enforcement associations.

This leaves Sherlett Hendy-Newbill, who has been endorsed by all members of the board’s current charter-critical majority — Rocío Rivas, Jackie Goldberg, Scott Schmerelson, and George McKenna (Hendy-Newbill’s current boss, who is termed out). However, Hendy-Newbill has indicated that she would retreat from the board’s 2021 vote to remove school police from campuses, instead preferring to shift the policy to a campus-by-campus basis. That’s unacceptable.

The two best options in this race are Al-Alim — whose background and platform are excellent — and Hendy-Newbill, and we urge voters to choose one of them. But given their flaws, we cannot recommend either.

LAUSD District 3: Scott Schmerelson

Scott Schmerelson, a lifelong educator and former school principal, has represented this East San Fernando Valley district since 2020. His reelection campaign is endorsed by United Teachers Los Angeles.

When the board discusses issues, whether procedural or contentious, it’s clear that Schmerelson draws from his tenure in schools and deeply considers the impact of the board’s decision-making on the classrooms. And when district representatives are less than forthcoming about district policies and practices, Schmerelson can (and has) cut through the fog and spoken candidly about what those practices actually are.

In this coming term, as ESSER funds recede (robust federal educational emergency funding tied to COVID), the LAUSD board will have difficult decisions to make about resource allocation, and Schmerelson’s wisdom and candor will be particularly useful. Vote Schmerelson in this election.

LAUSD District 5: Karla Griego

Karla Griego, an LAUSD special education teacher for 19 years, is our recommendation to replace the retiring Jackie Goldberg. Griego has been part of this district since she immigrated to Los Angeles from El Salvador at 5 years old and began attending LAUSD schools. As a United Teachers Los Angeles area chair, she has led work that resulted in LAUSD policy changes, including the lowering of class sizes, placing nurses in all schools, placing librarians in all secondary schools, and establishing community schools. She would be the first special education teacher on the school board.

Griego believes charter schools need to be transparent in terms of equitable enrollment and their use of district funds, including funds owed to the district for over-allocation of space. Griego is endorsed by United Teachers Los Angeles and DSA-LA, among others.

Veteran public school teacher Fidencio Joel Gallardo is another strong choice in this race. Gallardo was born and raised in the cities south and east of Los Angeles, attending LAUSD schools while his mother worked serving food in school cafeterias. He taught English for 27 years in middle school and high school, as well as serving as an assistant principal for 3 years. Then, in 2019, he became the education innovation deputy for Goldberg. He is also the mayor of Bell.

Gallardo has a policy platform that is similar to Griego, including increased charter school accountability and smaller class sizes. Gallardo is endorsed by current boardmembers Goldberg, Rocío Rivas, and Scott Schmerelson, as well as the Los Angeles Times.

In a close call, Griego’s endorsements from United Teachers Los Angeles, the voice of the district’s 37,000 teachers, nurses and counselors, and DSA-LA convince us that she is the right choice.

Candidates Graciela Ortiz and Victorio Gutierrez are also in the race.

LAUSD District 7: No Recommendation

LAUSD Board District 7, which stretches from South LA to San Pedro, has been represented by Tanya Ortiz Franklin since 2020, when she beat out current CD 13 staffer Patricia Castellanos for the seat. Our main concern then was that she was financially backed by the charter school advocates, and in reviewing her contribution filings, it appears this remains true.

Franklin claimed to center equity and racial justice if elected, and to her credit she has voted in favor of cutting the school police budget, but according to local accounts, she has also left her constituents feeling largely unrepresented, particularly when it comes to the issue of “co-location” in the district. For those who don’t know, there is a law in California that obligates district schools to open up their doors to charter schools searching for a building — often leading to students losing out on rooms used for extracurricular purposes. It’s not a sexy issue, but a point of political friction that greatly impacts students.

Her challenger is perennial candidate Lydia A. Gutiérrez. Beyond being anti-charter and in favor of fiscal transparency, we don’t know much about Gutiérrez, but her Twitter at least does not inspire a sense of great alignment with our values. The LAUSD race is nonpartisan, but she ran for state Assembly District 65 as a Republican as recently as 2022.

In short, it is unlikely that we can stop Tanya Ortiz Franklin from winning a second term, and it is a red flag for us that she will do so without the support of United Teachers Los Angeles or her colleagues Jackie Goldberg, Rocío Rivas, and Scott Schmerelson. But voters should spend the next four years holding her accountable, pushing her left, and elevating potential challengers who are already there.

Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee

Knock LA does not have recommendations for the Los Angeles County Central Committee races. While the LACDP is often problematic, adding good members to the Central Committee can make a real difference in some party decisions around endorsements and resources. LAist has a good rundown of the candidates and their affiliations.

Judge of the Superior Court

As a quick primer, LA County Superior Court has 485 Judges, who stand for reelection every six years, with one-third of seats up for election every two years. However, the vast majority of Judges run unopposed; only two sitting Judges have challengers this year. When a Judge retires before their six-year term ends, the governor appoints their replacement. The large majority of Judges first reach the bench by appointment. Nonetheless, LA County voters have the opportunity to fill eight open judicial seats this year.

In making our recommendations, we do not reference bar ratings (as others often do). Though purportedly unbiased, bar association ratings have frequently disfavored women, minority candidates, and public defenders. Our decision to ignore bar ratings follows the lead of that famous pack of radicals, the Biden Administration.

Seat 12: Rhonda Haymon

Rhonda Haymon has been a public defender for more than two decades, litigating cases from petty misdemeanors to homicides. She also teaches as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School, sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generation of lawyers.

The incumbent, Hon. Lynn Olson, took a bizarre and dishonorable path to the bench: she was not even practicing law when she ran in 2006, having spent years running a Manhattan Beach bakery, and managed to sandbag the incumbent with a flood of deceptive mailers. It’s a baffling chapter and reflective of a time when judicial elections faced almost no meaningful scrutiny.

Seat 39: George Turner

George Turner is an experienced deputy public defender with deep roots in Inglewood. In addition to his trial work, he serves as the supervisor for the public defender’s Mobile Homelessness Unit, giving him great experience as an advocate for mental health and addiction treatment and making him particularly suited to the challenges of the present moment.

Turner is part of the Defenders of Justice slate and endorsed by Ground Game LA.

Seat 48: Ericka Wiley

Ericka Wiley has spent more than two decades doing trial work for the Los Angeles County public defender, and has leadership and management experience as a “deputy in charge” at the office. She is committed to fairness and justice in the courts, and to breaking the cycles that fuel the crisis of mass incarceration.

Wiley is part of the Defenders of Justice slate and endorsed by Ground Game LA.

Seat 93: No Recommendation

LA County prosecutor Victor Avila is running unopposed for this open judicial seat, underscoring the importance of involvement in judicial elections.

Seat 97: La Shae Henderson

La Shae Henderson served with the public defender for 18 years, during which she worked extensively in the juvenile courts and worked with litigators across the state on implementation of California’s Racial Justice Act (2020) which aimed to reduce racial bias in the criminal legal system. A depth of specialized knowledge makes her a natural choice.

Henderson is part of the Defenders of Justice slate and endorsed by Ground Game LA.

Seat 115: Christmas Brookens

Both Keith Koyano and Christmas Brookens are prosecutors with the district attorney’s office. Brookens touts endorsements from the Democratic Party and Stonewall Dem Club and has a truly inspired logo. Koyano ran in 2022, coming in 3rd in his primary; at that time he boasted the endorsement of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the LA County Police Chiefs Association.

Seat 124: Kim Repecka

Currently a deputy public defender, Kim Repecka also spent one year***** at the Children’s Law Center representing children in foster care proceedings as well as four years at Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers representing parents and guardians — extremely unusual and valuable qualifications for a judicial candidate.

Repecka jumped into the race to challenge Hon. Emily Spear, who has the rare dishonor of being publicly admonished by the California Commission on Judicial Performance. According to the commission, while serving in Family Court “Judge Spear engaged in a pattern of behavior that conveyed a persistent disregard and disrespect for her judicial and administrative obligations,” including unexcused absences that left emergency restraining orders languishing for days. For the commission to issue an official rebuke is extremely unusual. Voters should replace her with someone who actually cares about Family Court.

Seat 130: Christopher Darden

This race highlights one of the dangers of low-information elections: repeat candidates trying on a new face. Like many hopeful prosecutors this cycle, Leslie Gutierrez is touting Democratic Party endorsements and talking up progressive policies and her long-ago clerkship with the federal defenders office. In 2022, however, she unsuccessfully ran for judge with the backing of 11 different police unions. Knock LA does not forget.

Osman Taher boasts exactly two endorsements, one of whom is Judge Emily Spears, the same Judge we strongly recommend voting out based on her censure by the Commission on Judicial Performance.

Christopher Darden is famous as one of the prosecutors on the OJ Simpson trial; he also has decades of experience in private practice as a criminal defense attorney.

Seat 135: Georgia Huerta

We recommend Georgia Huerta, who has the most experience as a lawyer and who has served as a district attorney in the collaborative courts — special courts designed to address issues of mental illness and substance abuse with a focus on treatment and recovery rather than incarceration. That experience will be crucial in implementing reforms in the years to come.

Seat 137: No Recommendation

None of the four candidates in this race stick out as a strong choice for progressive voters.

Cities Surrounding Los Angeles

LONG BEACH

Measure RW: Yes

Long Beach has perhaps the most exciting ballot initiative in Los Angeles County: raising the wages of Long Beach hotel workers to $23/hour immediately, and $29.50/hour by 2028. The measure guarantees that hotel workers will receive a decent wage from an industry experiencing record profits. And this record income is only going to continue, with LA County hosting the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics and Long Beach investing $750 million into infrastructure and tourism-related projects. These profits will come from the labor of hotel workers.

The measure would build the power of working people generally in Long Beach and demonstrate that when working people band together they can make direct change. UNITE HERE Local 11 employees like those at the Hotel Maya have been picketing for months in an attempt to strike a fair deal, but they have been met with resistance, sometimes violent, from guests and staff. RW is union-backed and would not affect hotels whose workers are already unionized and have a collective bargaining agreement.

A coalition of business interests spent more than $3.2 million to defeat a similar ballot measure in Anaheim last October, and similar opposition is expected in Long Beach. Measure RW’s success may come down to turnout.

Existing Long Beach law currently sets the minimum wage for qualifying hotel workers at $17.55 per hour — this is not enough. With the average rent in Long Beach over $2,500, the math dictates LB hotel workers need to make more per hour to survive and thrive. Vote yes.

LB City Council District 2: Cindy Allen

Councilmember Cindy Allen has steadily moved to the center of Long Beach politics and is the embodiment of the status quo.**

Her challenger, Ketty Citterio, represents a more conservative, reactionary impulse that haunts Long Beach every cycle. Though progressives may not feel enthusiastic checking the box for Allen, a Citterio win would move Long Beach toward a worse future. Sara Zaidi would have been a more progressive voice, but she suspended her campaign.

LB City Council District 4: Herlinda Chico

Incumbent councilmember Daryl Supernaw was one of two votes on the council against the resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, and is a consistent conservative voice on all issues. Challenger Herlinda Chico has labor union endorsements and would increase the governing majority on the council. The two remaining challengers would be worse than Supernaw. Gerrie Schipske is a perennial candidate running on grassroots conservatism, and Amrit Singh is focused on stopping the (nonexistent) defunding of police.

Chico is the best choice in this race.

LB City Council District 6: Suely Saro

Suely Saro has been the most outspoken councilmember in support of Measure RW (the most exciting ballot item in Los Angeles County, see above). She also voted in favor of the Gaza ceasefire resolution and is endorsed by the Working Families Party. As an incumbent, Saro will be favored against Cristino Pinto, a political newcomer.

LB City Council District 8: Tunua Thrash-Ntuk

In the only open seat City Council race, you should cast your vote for Tunua Thrash-Ntuk. There is little daylight between Thrash-Ntuk and Sharifa Batts when it comes to campaign messaging. But Batts distinguished herself with the concerning endorsement by Al Austin. Thrash-Ntuk will be right at home with the current establishment Democrat Party power base in Long Beach, almost all of which has endorsed her campaign.

So go the races in Long Beach — establishment candidates vie against conservatives and voters might be left feeling unsatisfied. What future can we really have if we’re always voting for lesser evils? The answer is to fill out and submit your ballot, turn off election news, join a local political organization, and get to work. We can’t achieve everything through the ballot box.

GLENDALE

Glendale Unified School District: Telly Tse (Area A) and Neda Farid (Area E)

This past summer, right-wing extremists targeted Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) for teaching an age-appropriate LGBTQ+ curriculum. They pressured schools to cancel Pride Month events and violently protested outside Saticoy Elementary, causing parents and LGBTQ+ advocates to fear for the safety of the students. Now, far-right candidates are running for the GUSD school board on an anti-LGBTQ+ platform.

Fortunately, two candidates, Telly Tse in Area A and Neda Farid in Area E, want to defend the rights and access of not only LGBTQ+ students but also students of color, students with special needs, and students of all ethnicities and cultures. Farid is a former Glendale Council PTA president and a parent of a GUSD graduate, while Telly is a special education teacher with two children in GUSD schools. Both are endorsed by the Glendale Teachers Association, the Southern California Armenian Democrats, and GUSD Parents for Public Schools, as well as many other groups. Their platforms also include more funding for Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs, better GUSD communication with parents and the community, and increased investment in teachers.

Voters should send a loud message that hateful bigotry is not tolerated in Glendale. Vote for Telly and Farid.

Glendale City Council (At Large): Ardy Kassakhian

Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian has been an advocate for affordable housing, public transit, and bike-and-pedestrian-friendly streets in Glendale. Kassakhian is also endorsed by GUSD Parents for Public Schools.

Ballot Measures

Statewide Proposition 1: No

This statewide proposition makes major changes to the Mental Health Services Act — some of which are good, some of which are very bad, and all of which are very confusing (the text of the proposition is 68 pages long).

In 2004, California voters adopted the Mental Health Services Act via ballot proposition, which created a 1% income tax on the state’s millionaires to fund much of the state’s public mental health system. Now Governor Gavin Newsom wants to “modernize” how the money is spent.

The most significant change mandates strict new percentage allocations for how counties must spend their MHSA money, resulting in less flexibility than before: 30% for housing, 35% for Full Service Partnerships, and 35% for behavioral health. This would mark a severe reduction in funding for behavioral health services, which includes peer-support centers, outpatient clinics, and mobile crisis teams — in short, the types of programs that make up the alternatives in “alternatives to incarceration.” Opponents are also concerned about Prop 1’s changes to preventative mental healthcare. On the positive side, Prop 1 would expand the behavioral/mental health category to include substance abuse treatment.

However, Knock LA’s biggest concern with this proposition is the $6.3 billion bond. When initially proposed, Newsom touted the money as being for 10,000 new voluntary mental health and substance abuse treatment beds. However, in a last-minute change, Newsom reversed course and allowed the money to flow to involuntary treatment beds, i.e, institutionalizations.

Research shows that coerced mental health treatment is not more effective than high-quality, voluntary care. Yet — similar to Newsom’s Care Courts enacted last year — these new beds would strip people with disabilities of their fundamental rights, such as the ability to determine what medications go into their body. This impact would fall hardest on Black, brown, and Indigenous people, who are routinely misdiagnosed with serious mental health disabilities.

Vote No on Prop 1.

City of Los Angeles, Measure HLA: Yes

Pedestrian deaths in Los Angeles are out of control. They were up 10% in 2023 and have doubled since 2015. Serious injuries are also up significantly. Traffic collisions are now the leading cause of death for LA children, and more people in LA are killed by cars than by guns. Bicycle traffic deaths are also up a whopping 41% since 2021.

How did we get here? Let’s start in 2015. That is the year former mayor Eric Garcetti triumphantly announced his “Vision Zero” plan to end all traffic deaths by 2025, and the City Council adopted an updated Mobility Plan, which specified how to make every street in the city safer. Yet, as on so many issues, Garcetti and the City Council were all talk and no action. Again and again, the city ignored its own Mobility Plan, repaving streets without making the safety improvements. Today, only 5% of the Mobility Plan has been implemented. Traffic deaths and serious injuries have increased every year since the city adopted the Mobility Plan and Vision Zero.

Measure HLA would fully implement the already approved Mobility Plan and require the city to make the Mobility Plan improvements anytime it resurfaces an LA street. The street improvements would include: adding new crosswalks, creating safe places to bike, reducing cut-through traffic on residential streets, enhancing certain streets for the better flow of cars, and speeding up public transportation.

These changes will make our streets safer and improve circulation for pedestrians, motorists, bicyclists, users of public transportation, and first responders. Measure HLA is endorsed by the Los Angeles Times, Ground Game LA, the LA County Democratic Party, LAUSD, and at least 40 Neighborhood Councils. This is an easy yes.

California State Legislature

Senate District 23: Kipp Mueller

Kipp Mueller is a labor attorney representing employees with a progressive platform focusing on homelessness, wage inequality, and the environment. Mueller lost by the narrowest of margins in 2020 to current Republican state senator Scott Wilk, who is term limited. Kipp deserves your vote over former Republican assemblymember Suzette Martinez Valladares and Victorville councilmember Blanca Azucena Gomez.

Senate District 25: Sasha Renee Perez

Four Democrats and a Republican are contending for this San Gabriel Valley seat, one of several left open by a term-limited incumbent. Sasha Renée Pérez, a young Alhambra politician, has attracted the most support from Democratic electeds and received the state party’s endorsement. Pérez’s core issues include homelessness, sustainability, and the cost of housing — although her campaign is light on implementation details.

There is nevertheless clear daylight between Pérez and her fellow Democrats Yvonne Yiu and Sandra Armenta, who are more focused on increasing police funding. And then there is Republican Elizabeth Ahlers, a supporter of the movement for parents’ rights who praised a Gays Against Groomers rally in Pasadena this past fall. We recommend a vote for Pérez.

Senate District 27: Henry Stern

If you live in North Hollywood, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, West and Northwest San Fernando Valley, Thousand Oaks, or Simi Valley, you should vote for Henry Stern.*** He is an effective and trustworthy environmental advocate, and he is opposed by an America First conservative and a right-wing bigot.

In Los Angeles, it’s easy to be pro-environment. You can vote against a development or say yes to some ambitious climate goal and pander about the importance of sustainability without ever making a hard choice or expending political capital. That’s not the kind of environmental legislator Stern is: he consistently goes where the need and flashpoint is, striking smart balances between aggressively pushing the state forward and fostering legislatively viable policy. He is unafraid to butt heads when necessary, even with Governor Newsom.

His opposition comes in two flavors of right-wing “no thank you.” Lucie Volotzky is endorsed by a who’s who of Republicans and has a policy platform that features anti-trans bigotry. Susan Collins is a fringe right-wing troll so politically toxic she has only two total endorsements to speak of, perhaps because she is very publicly racist and bigoted on social media.

We must note Stern’s failure to support rent control by repealing the Costa-Hawkins Act, but that does not alter our recommendation. As the climate crisis moves from looming threat to intolerable normal, California must pilot and model bold, aggressive environmental policy, and the value of Stern’s work on this front is hard to overstate. In this election, vote for Henry Stern, and not just because the alternatives are political cyanide pills.

Senate District 33: Lena Gonzalez

A mea culpa is perhaps due to Lena Gonzalez, whose agenda Knock LA considered immediately suspect when she entered the legislature in 2019 with substantial financial support from the oil and gas lobby. Gonzalez said at the time that she was neither beholden to, nor even a fan of, the interests that were supporting her, but it is in her votes and bills that she has proven her independence.

Representing chronically polluted neighborhoods surrounding the massive Long Beach–Los Angeles port complex, Gonzalez has vigorously pursued new environmental protections, like a buffer keeping new and existing oil wells from operating if they are near homes or other sensitive land uses. She has also provided important public testimony about the corrosive influence of the fossil fuel industry within the state’s Democratic caucus. In the current term, she also authored a bill increasing mandatory sick leave in the state, earning her the renewed ire of the state’s chamber of commerce. We recommend a vote for Gonzalez.

Senate District 35: Michelle Chambers

Michelle Chambers is the favorite in this race, as she has been endorsed by everyone from corrupt Inglewood mayor James Butts to ex–City Council freak Joe Buscaino. She also has good endorsements and seems like she’d be… fine. Her most recent role was as director of external affairs for Rob Bonta, who is OK himself.

Also on the ballot is Laura Richardson, who was censured during her time in Congress for misusing staff in her race. She was almost censured again for shady dealings related to a foreclosed home in Sacramento. While it would be amusing to see her get elected to public office again only to get censured a third time, that’s not enough to recommend her.

Assembly District 34: Ricardo Ortega

Republican Tom Lackey has compiled a voting record that matches the backwards positions of his party during his 10 years representing this high desert district. Democrat Ricardo Ortega is a former foster youth who now advocates for current foster youth and those transitioning out of the system. Vote for Ortega.

Assembly District 39: No Recommendation

Democratic assemblymember Juan Carrillo was generally a disappointment in his first term in this latine-majority district that includes parts of Palmdale, Lancaster, and Victorville. Carrillo failed to support bills raising the minimum wage for fast food workers (AB 1228), strengthening penalties on oil companies for leaks and spills (AB 631), and prohibiting racially-biased “consent’” searches by police (AB 93).

Carrillo faces Republican Paul Marsh in a rematch of 2022, when 57% of voters supported Carrillo. Neither candidate deserves your vote in this uncompetitive race.

Assembly District 40: Pilar Schiavo

Pilar Schiavo first took office in 2022 after defeating incumbent Republican Suzette Martinez Valladares in one of the closest races of the cycle, carrying the race by just a few hundred votes. Schiavo is now up for reelection against further-to-the-right candidate Patrick Lee Gipson, a former sheriff’s deputy running in opposition to “Marxist” school curricula, pandemic-era public health orders, and liberal activists “funded by unending influxes of foreign money.”

Schiavo has supported tenant protections, worker rights, and affordable housing from this seat. We recommend a vote for Schiavo in what may be another tight race.

Assembly District 41: Jed Leano

There are four candidates vying for the open seat vacated by Chris Holden: Claremont city councilmember Jed Leano, former Sierra Madre city councilmember John Harabedian, former Pasadena police officer Phlunté Riddle, and lone Republican Michelle Del Rosario Martinez. The three Democrats have similar messages on homelessness, climate change, and reproductive rights. Leano earns a slight edge for promising to make the housing crisis his priority and supporting increased funding for rental subsidies and building affordable housing.

Assembly District 42: No Recommendation

Democrat Jacqui Irwin consistently fails to support progressive legislation, including bills to strengthen eviction protections (SB 567), to increase the number or required sick days (SB 16), and to end racially-biased ‘consent’ searches by police (AB93). However, her Republican opponent is no better, offering an anti-tax and law-and-order platform. We cannot recommend either in this Dem-leaning district.

Assembly District 43: No Recommendation

A bit of a yikes in this race. The late departure of incumbent assemblymember Luz Rivas to run for Congress left a fairly barren field. San Fernando mayor Celeste Rodriguez, who is endorsed by Rivas, and Walter Garcia, the former Communications Director for Monica Rodriguez, are the most prominent names here. Let them fight? Let them fight.

Other options include a bunch of Republicans and a childcare provider who seems to have no digital footprint.

Assembly District 44: Nick Schultz

Assemblymember Laura Friedman, a consistent recommendation of past Knock LA voter guides, is running for Congress. Open seats usually attract wide fields, and that’s the case here: candidates for your vote range from the proprietor of a honeybee-themed e-commerce marketplace to the centrist founder of a fitness app who vows to “part the blue and red seas.”

We recommend Burbank councilmember Nick Schultz. Schultz has enacted several progressive policies in Burbank, including shifting funding from police to social welfare programs ($2 million — a small but nonetheless meaningful amount in a small city), creating a detailed municipal greenhouse gas reduction plan, and permitting new affordable housing over NIMBY opposition.

Steve Pierson — an organizer with Swing Left who supports California single-payer healthcare — is also a good option. In the end, we believe Schultz’s experience better prepares him to be effective as a legislator in Sacramento. The remaining candidates are either too conservative or too unserious to merit your consideration. Vote Schultz.

Assembly District 46: Jesse Gabriel

Jesse Gabriel is going to win this race. Gabriel has also improved on issues related to criminal justice in his past two terms. He’s fine. And again, he’s going to win this race. His only opposition is a Republican who wants to slash taxes and spend more money on cops. This is perhaps our most lukewarm recommendation, but it doesn’t matter because this race is already over.

Assembly District 48: Brian Calderón Tabatabai

In her eight years in office, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio has compiled one of the worst voting records among Democrats in the Assembly. She also infamously broke COVID lockdown to fly to Hawaii for a lobbyist gathering. This San Gabriel Valley district, which runs from Covina to Glendora, can and should do better.

Enter Brian Calderón Tabatabai, a progressive West Covina councilmember and teacher who trumpets knocking on “every door” in his council race, coaching high school football, and carrying the endorsements of a wide coalition that includes the Working Families Party, labor unions, and prominent figures like Dolores Huerta and Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Campaign platforms often use language so general and uncontroversial that it can be hard to understand how a candidate might vote on an important issue. This is not the case for Tabatabai. Not only does he articulate a platform we’d like to see enacted, he provides clear and honest descriptions of why such policies are needed. Tabatabai is similarly direct about why Rubio does not deserve another term.

We strongly recommend a vote for Tabatabai.

Assembly District 49: Mike Fong

Following the January 2023 mass shooting in Monterey Park, Assemblymember Mike Fong sprang to action, introducing a legislative package focused on preventing such tragedies in the future. He ultimately passed laws strengthening the process for removing firearms from people who are prohibited from owning them, mandating translation services during emergencies, and combating anti-Asian discrimination. He also authored a law banning the sale of guns by state and local agencies, which was vetoed by Governor Newsom.

Fong had a good voting record overall in his first full term, although he did receive a troubling amount of donations from gas companies, real estate interests, and police associations.

Fong’s Republican opponent, whose digital presence is littered with “Make [Blank] [Blank] Again” riffs, is not worth your consideration.

Assembly District 51: No Recommendation

Rick Chavez Zbur is running against two Republicans, which is a shame, because this district — an East-West district that stretches from Santa Monica to East Hollywood — deserves far better. Zbur has been in politics for decades, fundraising for then-governor Bill Clinton, running for Congress and LA city attorney before settling on state Assembly.

Zbur is in an enviable political situation: With massive financial support, well-worn political connections, and a bright blue district, there are few people in the state who could drive as much legislative progress as Zbur — at least in theory. The reality has been very different. With all this political capital, he is focusing on chairing a select committee on retail theft crime and has failed to champion any progressive priorities.

With millions in campaign donations coming from interested parties as varied as charter schools, gas companies, general purpose lobbyists, and brewing company Anheuser-Busch, perhaps inaction is a feature and not a bug. But alas: Where he is a disappointment, his Republican opponents would be disasters.

Rick Chavez Zbur clearly knows where his bread is buttered. Next cycle, we hope he is toast.

Assembly District 52: Franky Carrillo

Current Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo is leaving this seat to run for the LA City Council, and the pool of candidates to replace her is deep. We sometimes make no recommendation for lack of a quality progressive candidate in a given district. That’s not the case here — there are fine candidates here of many stripes.

Our recommendation in this field goes to Franky Carrillo. Several of this race’s candidates are former or current aides to elected representatives, and they would all likely serve ably, but we believe none would legislate with the fervor and seriousness that Franky Carrillo (no relation to the departing incumbent) would. Framed for murder by LASD gang members, wrongly convicted, and then exonerated after 20 years in prison (a story Knock LA covered as part of A Tradition of Violence), Franky Carrillo then earned a degree and went to work advocating for justice reform. He co-chaired the successful Measure A sheriff accountability ballot measure and is the chief policy advisor to California State University, Los Angeles’ Innocence Project. There is no substitute for lived experience.

Too many assemblymembers take their position and responsibility for granted, legislating as though so many people’s welfare doesn’t depend on swift progress. We don’t have that concern about Franky Carrillo: If elected, he would almost certainly legislate with a deeply felt urgency. He stands out in a crowded, competitive field, and we enthusiastically recommend voting for him.

Assembly District 53: Javier Hernandez

Javier Hernandez is a community organizer who has spent his life advocating for underrepresented communities in the Inland Empire. The executive director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) since 2015, Javier will be a voice in Sacramento for the 1 million immigrants who live in the Inland Empire. Hernandez is endorsed by the Working Families Party and the California Teachers Association.

Candidate Michelle Rodriguez is the wife of current assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez, who is term limited. During his time in office, Freddie has compiled an ugly record of taking corporate cash from oil and gas, insurance, pharmaceutical, and real estate companies — and voted against numerous progressive bills in 2023. Pomona councilmember Robert Torres and Three Valleys Municipal Water District director Carlos Goytia are also in the race.

Assembly District 54: John Yi

In another open seat race, we recommend nonprofit leader John Yi. Yi’s campaign focuses on stopping growing inequality and its impacts on district residents. He supports repealing the Ellis Act and the Costa-Hawkins Act, increased subsidies for cost-burdened households, and better public and active transportation. He is also the executive director of Los Angeles Walks, a pedestrian advocacy nonprofit.

Opponent Mark Gonzalez is running to replace his departing boss, Miguel Santiago. Gonzalez’s high-gloss campaign boasts an enormous number of endorsements from Democrat electeds up to and including the governor, which would perhaps be more impressive if he were not also the longtime chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Support Yi’s independent campaign over a party weathervane.

Assembly District 55: Isaac Bryan

In his first full term, Isaac Bryan has been a progressive advocate for criminal justice reform, environmental protections, and affordable housing legislation. Bryan authored AB 93, which would have prohibited racially biased consent searches. These searches occur when police lack the necessary cause to conduct a search of a person’s body, belongings, or car, but request permission to search anyway and lean on their authority to coerce the person into agreement. Unfortunately, this bill failed to pass the Assembly because of the failure of many Los Angeles County Democrats to support the bill.

Republican Keith Cascio is Bryan’s only opposition. Vote Bryan.

Assembly District 56: No Recommendation

Democrat Lisa Calderon is a frequent opponent of progressive legislation and holds a powerful position on the Assembly Appropriations Committee. In 2023, her failure to support two significant criminal justice reform bills helped defeat two bills that had already passed the state Senate: SB 50, which would have prohibited pretextual police stops, and SB 94, which would have allowed reviews of life without parole sentences after 20 years.

Unfortunately, despite this district’s strong blue tilt, Calderon faces only Republican opposition. We cannot recommend any candidate.

Assembly District 57: Greg Akili

Greg Akili has committed his life to fighting for a fair and just society. Akili has over 50 years of experience as a laborer, community organizer, and political leader. He is among the few people of color to co-found a labor union — the United Domestic Workers of America (AFSCME 3090). Akili has dedicated his life to labor, social, and racial justice. Progressive Sade Elhawary would also be a good choice for this seat, and she may have a stronger chance of reaching the general election.

Conservative Democrat Efren Martinez is endorsed by the LA police and LA County sheriff associations and has received campaign contributions from oil and gas companies. Dulce Vazquez has declined to call herself a progressive and has also accepted fossil fuel campaign contributions. René Romero is not running an active campaign. We recommend Akili based on his long track record of public service.

Assembly District 61: Tina McKinnor

Progressive Democrat Tina McKinnor is a longtime activist and native Angeleno who was the civic engagement director of LA Voice until her election to the Assembly in 2022. McKinnor sponsored and passed AB 12, which limits security deposits to one month’s rent, and AB 1418, a statewide prohibition on “crime-free housing” ordinances, which were used by cities to systemically evict and keep out Black and Latine residents. She deserves your vote.

Assembly District 62: No Recommendation

Two Democrats are running to replace termed-out former speaker Anthony Rendon. Rendon has endorsed Lynwood city councilmember and local Chamber of Commerce president and CEO José Luís Solache. Also running is Marie Estrada, who in two previous races against Rendon attracted national attention for, among other things, telling the Jewish former head of the state Democratic Party to get “your religion and your people in check.” She also does not appear to have raised any money. We have no recommendation for this one.

Assembly District 64: No Recommendation

First-term Democrat Blanca Pacheco compiled one of the most conservative voting records by a Democrat in the 2023-24 Assembly. She assisted in blocking numerous criminal justice reforms, including ending racially biased consent searches by police. She also failed to support key bills strengthening workers’ rights and eviction protections. Unfortunately, no progressive challenger exists in this heavily Democratic district, so we cannot make a recommendation.

Assembly District 65: No Recommendation

Assemblymember Mike Gipson takes enormous amounts of campaign cash from the same oil and gas companies that shorten the lives of the residents of his district, and he regularly fails to support urgent climate bills. In 2023, he failed to support legislation requiring corporations to calculate and report their total greenhouse gas emissions and increasing penalties on oil and gas companies for leaks and spills.

Unfortunately, after strong challenges from progressive Fatima Iqbal-Zubair in 2020 and 2022, Gipson is unopposed this year.

Assembly District 66: No Recommendation

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, who has held this seat since 2016, has a checkered voting history, including voting no on AB 937, which would have ended the transfer of people eligible for release from jail or prison to immigration detention.****** The ACLU assigned him a barely passing score of 63%, and he has accepted a significant amount of contributions from police associations and real estate interests. He also refuses to support Medicare for All or CalCare.

Unfortunately, his one opponent is a Republican. We make no recommendation in this race.

Assembly District 67: No Recommendation

Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva has defined herself as one of the more conservative Democrats during her 10 years in office. In 2023, she failed to support stricter enforcement and penalties against oil companies for leaks and spills and a prohibition on racially biased police consent searches. While this OC-based district is somewhat of a swing seat, we expect more courage from our legislators in working to solve the state’s ills.

Neither of her opponents — Republican Beth Culver and Korean American Pastor Jacob Woo Ho Lee — can be recommended either.

Assembly District 69: No Recommendation

Incumbent Josh Lowenthal has largely compiled a decent enough voting record in his first term, but his tenure has been marred by several major flaws. He failed to support a bill requiring large companies to disclose their climate-related financial risk (fortunately, the bill passed anyway). He also accepted campaign donations from gas companies, real estate interests, and police associations.

Most seriously, he has introduced AB2153, legislation that targets the California Public Records Act (CPRA) — which is similar to LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s proposed CPRA amendment designed to increase government secrecy. The amendment would require notification of public employees before certain personal records are released to the public, giving them a chance to try to block the release.

This amendment would be a blow against public transparency. It is very clearly part of the panicked reaction by Feldstein Soto and others in response to the LAPD releasing thousands of officer photos, including undercover officers, to Knock LA’s own Ben Camacho and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition in response to a public records request. Feldstein Soto, egged on by the Los Angeles Police Protective League, has repeatedly sued Camacho in an attempt to intimidate and penalize him for his lawful journalism. She has also pressed in Sacramento to weaken the California Public Record Act. Unfortunately, Lowenthal has chosen to make himself her accomplice.

His current stance is disqualifying. Given that no challenger is better, we can offer no recommendation in this race.****

US Congress

US Senate

Senator: Barbara Lee

Let’s be real clear about the stakes — this seat is the most high-profile opportunity in the country to send a clear electoral message about the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza. There is no other seat in the country with this much power where the choice is so stark and clear.

Barbara Lee came out for a ceasefire loud and early, on the latest iteration of a long, consistent record of brave, progressive stances on foreign policy. This record famously includes casting the sole vote against the disastrous 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force — which helped birth the debacles in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond — as well as opposing the nightmarish Patriot Act, pushing to end the sadistic embargo of Cuba, and more.

She’s also been a stalwart progressive on domestic issues, supporting the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. She’d be an enormous upgrade over not only former Airbnb lobbyist and current Senate placeholder Laphonza Butler but also Dianne Feinstein’s decades of moderate, hawkish Republicanism in thin Democratic clothing.

While not the worst of the Democratic options (don’t worry, we’ll get to him), Katie Porter has been a late and hesitant voice for a “bilateral ceasefire” (which, in the circumstances, is not actually a thing), so much so as to be useless. Porter has positioned herself as a hawk on foreign policy, less out of any obvious conviction than from an apparent desire to shore up her right flank from any attacks by AIPAC and its ilk, and from a seeming lack of general interest in foreign policy at all.

Domestically, Porter has followed in the footsteps of her mentor Elizabeth Warren (who has likewise shown no foreign policy spine) as a vocal foe of corporate power, perpetually in search of a viral clip with her whiteboard at committee hearings. But she’s also been happy to tack to the center on issues like the California gas tax when it’s been politically useful, so that’s a thin reed on which to rest one’s hopes.

Undeniably the worst of the lot running as a Democrat is Adam Schiff. He’s built a national profile, and a huge warchest, playing a lawyer on MSNBC for the last few years, but the meatiest part of his record in Congress has been as a stridently Zionist and hawkish representative for the military-industrial complex. (Yes, of course he supported the invasion of Iraq, why would you even ask?) Before Congress, he made his bones first as a federal prosecutor and then in the California state Senate, where he was one of the most enthusiastic and legislatively productive champions of our state’s system of mass incarceration. If he makes it to the US Senate, we can expect him to be a vigorous advocate for the interests of the rich and powerful at home and for US military imperialism abroad. Remind you of anyone?

US House of Representatives

District 23: Derek Marshall

This deeply conservative district — covering the communities of Victorville, Barstow, and Joshua Tree — is unlikely to elect a Democrat in 2024. But progressive candidate Derek Marshall is running a campaign to build a lasting progressive movement in the high desert. His support for a ceasefire in Gaza and his advocacy for Climate Justice, Medicare for All, and LGBTQ+ rights makes him the clear choice in this race over MAGA-supporting incumbent Jay Obernolte.

District 26: No Recommendation

Six-term incumbent Julia Brownley has not only refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, she recently voted for House Resolution 894, which ignorantly declared “anti-zionism is antisemitism.” Her only opponents are conservative Democrat Chris Anstead and Republicans Michael Koslow and Bruce Boyer. Knock LA withholds its recommendation in this uncompetitive race.

District 27: Steve Hill

Conservative Republican Mike Garcia has won two elections by slim margins in this North LA County swing district, partly due to underwhelming Democratic opposition. This time the anointed Democrat is former NASA administrator and Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides, a self-described “moderate problem solver.” We recommend a protest vote in the primary for comedian, appraiser, and atheist/satanist Steve Hill, whose past positions have included reducing incarceration.

District 28: Judy Chu

Democratic representative Judy Chu — who represents Pasadena, Alhambra, and nearby cities — supports a ceasefire in Gaza, Medicare for All, and citizenship for undocumented immigrants, among other progressive positions. April A. Verlato (Republican), Jose Castaneda (Libertarian), and William Patterson (Peace and Freedom Party) are also in the race.

District 29: Angelica Dueñas

Representative Tony Cárdenas, who has represented this district for over 10 years, surprised all by announcing his retirement late in 2023. Less shocking, however, was his immediate endorsement of a preferred successor, Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, in a blatant attempt to usurp East San Fernando Valley voters and make the choice himself. While Rivas has compiled a decent record in the Assembly, we question the priorities of a politician who continues to take contributions from big corporations like Amazon, Airbnb, AT&T, and Facebook, whose interests are adverse to her constituents.

Fortunately, voters have a superb option in Angélica Dueñas, who gave Cárdenas a stiff challenge in 2020 and 2022, and was already in the race when Cárdenas announced his retirement. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Dueñas is running a grassroots progressive campaign, taking no corporate donations. She supports a ceasefire in Gaza, housing as a human right, Medicare for All, criminal justice reform, and other progressive policy positions. She also is raising five children who attend LAUSD schools. Republican Benito Bernal is also in the race. Vote Dueñas.

District 30: Maebe A. Girl

Maebe A. Girl, making her third run for a version of this seat, is a vocal and unapologetic progressive, and she came out early and strong for a ceasefire in Gaza. She has also been energetic in the local community as a neighborhood council member and an activist, and would make history as the first transgender, nonbinary member of Congress. She is the best, most progressive candidate in the field. We have recommended her before, and we have no reservations in doing so again.

Laura Friedman has done a decent job in the Assembly as a consistent supporter of housing and transit and a strong and effective voice on the environment, and in some years might seem like a viable “least worst” alternative for pragmatic-minded voters. But her unbending support of Israel’s mass slaughter of Palestinians, and her utter lack of genuine concern for the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians, is both revolting and utterly disqualifying at a time such as this.

The rest of the field is an embarrassment. Mike Feuer seems to hope that, if he raises enough money, voters will forget the colossal DWP scandal that unfolded under his watch as city attorney. Anthony Portantino has been a consistent friend of every police association under the sun and has frequently used his position as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee to quietly kill off progressive bills offending either his own sensibilities or those of leadership. Nick Melvoin has been a happy warrior for big charter school money on the LA Unified School Board. Ben Savage (of Boy Meets World fame) seems to like dressing up as a cop and… well, honestly, it’s hard to tell what else he cares about. The list goes on, but you get the picture.

Vote Maebe.

District 31: No Recommendation

What a waste. Incumbent Grace Napolitano’s retirement after 26 years opened the door for an energetic progressive to step in and represent this diverse chunk of the San Gabriel Valley.

Instead, the serious competitors are all relatively conservative retreads. Gil Cisneros, who won the Mega Millions jackpot and then parlayed his wealth into a Congressional seat just south of here, used his one-term stint in Congress to establish himself as an unimaginative moderate. State senators Bob Archuleta and Susan Rubio both rank among the more conservative members of the California legislature, and both have been hefty recipients of fossil fuel, real estate, and cop money.

Knock LA has no recommendation to make in this safe Democratic district.

District 32: Christopher Ahuja

Brad Sherman’s career of mediocrity took a particularly dark turn in this most recent term as he lent his full-throated support to Netanyahu’s brutal government and its ongoing genocide in Gaza — and joined with GOP Senator Marco Rubio to slander Jewish pro-Palestine protesters as antisemitic terrorism supporters. While he claims to be an environmentalist, Sherman has been fighting (on behalf of wealthy Bel Air NIMBYs) against a subway line connecting the Valley and the West Side, throwing his own working class constituents under the bus.

We recommend a vote for Christopher Ahuja. He supports Medicare for All, family and medical leave, making public colleges free for all students, and creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

District 34: David Kim

Representative Jimmy Gomez and progressive challenger David Kim face off for a third time in this Central and Northeast Los Angeles district. The trends may favor Kim this time, as he lost by 6% in 2020 and 2% in 2022. Kim has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, has a detailed proposal for universal healthcare, and advocates building public housing to solve our affordable housing crisis. In addition to his progressive policies, Kim also holds co-governance as a core value.

The 34th district is the poorest congressional district in California, with a 29% poverty rate, yet incumbent Gomez has failed to take the necessary steps to upend the status quo. Gomez continues to give lip service to progressive policies, while at the same time collecting significant amounts of campaign cash from the healthcare, real estate, and financial services corporations who oppose progressive reform. He has also failed to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. David M. Ferrell, Calvin Lee, and Aaron Reveles are also in the race. Vote Kim.

District 35: Melissa May

Representative Norma Torres, the only member of Congress born in Central America, has represented Pomona and parts of San Bernardino County since 2015. Torres not only refuses to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, but also voted for House Resolution 894, which ignorantly declared “anti-zionism is antisemitism.”

Democratic challenger Melissa May is the better choice. May advocates a comprehensive approach to addressing homelessness through increased funding for affordable housing, addressing the root causes of homelessness, and providing supportive services to those on the street. Republicans Mike Cargile and Vijal Suthar are also in the race.

District 36: No Recommendation

Westside representative Ted Lieu has vocally opposed a ceasefire in Gaza; voted for massive increases in military spending in 2021, 2022, and 2023; and has received thousands in campaign donations from military contractors, along with other corporate contributors. However, conservative reactionary Melissa Toomim and Republican financial advisor Ariana Hakami are worse options. No information is available about Claire Anderson. Knock LA declines to make a recommendation in this safe democratic district.

District 37: Juan Rey

First-term representative Sydney Kamlager won this Central LA district with relative ease in 2022 after former representative Karen Bass ran for mayor. While she holds some progressive positions, she has refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and accepts campaign donations from numerous large corporations, including Amazon. Challenger Adam Carmichael promotes harmful generalizations about unhoused individuals and believes Kamlager does not sufficiently support the US military. Candidate John Thompson Parker is pro-Russia and a socialist.

Knock LA recommends Juan Rey, an LA Metro train mechanic and advocate for low wage workers, as a protest vote in this safe democratic district.

District 38: No Recommendation

Linda Sánchez has represented this Southeast Los Angeles district for more than 20 years. However, she is no progressive. Sanchez refuses to call for a ceasefire in Gaza; voted for massive increases in military spending in 2021, 2022, and 2023; and receives large campaign contributions from landlord associations, banks, and health insurance companies. Voters deserve better. Unfortunately, Sánchez’s only opponents are Republicans Eric J. Ching, Robert Zhang Ochoa, and John Sarega. Knock LA makes no recommendation.

District 42: Nicole López

Former Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia gained attention in his first term in congress for his adept use of social media, including Tik Tok, to critique Trump and other Republicans. However, we remain concerned about the $66,000 in donations he received from AIPAC in 2022; the corporate cash he continues to receive from the real estate, insurance, and healthcare industries; and his opposition to rent control during his time as mayor.

We instead recommend Nicole López, a progressive activist from Southeast LA who is running on a platform of a ceasefire in Gaza and justice for Palestinians; humane immigration reform with a path to citizenship; and Medicare for All. Progressive Joaquín Beltrán and MAGA conservative John Briscoe are also in the race.

District 43: Maxine Waters

Longtime representative Maxine Waters has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has repeatedly called for a federal civil rights investigation into the violent LASD deputy gangs. While we have in the past expressed concerns about ethical issues surrounding Waters, Knock LA recognizes the importance of sitting congressmembers speaking without equivocation in support of a ceasefire. Also in the race are Democrats Chris B. Wiggins and Gregory Edward Jackson Cheadle and Republicans David Knight and Steve Williams. Vote Waters.

District 44: No Recommendation

We have previously recommended a vote for Representative Nanette Barragán based on her support of Medicare for All and advocacy for citizenship for undocumented immigrants. However, her refusal to support a ceasefire in Gaza, despite the devastating death toll of women and children and escalating famine, leaves us questioning her judgment. Conservative Republican Roger Groh is an even worse option. We decline to endorse in this safely blue district.

District 45: Cheyenne Hunt

Republican representative Michelle Steel, who recently reaffirmed her support for the “Life at Conception” anti-abortion act, is facing four Democratic challengers in this mostly Orange County district.

Garden Grove councilmember Kim Nguyen-Penaloza, who has secured the most endorsements, and personal injury attorney Derek Tran, who has raised the most money among the challengers, both lack written policy platforms, a worrying sign typically indicating centrist views. Aditya Pai is an attorney for construction companies.
Cheyenne Hunt is an attorney for the nonprofit Public Citizen, where she advocates for stricter regulation of large tech companies. Hunt supports reproductive justice, rent control, and an affirmative right to housing. Vote Hunt.

Paid for by Ground Game LA. Not authorized by or coordinated with any candidate or a committee controlled by any candidate.

*Correction: A previous version of this guide incorrectly stated Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson voted against a bill to ban bike repair without proof of ownership. He in fact voted for it.

**Correction: Cindy Allen was not present for the City Council’s vote approving a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza. An earlier version of this guide incorrectly stated she voted in favor of the resolution

***Correction: A previous version of this guide incorrectly described the new boundaries of State Senate District 27.

****Correction: A previous version of this guide recommended Josh Lowenthal for Assembly District 69 and failed to note Lowenthal’s introduction of AB 2153.

*****Correction: A previous version of this guide stated that Kim Repecka spent five years at the Children’s Law Center and omitted her time at Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers.

******Correction: The description of AB 937 has been clarified.

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The Knock LA Progressive Voter Guide for the March 2024 Primary Election

We’re progressive Angelenos — of course we wrote an extensive voter guide with breakdowns of city, county, state, and federal races, plus ballot initiatives!

Ground Game LA

February 6, 2024