How to Vote in 2022 in CA!
UPDATE: If you are looking for advice on how to vote in the general election, please go here: How to Vote on Nov. 8, 2022 in CA!
Below is my list of recommendations for California’s primary election on June 7, 2022.
I would like to highlight the following races, where I happen to know the people running: my friend Mia Livas Porter is running for CA State Assembly (District 52), Rocío Rivas is running for LAUSD’s School Board (District 2), and Danielle Sandoval is running for Los Angeles City Council (District 15). All of them are amazing women, please vote for them!
For more information about where & how to vote, go here:
LAist: “How To Vote In LA For The June 7 Primary Election”
For more information about the candidates, and if you need additional endorsements (I wasn’t able to cover every single race), go here:
Cal Matters
Courage California
East Area Progressive Democrats
Knock LA
LA Forward
LAist
LA Times
Voters Edge
MY LIST OF VOTING RECOMMENDATIONS
Keep scrolling for my explanations of why I support these candidates, alternative suggestions, and sources. (The asterisks indicate races where I’ve changed my mind. You will need to scroll down to see why.)
UNITED STATES SENATOR: ALEX PADILLA
(VOTE TWICE: FOR SHORT & LONG TERM POSITIONS)
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 27: CHRISTY SMITH
LOS ANGELES MAYOR: KAREN RUTH BASS
LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY: HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO*
LOS ANGELES CITY CONTROLLER: KENNETH MEJIA
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 1: EUNISSES HERNANDEZ
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5: KATY YOUNG YAROSLAVSKY
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 7: ELISA AVALOS
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 13: HUGO SOTO-MARTINEZ
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 15: DANIELLE SANDOVAL
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 2: ROCIO RIVAS
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 6: MARVIN RODRIGUEZ
CA STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 26: MARIA ELENA DURAZO
CA STATE ASSEMBLY, DISTRICT 52: MIA LIVAS PORTER
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 34: JIMMY GOMEZ
BALLOT MEASURE BB: YES
LA COUNTY SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT 1: HILDA SOLIS
LA COUNTY SHERIFF: ERIC STRONG
LA COUNTY ASSESSOR: JEFFREY PRANG
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 003): SHERLIYN GARNETT
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 060): ANNA SLOTKY REITANO
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 67): ELIZABETH LASHLEY-HAYNES
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 70): HOLLY HANCOCK
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 90): KEVIN THOMAS MCGURK
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 116): LLOYD E. HANDLER
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 118): CAROLYN “JIYOUNG” PARK
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 151): THOMAS D. ALLISON
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 156): CAROL ELSWICK*
GOVERNOR: GAVIN NEWSOM
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: ELENI KOUNALAKIS
SECRETARY OF STATE: SHIRLEY WEBER
CONTROLLER: MALIA COHEN
TREASURER: MEGHANN ADAMS
ATTORNEY GENERAL: ROB BONTA
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: RICARDO LARA
BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, DISTRICT 3: TONY VAZQUEZ
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: TONY THURMOND
WHY I RECOMMEND THESE CANDIDATES
To be quite honest, this list of recommendations was quite difficult to make, because many of these races are between Democrats. Whenever possible, I tried to include some of the alternative options, using multiple voting guides along the left-wing spectrum. Feel free to check my sources and draw your own conclusions!
UNITED STATES SENATOR: ALEX PADILLA
(VOTE TWICE: FOR SHORT & LONG TERM POSITIONS)
“This position is currently open to applications for both a 56-day contractual basis (to serve from when the election results are certified in November until Jan. 3, 2023) and for the standard six-year term (beginning in January). Let us explain: In 2021, the prior holder of this position, Kamala Harris [became Vice President]. This gave Gov. Gavin Newsom the opportunity to appoint current Sen. Alex Padilla. The U.S. Constitution’s 17th Amendment specifies that appointees to the Senate should serve “until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.”…That’s why California voters will be asked to hire a senator to fill the remainder of Harris’ term — which ends in January …and to hire a senator to serve the next term… Padilla, who has the backing of the entire Democratic establishment, is the clear favorite [to win].”
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/us-senate)
“When Gov. Gavin Newsom named then-California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill Kamala Harris’ seat in the U.S. Senate after she was elected vice president, it was the right choice — and not only because it was high time that this state, where 39% of residents are Latino, had a Latino senator. As the state’s election chief, Padilla had already shown he had the mettle to take on national issues by offering a sober and factual counterpoint to President Trump’s frequent lies about election fraud. And his long political resume as secretary of state, as state senator representing the San Fernando Valley and as Los Angeles City Council president made it clear he was among the few ready to step up to the Senate seat on short notice. He did that with ease, and now, just slightly over a year since he took office, Padilla has proven that he is as capable, as honorable, as skilled a lawmaker as we expected.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-05-08/alex-padilla-for-u-s-senate)
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 27: CHRISTY SMITH
“Incumbent GOP Rep. Mike Garcia is seeking reelection after a term in office in which he proved to be a Trump enabler and a threat to democracy. He was among the Republican extremists who, outrageously, tried to throw out the votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania by voting against certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election. And even though Trump incited violent mobs who attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification process, Garcia voted against impeaching Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection….
The good news is that voters in this northern Los Angeles County district have the chance this year to get rid of Garcia and replace him with a representative who will respect the sanctity of the vote… Democrat Christy Smith is a longtime resident of Santa Clarita who has represented the area in the state Assembly and served on the Newhall School District board… In the Assembly, she championed passage of important charter school regulations. Her voting record on abortion issues earned her a top rating from Planned Parenthood. In Congress, she wants to strengthen voting rights, make college and trade schools more affordable and carry legislation to put a social worker in every school that serves low-income children… When Smith ran for this office in 2020… she lost to Garcia by just 333 votes, a margin so small that the official tally calls it a 50%-50% vote…With a more active campaign this year… Smith makes a strong case that she’s prepared to defeat Garcia. Voters should have her back.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-05-16/endorsement-christy-smith-for-congress)
LOS ANGELES MAYOR: KAREN RUTH BASS
“Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor: Karen Bass is an extraordinarily qualified, battle-tested, mission-driven leader, and should be L.A.’s next mayor.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
“Endorsed for Mayor: KAREN BASS, with 86 percent of votes.”
(Source: East Area Progressive Democrats, www.eapd.la/endorsements)
“Voters upset over crime and a seemingly limitless geyser of cash have propelled Rick Caruso to the front of the race for mayor, reshaping the contest and offering Los Angeles a stark contrast between the billionaire developer and his chief rival, Rep. Karen Bass… Caruso has frequently hyped the scale of crime in the city, saying at a recent debate, for example, that the city was experiencing some of the worst crime in its history. That is not true, but the poll clearly shows the role the crime issue has played in allowing Caruso, a former Republican who only recently switched his registration to Democrat, to compete in heavily Democratic Los Angeles. His backers in the poll are evenly distributed among Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisan voters, while Bass’s supporters are overwhelmingly Democrats.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-11/karen-bass-rick-caruso-in-dead-heat-mayoral-poll)
“1) Los Angeles folks: I believe that we all need to be a LOT more worried about Rick Caruso’s candidacy. We’re on the verge of allowing a Trumpian, anti-abortion billionaire buy our city government. And he can do it this June, in the primary, if we don’t stop him. 2) It’s not common knowledge, but if a single candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary this June, they skip the general election and win the office outright. I think that Caruso is gunning to win this way, and I think he has a chance of making it happen. 3) This is the first LA mayoral election ever that’s synced with the national election cycle. It’s also the first mayoral election in which ballots are being mailed to EVERY eligible voters. Result: This election is going to have a completely new, vastly larger electorate. 4) Caruso is a billionaire developer who has so far spent an unprecedented $24 MILLION on TV ads. It’s impossible to watch the Dodgers or Jeopardy without seeing one. The other candidates are barely running ads. Result: Caruso is the only candidate many new voters have even heard of 5) The last poll a month ago showed Caruso and Bass in a dead heat, with every other candidate in single digits. In the month since, Caruso has flooded LA with ads, while most other campaigns have wilted. Result: Less candidates to take votes away from Caruso and keep him under 50%. 6) Add to that a rejuvenated right wing, which is fired up about mask and vaccine mandates, a (largely fictional) spike in crime, and hatred for Biden. They know that Caruso is their guy. Result: Masses of right wingers may turn out who never have before in a mayoral election.”
(Source: https://twitter.com/adamconover/status/1525287461848420353)
LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY: HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO
*UPDATED FROM MY ORIGINAL RECOMMENDATION: FAISAL GILL*
“ Hydee Feldstein Soto… would bring deep legal expertise, independence and intellectual curiosity to the job. Retired for the last decade, Feldstein Soto was a longtime partner in corporate law firms with specialties in bankruptcy and acquisitions, and she managed teams of lawyers with different disciplines. It was complex work that required collaboration and problem-solving to finalize deals that worked for clients. It was good training for managing the 500-plus lawyers in the city attorney’s office and navigating City Hall, which is full of difficult challenges and competing priorities. Her top priorities include helping departments streamline approvals for affordable housing, reviewing agreements with the county to ensure the city is receiving its fair share of public and mental health services, and scrutinizing the city’s contracting to understand why homeless housing is costing so much to build. She wants to ramp up enforcement of city ordinances by using the administrative penalty system to issue fines for offenses like illegal vacation rentals and building code violations. As for the prosecution of misdemeanors, she believes offenders should face consequences for crimes but that penalties or interventions should include diversion to treatment, community services or restorative justice programs. Feldstein Soto understands the possibilities and limitations of the office. The city attorney is not a policymaker. That’s important…Among the candidates, Feldstein Soto stands out for her experience, legal acumen and problem-solving skills, and The Times recommends her for city attorney.
Civil rights lawyer Faisal Gill has focused on holding the Los Angeles Police Department accountable for officer misconduct and has said he would not enforce the city’s ban on homeless encampments. [As a] former Republican, now Democrat, [he has] made major ideological shifts over [his] career… Gill worked in the George W. Bush administration and advocated against gay marriage.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-05-12/endorsement-hydee-feldstein-soto-for-los-angeles-city-attorney)
“Hydee Feldstein Soto [is] hardly a household name. I met her back in the day, somewhere in the 2000’s, as a neighborhood council and community advocate who kept us abreast of proposed legislation in Sacramento and city hall. She regularly showed up at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition or LANCC, and other community events to update us on land use issues, often legislation, especially bills or proposed bills which would favor speculators and screw Angelenos. She often went to Sacramento to try and ameliorate stupid laws by people like Scott Weiner (SF). So, when she told me she is running for LA City Attorney, I was jazzed. Her rationale for doing this is that she thinks it’s important to have a LA City Attorney who understands the job, is independent of political winds, and is ready to run a huge law firm for the benefit of all Angelenos…The reason I wholeheartedly support her is simple. In running she is a neighborhood council person, small ‘d’ democrat, grassroots advocate, used to drawing LANCC’s diverse members into a consensus on land use issues (no small feat), effective in Sacramento helping us fight bad legislation, and made her bones in the big bucks world of big law, at firms like Sullivan & Cronwell LLP and Paul Hastings LLP, where problem solving and the ability to get things done on time and on budget really mattered. We would be lucky to have that kind of a lawyer working as our city attorney. She is not, however, winner of the political contributions race. For that, we’ll take a look at the top contenders there, I think in order of money raised…Faisal Gill.
I’ll admit that I never heard of Faisal Gill before this race, so I did a little digging. Mostly I think he was never on my radar because he is not from around here. Up until 2007 he was a registered Republican, and ran for the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2016 he shows up in Vermont as the Democratic Candidate for Vermont State Senate, and when he lost that race as well, he became the Interim Vermont Democratic Party Chair. He moved to LA sometime in 2019 to run for city attorney. One reason for his fundraising success is that, according to his website’s Endorsement page, he has the lion’s share of the establishment democratic party on his side: Karen Bass, Ro Khanna and Ilhan Omar, LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Sidney Kamlager and others. Anyhow, as Gill’s own website characterizes him, “Faisal recently won a settlement with the City of Los Angeles in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by a Black Hollywood music producer who fought in court to have LAPD body camera video footage made public to prove allegations he was racially profiled before his arrest. Faisal hopes to bring his perspective as an immigrant and civil rights attorney to the office of LA City Attorney and restore trust and transparency in local government. Faisal has 6 children and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Aimee who is also an attorney.”
He lists himself as a civil rights attorney, although he spent decades working for the Republican Party, and arguing that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual’s concealed carry of firearms into a K-12 school. You can see it here. He also spearheaded the unsuccessful push for a constitutional amendment against marriage equality in Virginia with particular venom: “During a recent public forum at the Durant Center, Ebbin and Fairfax County trial attorney Faisal Gill debated the merits of the proposed amendment. Gill, who represented Virginians for Marriage and the Family Foundation, said that the purpose of the amendment is to prevent legal recognition of gay marriages from other states. Putting his money where his mouth is, Gill offered pro bono representation to any clients who claim that the amendment has imperiled their contracts, wills, inheritance or advanced medical directives. #“I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman,” Gill said. “Thus far, the debate over this amendment has focused on the legalities. If we want to be intellectually honest, we will have a debate about the policy issues.” That was in 2006.”
(Source: https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/archives/2022/04/07/la-city-attorney-race/38950)
FAISAL GILL: “This powerful office is often overlooked, in part because it’s a confusing mix of roles and responsibilities. These include prosecuting (or not prosecuting) misdemeanors, providing corporate counsel to the City and the LAPD, interpreting the City Charter, drafting legislation at request of the City Council, and representing the public against bad actors like corporate polluters or abusive employers. Put it all together, and the city attorney could be a progressive powerhouse, if anyone thought to use it that way. The LA City Attorney Coalition’s platform offers some superb specifics as to how this can be done. But instead, the office is generally treated as a political stepping stone (current City Attorney Mike Feuer is running a doomed campaign for mayor), and the staff is infamous for their brutal and carceral approach to prosecution. Faisal Gill stands out as the one candidate who has embraced a progressive approach to the office. He has promised to cut back on misdemeanor prosecution (including sex workers and unhoused people arrested in sweeps) and to redirect those resources to the affirmative litigation division where they can focus on rooting out wage theft and suing corporate polluters. He also has vowed to hold LAPD accountable, both through prosecution and by how he structures settlements for misconduct on behalf of the city. He looks even better in comparison to the rest of the motley crew competing for the office, who are generally somewhere between right wing and incompetent, and quite often both.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
“Civil rights attorney Faisal Gill, who served as a senior Homeland Security official under President George W. Bush, is jumping into the race for Los Angeles City Attorney — and running as a progressive Democrat…A native of Pakistan who moved with his family to the United States as a child, Gill, 48, served as the policy director for the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence division from 2003 to 2005. More recently, he’s worked as an attorney in private practice, representing such clients as Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of slain Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a lawsuit against Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence determined approved Khashoggi’s killing. Ironically, Gill is currently representing music producer Antone Austin in a federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department and the City of Los Angeles, alleging racial profiling, excessive force, and unlawful arrest. How a former Republican raised in Northern Virginia and with reputed ties to Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist wound up running for L.A. City Attorney — and has already snagged endorsements from Karen Bass, Ilhan Omar, and Ro Khanna — is quite a tale. In 2004, Gill was embroiled in controversy after the FBI discovered he had failed to list on security clearance documents his work in 2001 with the American Muslim Council, a now-defunct lobby whose founder, Abdurahman Alamoudi, was indicted in 2003 on terrorism-related money laundering charges. He was briefly removed from his job but was ultimately reinstated after a department investigation found no reason to deny him a top-secret security clearance. Gill stepped down the following year. The Navy veteran ran as a Republican for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2007, lost, and then changed political parties the same year.
In an interview, Gill says the experience of being targeted by prominent Republicans like Congressman Peter King over his Muslim faith, his nationality, and his liberal views on immigration soured him on the GOP. A relative newcomer to L.A., Gill says he is running for City Attorney to hold the LAPD more accountable, to stop the practice of ticketing homeless people for things like vagrancy and trespassing, and to target slumlords who ignore city ordinances set in place to protect tenants. He and his wife and the couple’s three children moved to Porter Ranch in 2018 from Burlington, Vermont, where he was the first Muslim chair of the state Democratic Party. He said they relocated in part to be closer to Gill’s three children from a previous marriage, who live in L.A. He also lived in L.A. from 2008 to 2014. “You go through a pretty big transformation when you face hatred,” he said of switching from Republican to Democrat. “I realized the Republican Party is OK with Muslims donating money, but that the minute a Muslim wants a seat at the table it’s a different story.” He said the experience of fighting with the city attorney’s office to release body cam footage from the Austin arrest motivated him to run for city attorney. For years, Gill has served as an advisor for the Council on Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties group, and for the Democracy in the Arab World Now, an advocacy group founded by Khashoggi. In July 2014, journalist Glenn Greenwald reported that Gill was one of five prominent Muslim U.S. citizens that were under National Security Agency surveillance, according to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.”
(Source: https://www.lamag.com/citythin.../faisal-gill-city-attorney/)
“Gill, who was 8 when his family emigrated from Pakistan, went to law school in Washington, D.C., and then joined the U.S. Navy as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. After his military career, he got involved with Muslim interest groups and did a stint as a senior policy advisor in the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush. Amid debate over a marriage amendment in Virginia in 2006, Gill was quoted in a local newspaper as saying, “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.” The next year, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican. While campaigning, Gill said he noticed potential voters often wrote him off before he opened his mouth. “When you experience that level of hatred, it really makes you question your views,” he said. “I turned away from the Republican Party and became a very staunch Democrat.” He reflected on the ways he, too, had perpetuated discrimination — “I was wrong then, absolutely wrong,” he said of his onetime opposition to same-sex marriage — and says he has worked since then to show his dedication to the Democratic Party. Before moving to California in 2018, Gill lived in Vermont, where he made an unsuccessful bid for a state Senate seat in 2016 and served as chairman of the state’s Democratic Party for several months in 2017. His decision to run for city attorney, Gill said, was born out of his experience litigating against the office on behalf of one of his clients, Antone Austin, a Black man arrested by Los Angeles police during a search for a white suspect in 2019. A few years earlier, through information leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Gill learned he was being spied on by the U.S. government. It was surreal, he said, to hear people call him a mole when, in reality, he was simply a politically active American Muslim. “I understand government overreach and how it can ruin your life.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-05/la-city-attorney-race-ex-republicans-daffy-duck-factor)
LOS ANGELES CITY CONTROLLER: KENNETH MEJIA
“Kenneth Mejia for L.A. city controller: For this job, government outsider Kenneth Mejia is particularly impressive because the 31-year-old certified public accountant and auditor has used his campaign to demonstrate the kind of transparency-and-data-driven controller he would be — and that’s why The Times is endorsing him.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
“Kenneth Mejia has run a trailblazing campaign for this office, using a combination of accounting expertise, social media savvy, enthusiastic public engagement, and a community organizing mentality. His run for office is a working demonstration of how he would perform the job itself as an independent watchdog and public information resource. He’s endorsed by Ground Game LA. A longtime organizer with the LA Tenants Union, Mejia is a certified public accountant (CPA) with 11 years of accounting and auditing experience. Not only is he the only CPA in the race for city controller — an office responsible for auditing city finances — but he would, astonishingly, be the first CPA in Los Angeles history to serve in this office. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley by his single mother, a first-generation Filipina, Mejia and his campaign have already used the race as a platform for progressive values by providing an unprecedented level of financial analysis, transparency, and resources to Angelenos, using city data. These resources include a map of affordable housing units, a heat map and analysis of LAPD traffic and pedestrian stops, and a map of the most frequently ticketed parking spots in LA. He has even broken important news stories, such as his discovery that half of LA’s American Rescue Plan funds for COVID-19 relief went to the LAPD. Mejia’s qualifications and outsider perspective has earned him endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Melina Abdullah (co-founder of Black Lives Matter–LA), former LA Deputy Mayor Rick Cole, Sunrise Movement LA, Ground Game LA, and many other progressive organizations and community members. The Mejia campaign has the most grassroots support in the city controller race, raising more money in small-dollar donations than all of the other campaigns combined.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
DAVID VAHEDI: “Termed-out City Council District 5’s member Paul Koretz, despite having zero financial expertise, has simply worked back political channels to completely preempt endorsements from the get-go. Legions favor him seemingly reflexively, without considering his suitability for the job. It is very odd, as if the job does not matter, just the position. And reciprocally, similarly unreflective is the push-back with a young, politically, practically, and professionally inexperienced, former-Green candidate [Kenneth Mejia]. I’m always eager for viable third-party candidates, but when the interest is more for office than the job of it, I get uneasy. Professionally I have a lot of problem with the way a CPA straight out of school crowd-sources number-crunching from others and brands it as his own apparently without context or significance. This precludes conversation about the work and feels to me more akin to demagoguery than financial acumen; I don’t see it as a viable route to good public policy. David Vahedi lost to Paul Koretz in CD5 several years ago and is now matched against him in a financial context that should be Vahedi’s bailiwick. I’d like to see what a locally rooted CFO can do with our City’s budget… as a viable candidate actually familiar with life, politics and auditing massive balance sheets.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary/)
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 1: EUNISSES HERNANDEZ
“Eunisses Hernandez for City Council District 1: Policy advocate and community organizer Eunisses Hernandez has a record of moving forward big, complicated systemic reforms. That’s what L.A. needs.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5: KATY YOUNG YAROSLAVSKY
“A UCLA-trained attorney and LA native, Katy Young Yaroslavsky has been the architect of environmental policies that have made real differences in the fight against climate catastrophe. Her work with the Climate Action Reserve, the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl (particularly on Measure W: The Safe, Clean Water Program), and the Clean Power Alliance has been instrumental in carrying out Green New Deal actions for a just transition away from fossil fuels. Challenging existing systems and infrastructure takes a relentless nature, a sharp eye for policy detail, and a steady focus on long-term goals. Young Yaroslavsky has proven herself to be ably suited to the work, and we have no doubt she will carry those skills to City Council.
Young Yaroslavksy has also demonstrated a genuine interest in engagement with community and activist groups, even when such engagement offers little in the way of short-term political gain. This augurs well for building co-governance relationships in office, which is good because Young Yaroslavsky is far from perfect. Knock LA disagrees with some of Young Yaroslavsky’s statements on LA municipal ordinance 41.18, which brutally criminalizes unhoused people and discourages long term solutions to homelessness. She is on the record saying both “it’s not going to solve homelessness,” and “if it’s paired with deep social work and street engagement, it could be a helpful tool.” If she is elected, community engagement and pressure will be needed to push her in a progressive direction.
Former Mid City West Neighborhood Council board chair Scott Epstein has done good work to improve transportation in the area…
Law school professor Jimmy Biblarz impressed us with his stances and policy goals, but struck us as more interested in movement work rather than connected to it. While he was raised in LA, Biblarz has only lived in LA as an adult for two years and lacks strong roots in the community that would keep him accountable while in office.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 7: ELISA AVALOS
“Incumbent Monica Rodriguez has a decent track record. She has worked with respected community groups such as Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural to solicit community input on bike path improvements and with Pacoima Beautiful on streetscape improvements, including more shade trees and sidewalks, to allow better access to transit. She called for the LAPD to draft a report on all shootings by officers in 2021 after the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana Peralta. Still, Councilmember Rodriguez leaves a lot to be desired by progressives. Residents in the San Fernando Gardens public housing project have not had success in getting her to meet and engage with them. They also say that her office has not been as responsive to them as they’d wish. She co-introduced resolutions to enforce the brutal anti-homeless measure 41.18, a motion that criminalizes “sitting, lying, sleeping, and storing personal property” in certain areas. Not having the scandals of some of her City Hall colleagues, she’s all but certain to be reelected.
As the president of the Pacoima Neighborhood Council, Elisa Avalos, the only challenger, is a passionate advocate for the community. She worked with stakeholders to pass a resolution asking the Metro board to evaluate alternatives to demolishing Pacoima’s central shopping district for the East San Fernando Valley transit project. She also calls for mental health incident units to supplement police response and for community oversight of police. Knock LA disagrees with Avalos on housing: her priority is single-family zoning, ours is public and social housing. But voting for her is a way to let Rodriguez know that constituents support a holistic approach to addressing issues involving policing, unhoused people, and transit.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 13: HUGO SOTO-MARTINEZ
“Hugo Soto-Martinez is an exciting, progressive candidate for a district whose governance has, for too long, been at odds with its constituents. By presidential vote, it is one of the most progressive districts in the city. By housing type, it is one of the most renter-heavy. And yet, for almost a decade, it’s been misrepresented by Mitch O’Farrell, an alumnus of Eric Garcetti’s office who has been on the wrong side of just about every issue that’s come before him. While some of his colleagues sought to pass a true pandemic eviction protection for renters, O’Farrell cast a deciding vote to defeat it, forcing City Council to pass a weaker proposal instead. When his colleagues introduced legislation to improve LA’s homelessness response and provide more services, O’Farrell gutted the motion and turned it into a handout for the sanitation department…All told, his work to gentrify CD 13 has made it one of the few districts in the city to actually shrink in population between 2010 and 2020 censuses, as low-income and nonwhite residents were pushed out. It’s all of a piece with O’Farrell’s career as a diligent servant to his district’s major property owners and developers and small cliques of well-organized homeowners, and with his callous disregard for the rest of his district and the city…
Born and raised in Los Angeles by Mexican immigrant parents, Hugo Soto-Martinez is an experienced union organizer with UNITE HERE! Local 11 (the hotel and restaurant workers’ union), who has also organized as a member of DSA-LA and NOlympics — and even has localist chops with service on the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council. He bridges the worlds of labor and left activism, worlds which have frequently lined up on opposite sides in Los Angeles — to the detriment of both…
He’s endorsed by Dolores Huerta, two sitting progressive councilmembers, a former CD 13 councilmember, DSA, Ground Game LA, and a host of unions, including the teachers’ union. Not only will Soto-Martinez be an enormous improvement over the incumbent, we think his experience and values will make him a crucial component of the emerging progressive bloc on City Council.
Alongside Soto-Martinez, O’Farrell’s weakness has led to a robust field of candidates vying to unseat him. Kate Pynoos, a former policy advisor to departing progressive Councilmember Mike Bonin has at times outraised O’Farrell and is running on her City Hall experience as a wonkish, practical progressive…Any vote against Mitch O’Farrell is a good one. But a vote for Hugo Soto-Martinez, the labor organizer who scares the bejeezus out of the landlord lobby, is a great one. He’s endorsed by Ground Game LA. Vote for him.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
KATE PYNOOS: “We recommend Kate Pynoos, a lawyer who calls herself a progressive with practical experience. As a legislative aide to Councilman Mike Bonin, she helped craft motions, dealt with council members and their staffs, and assisted on budget issues. She knows how the sausage is made. She also served three years on the Hollywood Studio District Neighborhood Council. On homelessness, unlike O’Farrell, she does not support the city’s anti-camping ordinance. While she would focus on creating more interim housing and shelter, she believes it’s crucial to have permanent housing to move people into. Pynoos has a detailed housing and tenant protection plan that includes reducing political influence over housing approvals, expanding existing affordable housing incentive programs and creating new ones, and preventing homelessness by increasing rental subsidies for people facing eviction or falling behind on their rent. She would not increase the police budget or reduce it at this point. She believes in developing alternatives to having police deal with mental health crises… Pynoos’ experience working in City Hall and her grasp of the structural reforms needed to make the city work better give her the edge.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-05-17/kate-pynoos-endorsement-la-city-council)
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 15: DANIELLE SANDOVAL
“Danielle Sandoval for City Council District 15: Community organizer and entrepreneur Danielle Sandoval is a grass-roots politician who would bring a fresh perspective to City Hall.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 2: ROCIO RIVAS
“Dr. Rocío Rivas is LAUSD trustee Jackie Goldberg’s policy deputy. The United Teachers Los Angeles union endorses Dr. Rivas. She calls for a Green New Deal for Public Schools — which would turn them into accessible areas of green space and convert all LAUSD schools to renewable energy, reimagine school safety, and fully staff schools with counselors, psychiatric social workers, librarians, nurses, and aides. She also supports reallocating money from school police to educational programs.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
“Endorsed for L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) Board, District 2: DR. ROCÍO RIVAS”
(Source: East Area Progressive Democrats, www.eapd.la/endorsements)
“Rivas is a parent activist and deputy to current District 5 board member Jackie Goldberg. She has the support of the teachers union. Important to improving the district’s enrollment, Rivas tells LAist, is building a trusting and welcome environment. Not only have many parents been concerned about their children’s health, Rivas says, but “LAUSD schools have facilities issues that need to be addressed, coupled with necessity for shade, greening, and gardens. She wants to see LAUSD schools “become sanctuaries of welcoming, nurturing, and understanding … compassionate environments for students to feel understood and validated.” Rivas proposes the development of a social-emotional toolkit that combines curriculum, programs, services, and videos, capable of adapting to whatever scenario. She also wants more resources to address parent mental health. Rivas is blunt about sharing resources between district-run schools and charter schools. “Co-location is another instrument to drain resources from neighborhood public schools … The sharing of school space is not conducive for either school as it disrupts the school’s day-to-day schedule and routine.” Until the state legislature changes policy to end co-location rights, she wants the district to be active participants in co-location, helping principals ensure the least disruption possible. On law enforcement, Rivas says there is “a role for policing, but not directly inside schools,” and that all stakeholders must have an “honest and clear discussion on school safety, criminalization of students, school-to-prison pipeline, not enough after school programs and having too many accessible guns. Website: drrivasforschoolboard.com”
(Source: https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-primary-los-angeles-county-lausd-school-board)
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 4: No endorsement
“Incumbent charter supporter Nick Melvoin began teaching through Teach for America, which funnels students into teaching positions at “in need” schools that are largely charter schools. It’s a way to replace unionized teachers with lower-paid workers at high turnover. An independent expenditure to support the Melvoin and Gonez campaigns by charter front group “Kids First” already spent half a million, funded by Bill Bloomfield, a businessman who is a major political investor and strong advocate of charter schools. Bloomfield spent over $1 million to attack LAUSD trustee Jackie Goldberg. Also running are anti-vaxxers Gentille Barkhordarian and charter school teacher Tracey Schroeder. All bad options.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
“The LAUSD Board District 4 race is a misery… Nick Melvoin has been the driving force of privatization in LAUSD, working to catalog space available for his patrons to pilfer, engineer delivery of public programs and facilities to his privatized counterparts, reduce the entire complexity of humanity and its Education into a simplistic numeric metric for commodification. He delivers the public entity he is elected to work for, to its mortal foe, a privatizational and predatory private sector, from behind closed doors. As far as I am concerned, he is a traitor to the promise of educational opportunity for one and all. So, I cannot vote for him. And both his opponents are anti-vax delusionals, one from the far Christian right, the other from who even knows; she has no website, no SM presence, and no knowledge of education politics so… no. I considered writing-in a favorite teacher who might live in LAUSD4. But unqualified write-ins won’t be counted. I have never failed to vote on a single race I am aware of since 1980. Yet never say never, because I cannot vote for any of these candidates.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary)
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 6: MARVIN RODRIGUEZ
“Teacher, Iraq War veteran, and immigrant Marvin A. Rodríguez says privatizing interests can no longer be “left to weaponize charter schools to undermine our public education system by creating conditions which force our schools to compete for funding and resources.” As a teacher and parent of LAUSD kids, Rodríguez wants to increase the opportunities for parents to engage in schools. By contrast, incumbent Kelly Gonez shut down Parent Engagement and Special Education committees during the pandemic.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
“Rodriguez has been a teacher since 2005, and has been teaching Spanish at Cleveland High School since 2014… In a statement on his website, Rodriguez says “we must fight to create the conditions in public education which restore faith in our public schools’ ability to deliver equitable opportunities for all our students.”… Rodriquez says he wants to see increased funding for mental health and for curriculum that “[supports] the cultural backgrounds of our students and strengthen their cultural and racial identities.” He also wants to move the time of board meetings “to meet the needs of parents and teachers, who are unable to leave work early enough to attend meetings where decisions affecting them directly are made. Website: marvinrodriguez2022.com “
(Source: https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-primary-los-angeles-county-lausd-school-board)
CA STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 26: MARIA ELENA DURAZO
“Maria Elena Durazo, State Senator (Democratic)
Campaign website: mariaelenadurazo.com
State Senate website: https://sd24.senate.ca.gov/
Campaign finance: See all campaign contributions via the California Secretary of State website
See Durazo’s State Senate record via CalMatters’ Legislator Tracker”
(Source: https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-primary-california-state-senate)
CA STATE ASSEMBLY, DISTRICT 52: MIA LIVAS PORTER
“Mia Livas Porter: AD 52 covers most of NELA, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Glendale and East Los Angeles. It is Los Angeles’ most progressive electoral district bar none, and is due for a candidate that is legitimately reflective of its constituents. Mia Livas Porter has been an organizer with Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, working on gun violence prevention after losing her brother to suicide following his lengthy battle with schizophrenia. She supported UTLA during the teachers’ strike, and is campaigning on a Green New Deal for California, single-payer healthcare, and reimagining public safety by reinvesting in affordable housing, education, healthcare, and public transit. Porter has not taken any money from police associations, insurance companies, medical or pharmaceutical interests, charter schools, or energy companies.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
“Mia Livas Porter was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. The daughter of Filipino Immigrant healthcare providers, Mia’s parents instilled in her a sense of public service by routinely providing free healthcare to at-need community members. She graduated with a theater degree and spent several years acting in Chicago [then] moved to Los Angeles in 1999 as an actor… At one point, Mia held 5 jobs at once just to make ends meet. [Then she decided to get] her Masters in Interior Architecture at UCLA. During her studies, Mia became a new mom and would graduate 8 months pregnant with her second child. After earning her degree, Mia had to stay home with her two kids due to a lack of affordable childcare... She became a full-time activist in 2016, working to elect progressive champions up and down the ballot. In 2019, she would serve as a Parent-Teacher Liaison in support of the 2019 UTLA Strike.
Mia is a survivor of gun violence and has been heavily involved with Mom’s Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. She would serve as a CA Statewide Event’s Lead and a Everytown for Gun Safety National Spokesperson. In these roles, she helped plan survivor support events across the state, designed mental health programs at the State level, and spoke before Congress and before the State Legislature in Sacramento.”
(Source: https://votersedge.org/en/ca/ballot/election/2022-06-07/california-state-assembly-district-52/mia-livas-porter)
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 34: JIMMY GOMEZ
“Jimmy Gomez, Congressmember (Democratic)
Campaign website: jimmygomezforcongress.com
Congressional website: gomez.house.gov
Campaign finance: See all campaign contributions via the Federal Elections Commission
See Gomez’s congressional voting record via ProPublica’s Represent tool”
(Source: https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-primary-us-representative-los-angeles-county)
BALLOT MEASURE BB: YES
“Charter Amendment BB: Yes: Charter Amendment BB would change the charter to let Los Angeles give businesses in the city a competitive edge when bidding for municipal contracts.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
“Measure BB (Local Preference): Yes. Right now the city allows a preference for local contractors in Los Angeles County or California, so all bidders within the state are given the same amount of consideration. This amendment would allow the city to consider local businesses based in the City of Los Angeles before outside entities. This wouldn’t guarantee local businesses would win the bid, but it would move them to the front of the line. Los Angeles is one of the 10 most expensive places to conduct business, and right now local businesses have to compete with contractors based in cities that have lower costs. This would help level the playing field.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
LA COUNTY SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT 1: HILDA SOLIS
“Hilda Solis for the 1st supervisorial district: Hilda Solis has served the county and its people well in the years leading up to and including the pandemic. Voters should give her one more term to complete her ambitious agenda for a county overhaul based on equity and service delivery.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
LA COUNTY SHERIFF: ERIC STRONG
“Eric Strong has seen how police, in several different departments, have failed to serve or protect people. He has stated that he has had negative interactions with the police, and that he has had family members killed by police. Critically, he has held deputies accountable as a member of the internal affairs division. He has committed to immediately remove all deputies involved with severe use-of-force incidents from positions where they interact with the public until all levels of the investigation have concluded. Strong is also the only candidate who has publicly stated he would support more oversight from outside groups like the Board of Supervisors and Civilian Oversight Commission as well as an impeachment process for the position of sheriff. And he is the only candidate who has stated that not only should the notorious Men’s Central Jail be torn down, it should not be replaced. Strong thinks that we should re-fund our communities, such as supporting guaranteed income projects for low-income county residents. He has repeatedly declared his support for shifting funding from the Sheriff’s Department budget to social services outside the department. (He calls it “reallocation” rather than “defunding,” but it’s the same principle.) He has stated that he will not use the Olympics as an excuse to grow the department. He will not accept weapons or surveillance equipment donations from federal programs. It would also be worth noting that Strong would be the first Black sheriff in LA County history. While Strong is not our ideal candidate, he is the best option we have, and voting him into office is the best way to move toward a future where police violence is reduced…
Robert Luna is the former chief of the Long Beach Police Department and part of several scandals, including but not limited to: a helicopter pilot experiencing severe racism on the job, the department illegally using facial recognition software illegally over 1,000 times, and he and the rest of the department using a self-deleting texting app to avoid California record laws.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/#la-county-sheriff)
LA COUNTY ASSESSOR: JEFFREY PRANG
“Jeffrey Prang, a licensed appraiser first elected to this office in 2014, is running for a third term and has generally received positive reviews for restoring integrity to the office. Knock LA applauds him for raising awareness about how Prop 19 is contributing to the displacement of low-income families in gentrifying neighborhoods. His analysis is similar to what Knock LA posted about Prop 19 in its November 2020 voter guide: while reassessing properties other than one’s primary residence increases the fairness of the tax system, the threshold at which reassessment occurs on primary residences is too low to prevent multigenerational working class families whose neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying from being forced to sell their homes because of massive increases in their property taxes.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 003): SHERLIYN GARNETT
“Office 3: Sherilyn Peace Garnett: Sherilyn Peace Garnett is a well-regarded judge who has been appointed to federal district court. If Garnett receives more than 50% of the vote June 7, the office will be vacant and the governor would be able to appoint a new judge. The other candidates in the race are not stand outs.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
TIM REUBEN: “Tim Reuben is an experienced civil litigator and believer in the power of vaccination as a public safety tool. The current judge, Sherliyn Garnett, is an excellent, fair-minded jurist, but the Senate recently confirmed her to the federal judiciary, so even though she’s still on the ballot, if she wins the election, the governor would appoint her replacement. Rather than taking your chances with Newsom, vote for Reuben.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 060): ANNA SLOTKY REITANO
“Public Defender Anna Slotky Reitano is a dedicated felony trial attorney with significant experience in the juvenile courts and a deep commitment to ensuring that people suffering from mental illness are treated with dignity and compassion. Reitano is on the Defenders of Justice slate, a group of four progressive women running for judge seats, and endorsed by Ground Game LA.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
ABBY BARON: “Office 60: Abby Baron: Prosecutor Abby Baron has received praise not just from police and crime victims’ advocates but also from defense attorneys, who cite her fairness and desire for a just result rather than a conviction at all costs.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
SHARON RANSOM: “For Office №60 Sharon Ransom is inspiring. A popular slate attorney is in this race but compared with the formative life experiences shared by Ransom and the unswerving insistence on even-handedness she maintains, I feel more comfortable with this choice.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary/)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 67): ELIZABETH LASHLEY-HAYNES
“Office №067: Elizabeth Lashley-Haynes is a highly experienced and respected public defender. Most recently, Lashley-Haynes has been chosen to lead her office’s Racial Justice Act unit, researching and litigating the application of new laws intended to prevent racial bias in prosecution and sentencing. She’s on the Defenders of Justice slate and endorsed by Ground Game LA.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
FERNANDA MARIA BARRETO: “Office 67: Fernanda Maria Barreto: Prosecutor Fernanda Maria Barreto has earned respect for her sensitive handling of dozens of violent felony cases following a brief civil practice and several years of prosecuting domestic violence.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
“Running in Office №67 is another popular slate public defender. The other two candidates were rated by LACBA more highly and I will opt for the diversity provided by Fernanda Maria Barreto; both candidates while from the DA’s office, were very compelling in interviews.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary/)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 70): HOLLY HANCOCK
“Office №070: Holly L. Hancock: We recommended Holly Hancock when she first ran for judge in 2018, and we recommend her again. As a public defender, Hancock has faced some of the most difficult courtrooms in the county, and headed the office’s efforts to expunge old convictions and assist the formerly incarcerated to reenter society. She held leadership positions with the Association of Flight Attendants Local 12, a form of advocacy that led her to a legal career. She’s on the Defenders of Justice slate and endorsed by Ground Game LA.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 90): KEVIN THOMAS MCGURK
“Office №090: Kevin Thomas McGurk is the only public defender running for this seat, with experience covering misdemeanors to murders, as well as health court, drug court, and diversion courts. As he points out, “In the last decade, out of forty-three open judicial seats, prosecutors were elected to ninety percent of them. Defense lawyers? Zero.””
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
MELISSA LYONS: “Office 90: Melissa Lyons: Prosecutor Melissa Lyons is noteworthy for her trial experience in the sex crimes division and for the time and effort she devotes to community programs to help law students as well as young people living in areas with high gang activity.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 116): LLOYD E. HANDLER
“Office №116: Lloyd E. Handler has made the brave decision to challenge an incumbent judge, and deserves your vote for it. A public defender with more than three decades of experience, Handler has led the office’s police misconduct unit and litigated to diversify juries in South LA. His career even extends to both sides of the courtroom, as he served as a district attorney before joining the public defender’s office. His choice to run against Judge Gelfound is an excellent example of why these races matter. While reforms at the state and county levels have created new alternatives to imprisonment, Gelfound has throttled the options for diversion in his court by refusing to use service providers that are accepted everywhere else in the County. Even more concerning, Gelfound refused to discipline or transfer Judge O’Gara for participating in an anti-Gascón Facebook group and counseling prosecutors on how to get around the new DA’s reforms.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
DAVID GELFOUND: “Office 116 provides a snapshot of the odd place we are in politically. The sitting judge, David Gelfound, is according to MetNews, seemingly not an obvious transgressor of the sort who has motivated the candidacy of so many judicial candidates today. Yet the Public Defender who is challenging him is reputed by reputation and ranking to be considerably less qualified. And still his is the perspective championed as a panacea for systemic ills which need redress. I will vote to retain what is not broken as this candidate offers neither diversity, temperament nor even the righteous anger of the slate Defenders.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 118): CAROLYN “JIYOUNG” PARK
“Office №118: Carolyn “Jiyoung” Park is a former union staff attorney who has litigated civil rights, labor, and tenant cases, and represented union members in arbitrations and in collective bargaining, experience that is sadly lacking on the bench. It’s safe to say that only a tiny fraction of the judges ruling on eviction cases have even once represented a tenant. Park is also a committed local and environmental advocate as the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council liaison to the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance. She would bring real diversity to a bench long dominated by former prosecutors. She’s on the Defenders of Justice slate and endorsed by Ground Game LA.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
MELISSA HAMMOND: “Office 118: Melissa Hammond: Deputy Dist. Atty. Melissa Hammond is the rare candidate whose career includes civil law, criminal defense and prosecution, giving her an unusual and valuable perspective on the legal system.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
GEORGIA HUERTA: “Office 118 is the most crowded race. Another of the slate’s candidates and a former compatriot of the LAC central committee is running here, but only the DAs and administrative law judge were deemed well qualified. Mindful that high-stakes, reductive screens can get the answer wrong, I’m impressed by the exhaustive professional evaluation process, and I understand it would reserve the most “judicious” for its “bench”. Clearly this is not a system of ranking comparative merit, but rather of absolute temperament and experience. “Fit” is a vital concept for everyone’s role. Objectivity is retained for the judge, presiding over partisan advocates who drive the process. In numerous forum it was Georgia Huerta’s words I found myself looking forward to. In another’s words she “expresses nuanced appreciation for how alternative courts can be effective and need to be expanded responsibly. She brings a native Angeleno’s experience, rooted in her community.” I think this sounds like the right fit for the adjudicative center and I will vote for Georgia Huerta, recognizing value added to the courtroom all around.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 151): THOMAS D. ALLISON
“Office №151: Thomas D. Allison: Although a public defender is running here, Thomas D. Allison is an outstanding choice for this seat. He’s a law professor and the founder of a nonprofit that holds free legal clinics that focus on domestic violence and expungements. He’s deeply rooted in his community of La Verne. He’s also not afraid to talk frankly and knowledgeably about the deep systemic biases in the legal system, drawing upon his own negative experiences with police growing up as a young Black man, and the importance of a trauma-informed approach to justice.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
PATRICK HARE: “Office 151: Patrick Hare: Patrick Hare is an experienced and widely respected deputy public defender who handled more than 100 jury trials, as well as non-criminal matters such as conservatorships and juvenile dependency cases.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
“Patrick Hare… is both Public Defender and [the] most qualified. He exemplifies the intersection of judicial temperament and professional perspective that is so desirable toward redressing its systemic bias.”
(Source: https://redqueeninla.com/2022/05/19/a-letter-to-my-daughters-students-voting-absentee-in-californias-june-7-2022-primary)
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (OFFICE NO. 156): CAROL ELSWICK
*UPDATED FROM MY ORIGINAL RECOMMENDATION: ALBERT ROBLES*
“Office 156: Carol Elswick: Judge Carol Elswick crossed the line in improperly ordering defendants in her courtroom into custody. That earned her a 2018 rebuke and properly so. It has also resulted in a reelection challenge, one that voters might seriously consider except that her challenger, Carson politician Albert Robles, has also run into problems in the past.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
“Former Carson Mayor Albert Robles has taken out papers to challenge Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Elswick in the June 7 primary. That’s his prerogative. He has ballyhooed an intent to unseat the jurist based on the 2018 public admonishment she received from the Commission on Judicial Performance. That penalty was based in part on the nastiness she characteristically exhibits. But, if he does file his nominating petition, perfecting his candidacy, he could be cutting his throat, politically. To the limited extent that attention is drawn to judicial contests, he would wind up in the spotlight, with renewed attention to sexual-abuse allegations against him, indications that he did not actually reside in Carson, as legally required, while holding offices there as city councilman, then as mayor, and more.
The sexual-abuse claims — including those brought by the daughter of the late former Lieutenant Gov. Mervyn Dymally who said in her suit that Robles attempted to rape her — were not proven. However, his campaign finance-disclosure violations did result in his paying $12,000 in fines, in a settlement with the Fair Political Practices Commission. And his unlawful holding of two incompatible offices was brought to a halt after a judge issued a writ of quo warranto which was affirmed by the Court of Appeal. So far, Robles has not been battered too badly. While the quo warranto action succeeded, with Robles being yanked off the board of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (“WRD”), the politico was able to keep the WRD salary he drew and should not have; was not subjected to the $5,000 fine authorized by statute; and the $17,000 he was ordered to pay in attorney fees incurred by the county based on his judicially torpedoed cross-complaint has not been forked over by him. However, further exposure of himself to public scrutiny, in the form of a bid for a county-wide office, might prove irreparably damaging to a politico whose reputation is sagging.”
(Source: http://www.metnews.com/articles/2022/PERSPECTIVES_030322.htm)
ALBERT ROBLES: “Office №156: Albert Robles: Judge Carol Elswick is a disgrace. She was publicly admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance in 2018, who cited discourtesy, unprofessionalism, and the use of improper practices to circumvent the rights of defendants. Attorneys who have appeared in her court describe a continuous pattern of misconduct that extended far beyond those cases. According to one attorney who spoke with Knock LA, “her courtroom is a place where the law and the rights of the defendant simply don’t exist.” Albert Robles, the former mayor of Carson, is not without his issues — he was previously fined for campaign finance violations and double-dipped with a board seat while mayor — but they pale in comparison to the incumbent’s complete lack of fitness for the bench.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
GOVERNOR: GAVIN NEWSOM
“Gavin Newsom for governor: Voters should elect Gov. Gavin Newsom to another term and hold him accountable for turning his progressive vision into reality.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022 )
“This is the third time that Californians are voting for governor in the past four years. Democrat Gavin Newsom won a decisive blowout in 2018, then beat back a recall attempt last September by a nearly identical margin. As he pursues a second and final four-year term, Newsom faces a slim field of challengers — and an even slimmer chance of losing. None of the major candidates who sought to replace Newsom in the recall election are running again. His most prominent opponent is probably Brian Dahle, a little-known Republican legislator from rural Northern California. Even with some voters souring on Newsom’s performance — his approval rating was nearly evenly split in a recent poll — it will take a miracle to unseat the governor and his $25 million campaign war chest in this overwhelmingly Democratic state.”
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/governor/)
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: ELENI KOUNALAKIS
“This typically quiet race is even quieter than usual this year. Democrat Eleni Kounalakis won an intraparty battle in 2018, with millions of dollars in help from her father, Sacramento real estate developer Angelo Tsakoplous. She’s made few headlines since, apart from becoming the first woman in California to sign a bill into law, while Gov. Gavin Newsom was on spring break with his family. Absent any real challengers, Kounalakis has a clear path to victory for a second and final term. But she’ll need to make more noise over the next four years if she still has her eye on the governor’s office next.”
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/lieutenant-governor/)
SECRETARY OF STATE: SHIRLEY WEBER
“Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom went on a promotion spree. After U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris [became] vice president, Newsom chose… then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla [to replace her]. That left Padilla’s old job open; Newsom tapped San Diego Assemblymember Shirley Weber. As with many of Newsom’s appointments, Weber made history. The daughter of Arkansas sharecroppers, she is the state’s first Black top election administrator. With voting rights, electoral integrity and racial inequality in the headlines, Weber took the job vowing to boost civic education and voter participation. “
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/secretary-of-state/)
CONTROLLER: MALIA COHEN
MALIA COHEN: “Incumbent Betty Yee is termed out which… breaks the field open. Democratic contenders include Malia Cohen, the party’s favorite and chairperson of the California State Board of Equalization.”
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/controller)
Endorsed for Controller: Malia Cohen
(Source: Courage California, https://progressivevotersguide.com/california/2022/primary/city/losangeles#statecontroller)
LAURA WELLS: “State Board of Equalization member Malia Cohen is the endorsed candidate of the California Democratic Party. She has the most endorsements and funds raised of any Democrat in the race, so she’s likely to make the runoff. Her record and positions are the least problematic of the Democratic candidates, so Knock LA’s strategy is to support the Left Unity Slate candidate, Laura Wells, to potentially shut out more conservative candidates. Wells supports public housing, public schools, and defunding the military.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
LANHEE CHEN: “We believe Lanhee Chen is the best choice for this position. Why? Because he is a sharp thinker with experience analyzing large financial systems, and because the controller should be as independent from the party in power as possible.
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-21/endorsement-lanhee-chen-for-california-controller)
TREASURER: MEGHANN ADAMS
“Incumbent Fiona Ma is the Democratic frontrunner in this race with the heaviest list of establishment endorsements. Meghann Adams is president of her bus drivers’ union in San Francisco and is a part of the statewide Left Unity Slate. She is not taking money from corporate donors, real estate developers, or oil lobbyists and is the only candidate in the race to do so.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
“Applicants will need to beat out the incumbent, Fiona Ma, who was elected treasurer in 2018. The fourth Democrat in a row in the job, she has the party’s endorsement for a second term despite some recent controversies. She’s being sued by a former employee who alleges that Ma sexually harassed her in an attempt to cover “unlawful conduct” and “improper gifts” from Sacramento-area businesspersons. Ma denies the allegations. She was also called out for supporting legislation to help Santa Ana police union president Gerry Serrano boost his retirement benefits by counting his union salary towards his pension.“
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/treasurer)
ATTORNEY GENERAL: ROB BONTA
“Public safety is job number one, two and three.” [Rob Bonta] emphasized programs to reduce gun violence by prosecuting street gangs, investing in violence intervention programs and enforcing the state’s strict gun laws. He also pledged to continue focusing on violent crime and putting more resources toward prosecution and victim services.”
(Source: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/attorney-general/)
“Rob Bonta for California attorney general: Bonta is the one candidate of the bunch prepared to uphold and defend the laws that Californians have repeatedly supported. He should be elected to a full term as attorney general.”
(Source: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
DAN KAPELOVITZ: “Democratic incumbent Rob Bonta was appointed by Gavin Newsom in 2021… The Left Unity Slate candidate, Dan Kapelovitz, is a criminal defense attorney and teaches at the People’s College of Law — a nonprofit law school in Los Angeles for social justice advocates.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: RICARDO LARA
“In 2018, Democratic state Sen. Ricardo Lara defeated Steve Poizner, who ran as an independent but was a Republican when he served as the insurance commissioner from 2007 to 2011. Lara became the California’s first openly gay statewide officeholder. In 2020, the pandemic kept many Californians off the road, reducing accident claims for auto insurers. Lara directed the companies to refund some premiums, saving customers more than $2.4 billion, according to the insurance department. Advocacy group Consumer Watchdog estimates that drivers are still owed more — $5.5 billion according to their analysis — from overcharges during 2020. Lara also temporarily blocked companies from dropping home insurance policies in fire-prone areas, backed an unsuccessful bill to force insurance companies to cover homes in those areas that are protected up to state standards, and proposed rules to require companies to offer discounts to homeowners who protect their homes. Lara has also generated some scandal. First, it was for accepting campaign donations from people in the insurance industry after pledging not to, including from an executive of a company that had a case pending before the department. Then, it was for renting a second residence in Sacramento, where his work as commissioner often takes him, and sticking taxpayers with the bill.
Democratic Assemblymember Marc Levine, Lara’s most prominent challenger, is aggressively going after Lara. Levine accuses Lara of not doing enough to protect homeowners in wildfire areas from losing their coverage. Levine’s campaign also created a video and sent out mailers attacking Lara for taking donations from the industry. Levine has a lengthy list of campaign promises, which include ordering insurance companies to return money to consumers from pandemic overcharges and barring companies from taking customers’ education and occupation into account when pricing their auto insurance coverage — a loophole that the department has also proposed regulations to close. Lara’s campaign sent out mailers criticizing Levine’s voting record on labor issues. Lara has garnered endorsements from the California Democratic Party, California Environmental Voters, Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, as well as labor groups and other state and national officials. Levine’s endorsements include Amar Shergill, chairperson of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus; M. Ronald Cohen, chairperson of the California Democratic Party Veterans Caucus; and the California Nurses Association.”
(Source: https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-primary-california-insurance-commissioner)
MARC LEVINE: “Marc Levine for state insurance commissioner: Californians deserve elected officials who will operate ethically regardless of whether their name is in the headlines. For this reason and others, we believe Assemblymember Marc Levine will make a better insurance commissioner than incumbent Ricardo Lara.”
(Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-27/complete-list-of-los-angeles-times-elections-endorsements-2022)
NATHALIE HRIZI: “The Left Unity Slate candidate, Nathalie Hrizi, calls for abolishing the insurance companies and replacing them with a single-payer system. She is the editor of Breaking the Chains, a feminist socialist magazine that has written extensively about the need to organize to save abortion rights, among other topics.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022)
BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, DISTRICT 3: TONY VAZQUEZ
“The Board of Equalization is an obscure state agency that handles several specialized areas of tax assessment. The incumbent from Los Angeles County, Tony Vazquez, is a former Santa Monica mayor who was one of the early endorsers of Bernie Sanders for president in the summer of 2019. Neither of his challengers appear to have a campaign presence online or raised any campaign funds. One of them, John Mendoza, ran for Pomona’s school board, and the other, Marie Manvel, made two $1 contributions to WinRed, the pro-Republican equivalent to ActBlue. Because no scandals have arisen during Vazquez’s tenure in office — in contrast to the BOE’s past — Knock LA recommends voting for him.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: TONY THURMOND
“The CFT [California Federation of Teachers] is proud to endorse Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond for his re-election campaign. Superintendent Thurmond has been a champion for public schools and our school communities and has proved to be an unwavering fighter for students, teachers, and classified professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
(Source: https://www.cft.org/endorsements)
MARCO AMARAL: “Tony Thurmond is the incumbent supported by Democrats and major teachers’ unions. He faces six other challengers with comparatively modest campaign fundraising. Marco Amaral supports public education and increasing teacher salaries. He also supports removing military recruitment from schools. He’s endorsed by two school board members, Caro Jauregui and Estefany Castañeda, recommended by the Knock LA voter guide in 2020.”
(Source: https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022/)
Make sure to vote! Remember, you can vote in person, or mail your ballot, or put it in a ballot drop box by June 7th.
