Happy Election Day!
Anxiety is running high in today’s presidential and congressional races. While you work to settle your nerves, let’s take a minute to focus on some local contests here in California.
These are just some of the races we’ll be keeping an eye on today:
Los Angeles City Council District 14
Embattled LA CD 14 Councilmember Kevin de León is facing his first re-election bid since a racist audio leak nearly ended his political career. But De León’s challenger, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado, has an audio scandal of her own. She was recently recorded saying, “f*ck the police,” during a sit-down with college students.
This is the most closely-watched race in the City of L.A. It’s the ultimate test for de León’s political resilience (he has faced four recall attempts already). It will also have implications for the direction of the council. De León is a moderate liberal, who favors homeless encampment cleanups and increased police patrols. Jurado is a progressive. She has expressed concerns about encampment sweeps and favors more reliance on unarmed response teams to combat crime.
CD 14 is a Latino-heavy district which includes the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Downtown, and parts of Northeast L.A.
Santa Clarita City Council District 1
Santa Clarita is holding its first council elections since transitioning to districts. Only CD 1 is on the ballot, since CD 3 Councilmember Jason Gibbs had no challenger. CD 1 encompasses the southernmost end of the city, Old Town Newhall, and the central part of Canyon Country along Soledad Canyon Road.
Right now, the council is entirely made up of Republicans. Depending on the outcome of the CD 1 race, that could change. The candidates for CD 1 are Planning Commissioner Patsy Ayala, Planning Commission Chair Tim Burkhart, and educator Bryce Jepsen. The Los Angeles Democratic Party is backing Jepsen. The local GOP has endorsed Burkhart.
Rialto Mayor
Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson has served in city government for over two decades, and is seeking another four years as mayor. She also happens to be suing the city for $7 million.
Robertson, who is African American, alleges she was the victim of racial discrimination. She claims that the city did not give her a security door to protect against active shooters, even though it installed one for Councilmember Rafael Trujillo. She believes race played a factor in that decision.
Trujillo is one of three people trying to unseat Robertson. The others are Rialto Councilmember Joe Baca and businesswoman Chè Rose Wright.
Robertson is running on her experience, promising to be a force of “stability.” Her opponents say it’s time for change. Trujillo has also criticized her decision to run for re-election while seeking millions of dollars from taxpayers in court.
Anaheim City Council
Three council seats are on the ballot in Anaheim, which has been rocked by multiple corruption probes. Disney is at the center of the city’s scandals. The company has spent nearly $1 million on its candidates of choice: Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ryan Balius in CD 1; incumbent Norma Campos Kurtz in CD 4; and Culture and Heritage Commissioner Kristen Maahs in CD 5.
The CD 5 race is one to watch. Maahs is one of three candidates vying to replace termed-out Councilmember Stephen Faessel. In addition to Disney, Maahs has support from Councilman Faessel, Mayor Ashley Aitken, and prominent Democratic legislators.
The two other CD 5 candidates are Cristal Ruiz, a registered Democrat with support from labor organizations, and former La Mirada Mayor Andrew Sarega.
Sarega resigned earlier this year from the City Council in La Mirada. A former cop, he is endorsed by the Anaheim Police Officers Association. Sarega comes to Anaheim with plenty of baggage. He was previously fined by the FPPC for PRA violations and has been criticized for missing council meetings in La Mirada. Orange Juice Blog has characterized him as “a MAGA carpetbagger.”
Irvine City Races
Like Santa Clarita, the Irvine City Council is holding its first district-based elections this year. In March, voters approved Measure D, which established districts and expanded the council from five to seven people. Districts 1 through 4 are all on the ballot, along with the mayor’s position.
Seven candidates are running to replace outgoing Mayor Farrah Khan:
- Felipe Delgado, Automation Project Manager
- Larry Agran, Vice Mayor, City of Irvine
- Wing Chow, Retired CPA
- Akshat “AB” Bhatia, Realtor/Entrepreneur
- Ron Scolesdang, Irvine Business Owner
- Lee Sun, Irvine Finance Commissioner
Like Anaheim, Irvine is the subject of a corruption probe involving powerful business interests like Disney. Ethics and transparency, along with affordable housing, are the top issues in this election.
Tammy Kim has raised the most money by far, followed by Larry Argan. Kim is endorsed by the Orange County Democratic Party and prominent local and state Democrats.
The candidates for CD 1 are:
- Melinda Liu, City of Irvine Commissioner/Attorney
- Michelle Johnson, City of Irvine Planning Commissioner
- John Park, Irvine Commissioner/Businessowner
- Jeff Kitchen, Systems Engineer
- Jackie Kan, Small Businessowner/Mother
The candidates in CD 2 are:
- William Go, Irvine Commissioner/Businessowner
- Parrisa Yazdani, City Commissioner/Businessowner
- Gang Chen, Architect/Author/Businessman
- Mohamed Kothermydeen, IT Service Manager
- Jeff Starke, Irvine Finance Commissioner
The candidates in CD 3 are:
- James Mai, Irvine Commissioner/Businessman
- Tom Chomyn, City Commissioner
- Jjng Sun, Irvine Commissioner
- Mike Carroll, Irvine Councilmember
- Ayn Craciun, Nonprofit Director
Santa Ana City Races
Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua is up for re-election. Three City Council seats are also on the ballot.
This election follows major controversy and infighting at City Hall. There are questions about the local police union and the amount of power it wields over city government.
Former City Manager Kristine Ridge has alleged that Mayor Amezcua and other elected officials launched a pressure campaign against her, creating a hostile work environment on behalf of the Santa Ana Police Officers Assn. The goal, according to Ridge, was to secure a pay increase for former union president Gerry Serrano. The Santa Ana City Council paid Ridge over $600,000 to settle her legal claim — an agreement city leaders attempted to keep secret. An investigation conducted after the fact did not find evidence to support Ridge’s claims.
Shortly before Ridge filed the legal claim, Police Chief David Valentin resigned from his post. In an outgoing letter, he too referenced the union’s outsized influence over Santa Ana politics.
The police union has spent big money to help Amezcuna fend off a re-election challenge from Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez. The councilman has called for greater police accountability and transparency in government. Unlike Amezcuna, Vazquez also supports Measure DD, which would allow non-citizens to vote in Santa Ana elections.
Three seats are up on the Santa Ana City Council: Wards 1, 3 and 5.
The Ward 1 race is between incumbent Thai Viet Phan and small business owner Julie Tran.
In Ward 3, incumbent Jessie Lopez is up for re-election a year after surviving a police union-backed recall effort. Lopez’s challenger is lawyer Jeffrey Katz.
Ward 5 incumbent Johnathan Hernandez is accused of interfering with the city’s planning of the Juneteenth celebration, the Chicano Heritage Festival and Indigenous People’s day. The city council met last week to potentially censure Hernandez after an independent probe found the allegations were supported by evidence. Ultimately, leaders took no action, deciding to delay any formal admonishments until after Hernandez’s election.
Hernandez’s election opponent is City Commissioner Mario Alvarado. Alvarado is supported by the police union.
San Jose City Council
The City of San Jose is holding elections in its even-numbered council districts.
The CD 2 candidates are:
- Pamela Campos, Educator
- Joe Lopez, retired sheriff’s sergeant
The CD 6 candidates are:
- Michael Mulcahy, business owner
- Olivia Navarro, city commissioner/businesswoman
The CD 8 candidates are:
- Domingo Candelas, incumbent
- Tam Truong, police sergeant
The District 10 candidates are:
- Arjun Batra, incumbent
- George Casey, vice-president/senior counsel
In September, Truong was charged with mortgage fraud theft by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The case was then moved to Santa Cruz to avoid a conflict of interest. The case against Truong was recently dismissed by a Santa Clara County judge after Santa Cruz investigators found the charge was not supported by the evidence.
Oakland City Council District 3
Oakland CD 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife is fighting to retain her seat amid intense distrust and dissatisfaction with local leadership. Public safety concerns have created an anti-incumbency environment that could also lead to the recall of Alameda County’s district attorney and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.
Fife’s westside district is beset with rising crime and housing challenges, leaving the progressive councilwoman vulnerable. In 2021, Fife voted to re-direct over $17 million away from the police department.
There are multiple candidates running in CD 3. Fife’s lead challenger is Warren Logan, a government affairs consultant who served under former mayor Libby Schaaf. Among other criticisms, Logan blames Fife for opposing development of new housing units in the city.
Oakland Mayor Recall
The biggest decision before Oakland voters isn’t a contest per se, but a question: should Mayor Sheng Thao be recalled from office?
Thao was only elected in 2022, but her brief tenure has been steeped in controversy. Crime has risen in Oakland under her watch, and businesses have left the city. Oakland missed out on $15 million in funding to combat retail theft because her administration missed a deadline to apply for the grant. She clashed with the city’s Police Commission after she fired former Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. That decision left the city without a top cop for more than a year. In June, FBI agents raided Thao’s home as part of a corruption investigation. Thao has not been charged with a crime and she denies any wrongdoing, but the probe is ongoing. Thao’s legal exposure in the case is still unclear.
Some big names are supporting the recall, including former mayor Libby Schaaf. If Thao gets the boot, it would mark a historic first for the city. An Oakland mayor has never been recalled before. Oakland would have to hold a special election to replace Thao within 120 days.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Six out of 11 seats are up for grabs on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The District 1 and District 5 races could be the most pivotal in determining the direction of the city.
In District 1, it’s a matchup we’ve seen before: progressive incumbent Connie Chan versus moderate Democrat and former advisor to the mayor, Marjan Philhour. Philhour has a better chance this time because the boundaries of District 1 have changed to include the wealthy Sea Cliff neighborhood. A Philhour win would oust one of the city’s most progressive leaders from office.
The contrasting visions in District 5 are even starker than in District 1. Supervisor Dean Preston is the board’s lone Democratic Socialist, and he remains the prime target for centrist Democrats and tech moguls seeking to moderate San Francisco politics. His re-election is endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, and others.
The leading contenders against Preston are Bilal Mahmood and Autumn Looijen. Both of them offer a more moderate vision for the district, which includes San Francisco’s Tenderloin.
Mahmoud is a tech entrepreneur and Democratic Party operative. He is endorsed by Mayor Breed, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and State Sen. Scott Wiener.
Looijen led the recall effort against three "woke" school board members in 2022. She has support from the San Francisco Police Officers Association.
See where all three candidates stand on the issues here.
San Francisco Mayor
San Francisco Mayor London Breed is also running for re-election. It’s a tough fight, given the city’s problems with property crime, housing affordability, homelessness, and the departure of businesses and entrepreneurs.
There are 13 candidates for mayor. The four frontrunners are Mayor Breed, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, former Supervisor Mark Farrell, and Levi Strauss heir turned nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie.
Although Breed is a moderate, she has picked up support from Left-leaning figures like San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju and Supervisor Hillary Ronen. These kinds of endorsements and alliances can be key in San Francisco’s ranked choice voting system. Farrell and Lurie are running to Breed’s right. Peskin is the Leftist in this race.
Lurie has enough cash to fund his own campaign, but he’s had help from tech executives who also want to forge a more centrist to right-leaning path in San Francisco. Tech Titans have thrown money behind Lurie, as well as Farrell and Breed. Read more about the role tech donor cash is playing in the mayor’s race here.
Antioch City Elections
Voters in scandal-ridden Antioch have the opportunity to make some big changes in city leadership. Mayor Lamar Thorpe is running for his second term. His challengers are retired City Manager Rowland “Ron” Bernal Jr. and Rakesh Kumar Christian, who ran for mayor previously.
Two council members that have clashed with the mayor aren’t seeking re-election: District 2 Councilmember Mike Barbanica, who is running for county supervisor, and District 3 Councilmember Lori Ogorchock, who is running for Treasurer.
The candidates in CD 2 are Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Dominique King and retired Antioch High School Principal Louie Rocha. The CD 3 race is between former Antioch Mayor Don Freitas; Addison Peterson, Senior Policy Manager with the California Certified Organic Farmers; and Anton Ramon Webster, a member of Antioch’s Board of Administrative Appeals. Freitas has called Thorpe and his allies “an unmitigated disaster” for Antioch.
Antioch has been mired in all sorts of political turmoil. Still reeling from a racist police texting scandal, the city has been unable to retain executive leadership. Antioch has gone through five city managers in the past three years. A report from the Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury concluded that the city has committed multiple Brown Act violations under Thorpe and his council allies. The mayor and the council majority were also blamed for the high turnover in city management and city staffing generally. There has been council infighting and demands for Thorpe’s resignation. Additionally, in 2022, two staffers filed harassment claims against the mayor.
Sacramento Mayor
Two candidates are competing to succeed Darrell Steinberg as Mayor of Sacramento. Kevin McCarty is a former councilman and current state assemblyman. His opponent Flojaune Cofer is an epidemiologist, policy director and activist.
Both candidates are registered Democrats, but Cofer is further to the left. McCarty is endorsed by Steinberg and the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce among others. Cofer is supported by the Democratic Socialists of America’s Sacramento chapter, although she is not a member of DSA herself. She is also backed by progressive councilmembers Mai Vang and Katie Valenzuela. McCarty has outspent Cofer in the race so far.
Homelessness is a major issue in this race. The handling of a recently shuttered, sanctioned encampment known as Camp Resolution has drawn a lot of attention. You can read about the controversy here. Both candidates have admitted the camp was unsuccessful, but McCarty has been much more pointed in his criticism.
Cofer is opposed to homeless encampment sweeps overall, and has suggested the homeless be housed at “underutilized” parks in the city. McCarty calls that a “terrible” idea.
Retail theft is another hot-button topic. Proposition 36, which would stiffen penalties for repeat shoplifters, is opposed by Cofer. McCarty has not taken an official position on the measure.
Cofer has suggested decreasing police funding in the past and supports ‘reimagining’ the city’s approach to public safety. McCarty suggests that’s code for abolishing the police.
The fate of City Manager Howard Chan also hangs in the balance. McCarty supports keeping him on board for another year, while Cofer says Chan needs to go before his contract expires. Chan is the highest paid city manager in the state, and he has repeatedly sought additional raises to the chagrin of many residents.
What races are you watching today?