Voters in City Council District 14, which includes downtown, Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock and other communities on Los Angeles' eastern flank, have a tough choice on Nov. 5.
They can give another four-year term to Councilman Kevin de León, who has stubbornly refused to resign since he was caught two years ago participating in a secretly recorded racist conversation that exposed the “us versus them” machinations of the political establishment. Or they can give the job to Ysabel Jurado, a spirited and idealistic tenants’ rights attorney who promises to turn the page on the corruption and neglect that have plagued this district for years.
Jury is by far the best option.
Jurado, 34, a lifelong Highland Park resident and daughter of Filipino immigrants, won the most votes during the March primary election, beating out De Leon, two state lawmakers and five other contenders for the seat.
It is rare for incumbents to fail to win primaries. In this case, it speaks to the lingering dislike of De Leon for his role in the 2022 scandal and for not resigning, as his colleagues, constituents and prominent Democrats, including President Biden, urged him to do.
Jurado’s strong showing against better-known and better-funded politicians speaks both to her strength as a grassroots organizer and to the community’s desire for a council representative who can restore trust and address a range of pressing issues, including the high cost of housing and the struggle to obtain basic city services.
A self-described progressive running an insurgent campaign, Jurado displays a refreshing humility and a willingness to listen and learn how to solve problems. That will serve her well in a district with some of the city’s most acute challenges, including homelessness and housing affordability, gentrification and displacement, a struggling downtown and the daily open-air humanitarian tragedy that is Skid Row.
Her professional, political and personal experience indicate that she will be a strong advocate for the district. She became involved in local politics a decade ago, working on the failed John Choi project. Candidacy for City Council 2013She then worked as a scheduler in Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office before attending UCLA School of Law in 2016. Garcetti appointed her to the Human Relations Commission in 2021. Jurado brings valuable legal and advocacy experience, having worked to defend workers from wage theft, protect tenants from eviction, and represent small businesses at risk of losing their leases during the pandemic.
Jurado would join a growing bloc of progressive council members, including Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martinez, who have shaken things up at City Hall by unseating incumbents. Jurado does not support Mayor Karen Bass’s plan to expand the Los Angeles Police Department and wants to redirect its budget toward the unarmed crisis response and other priorities, such as fixing broken streetlights and funding youth development and gang intervention programs. He says he will push to repeal Municipal Code 41.18, the city’s controversial anti-camping law, to sweep up homeless encampments.
Jurado says he would promote policies, such as a right-to-counsel program, to prevent tenants from losing their housing to eviction and becoming homeless, and to provide better services to homeless people and make it easier for them to access permanent housing. He also supports efforts to speed up affordable housing projects and strengthen rent control and other tenant protections.
We don't fully agree with Jurado's positions on every issue, like police hiring or homelessness, but we think it's healthy for the City Council to have a variety of viewpoints, including members who will question long-held assumptions and challenge status quo policies if they no longer work.
We believe Jurado will be, first and foremost, a thoughtful leader whose primary goal will be to make the city a better place for all residents, regardless of their zip code or economic status. We hope that once in office, she will balance her ideals with the realities of running the nation's second-largest city, as the other progressive council members have done.
Some voters may be inclined to give De León a second chance. In a bid to survive politically, he has apologized, sought redemption and focused on improving constituent service. But his constituents deserve more than regret. His touchy refusal to talk to some reporters shows he is unwilling to be an open book and face tough questions to regain the public’s trust. Case in point: He declined interview requests from the editorial board, refusing the chance to answer questions or defend his reelection.
Los Angeles cannot fix its broken city government without overcoming the zero-sum approach that has made it a hotbed of corruption and political dysfunction. Jurado is the candidate best positioned to bring about the change residents urgently need in a district that for two decades has been used by politicians as a springboard to higher office or a playground for corrupt activity. Voters should give her the job and fire De León.
