Imelda Padilla, a community relations manager, emerged as the victor in the special election to fill the vacant Sixth District City Council seat, defeating Marisa Alcaraz, a City Council aide, according to the latest official returns from the Los Angeles Country Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Padilla secured 56.74% of the votes compared to Alcaraz’s 43.26%, with a turnout of 10.04%.
Padilla, who has been actively involved in community organizing and coalition building in the Valley for the past two decades, expressed her readiness to serve as the community’s champion in the L.A. City Council. She emphasized the need for equitable resource allocation to ensure the thriving of the community.
In her campaign, Padilla vowed to prioritize finding immediate solutions to the unhoused crisis, highlighting the inefficacy of the current approach. She plans to propose emergency measures to address encampments and provide essential services to support the unhoused population in finding housing, employment, and health services. Padilla also intends to collaborate with various stakeholders, including residents, non-profit organizations, religious leaders, business owners, and health organizations, to develop and implement sensible hyper-local solutions that foster safer, sanitary, and sustainable communities.
Padilla’s roots lie in Van Nuys, where she was born, and Sun Valley, where she was raised. She completed her education at Roscoe Elementary School, Byrd Middle School, Polytechnic High School, UC Berkeley (bachelor’s degree), and Cal State Northridge (master’s degree).
Meanwhile, Alcaraz expressed pride in the campaign she ran, emphasizing the endorsements garnered and the team built. Alcaraz, aged 38, serves as the deputy chief of staff and environmental policy director to Ninth District Councilman Curren Price. She grew up in Lake Balboa, graduated from Birmingham High School, and holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine and a master’s degree from USC.
In the April 4 primary, Padilla emerged as the front-runner with 25.65% of the votes, but failed to secure a majority, leading to the runoff against Alcaraz. Alcaraz finished second in the seven-candidate field with 21.13% of the votes.
District 6 encompasses Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley, and the eastern sections of North Hills and North Hollywood.
Prior to Padilla’s election, Nury Martinez represented the district. However, she resigned from both her Council presidency and seat after being caught making racist comments during a secretly recorded meeting.
Padilla will complete Martinez’s term, which concludes in December 2024.
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