While the Los Angeles mayoral race is the marquee contest and has already generated plenty of drama—with surprises emerging right up to last Saturday’s filing deadline—many other important seats will also be contested in the June 2 primary.
Last week, a host of candidates arrived at the City Clerk’s Office to file paperwork to run for city attorney, city controller, eight City Council seats, and two L.A. Unified school board seats. Although some candidates may not make it onto the ballot, each must gather 500 legitimate voter signatures by March 4. This requirement is relatively easy in citywide races but more challenging in council and school board districts.
In each race, if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote in June, the top two finishers will compete in a November runoff.
### City Attorney Race
Incumbent City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is facing three challengers: Deputy Attorney General Marissa Roy, human rights attorney Aida Ashouri, and Deputy District Attorney John McKinney.
### City Controller Race
City Controller Kenneth Mejia will be challenged by Zach Sokoloff, senior vice president for asset management at studio owner Hackman Capital Partners, after former State Senator Isadore Hall dropped out of the race.
### City Council Seats
Several City Council seats will be hotly contested, with multiple challengers vying to unseat incumbents or replace term-limited members.
**District 3** – Covering the southwestern San Fernando Valley, including Woodland Hills, Tarzana, and Reseda, this seat is open as City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield is term-limited. The five candidates hoping to replace him include:
– Jon Rawlings, member of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council
– Timothy Gaspar, founder of Gaspar Insurance
– Lehi White, small-business owner
– Barri Worth Girvan, former director of community affairs for L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath
– Christopher Robert “C.R.” Celona, media executive
**District 9** – Representing downtown and South L.A., this seat is also open as Councilmember Curren Price is terming out. Price, who faces public corruption charges and was ordered last month to stand trial, has seen twelve candidates enter the race, including his Deputy Chief of Staff Jose Ugarte. Other contenders are:
– Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment
– Jo Uraizee, social worker
– Adriana Cabrera, president of the Central Alameda Neighborhood Council
– Jorge Nuño, social entrepreneur
– Martha Sánchez, professor and therapist
– Elmer Roldan, executive director of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles
– Michelle Washington, social worker
– Jorge Hernandez Rosas, educator and therapist
– Chris Martin, civil rights attorney
– Enrique Hernandez-Garcia, college student
– Nathan Juarez, cashier
**District 1** – Eight challengers are aiming to unseat Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. The district stretches from Glassell Park and Highland Park to Chinatown and Pico Union.
**District 5** – Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky is defending her seat against six challengers who filed paperwork last week. This West L.A. district includes Bel-Air, Westwood, and Hancock Park. Yaroslavsky’s opponents are:
– Dory Frank, publicist
– Ashkan “Alex” Nazarian, co-founder of AAA Diamond and Jewelry
– Peter Gerard Kearns, city employee
– Eddie Ha, real estate professional
– Henry Mantel, tenant rights attorney
– Morgan Oyler, small-business accountant
**District 7** – In the northeastern San Fernando Valley, four challengers hope to replace Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. The candidates are Tony Rodriguez (no relation), a regional recruiting manager; Michael Daniel Ebenkamp, a hospitality worker; Ernesto Ayala, a worker advocate; and Daniel Lerma, a business owner.
**District 11** – Councilmember Traci Park faces challengers Faizah Malik, a civil rights attorney, and Jeremy Wineberg, an entrepreneur and Pacific Palisades resident. This district represents Westside communities including Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Venice.
**District 13** – Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez is facing seven challengers in this diverse district, which includes Hollywood, East Hollywood, and parts of Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Westlake. Challengers include:
– Gilbert Vitela Jr., military veteran
– Rich Sarian, urban community planner
– Dylan Kendall, entrepreneur and founder of Grow Hollywood
– Colter Carlisle, vice president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council
– Sebastian Davis, community safety advocate
– Kristen Suszek, creative director
– Gregory Downer, district improvement advocate
**District 15** – This district comprises San Pedro and other harbor-area communities as well as Watts. Incumbent Councilmember Tim McOsker is running against two challengers: community organizer Jordan Rivers and homeless shelter director Phillip Crouch Jr.
### L.A. Unified School Board
Three school board members will defend their seats in the June 2 primary:
– **District 2**: Rocío Rivas faces public school teacher Raquel Zamora and executive and education advocate Joseph Quintana.
– **District 4**: Incumbent Nick Melvoin will run against Ankur Patel, a teacher and outreach director, and Benjamin-Shalom “Bo” Rodriguez, an educator, artist, and professor.
– **District 6**: School Board Member Kelly Gonez faces a single challenger, retired aerospace engineer John “J.P.” Perron.
With a crowded field across city offices and school board seats, the upcoming June 2 primary promises to be a pivotal moment for Los Angeles governance. Stay tuned as the race heats up in the weeks ahead.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-08/heres-who-filed-to-run-in-la-city-elections