L.A. City Council District 6 election voter guide: Marisa Alcaraz vs. Imelda Padilla

Tuesday is election day in the Los Angeles City Council District 6 race in the central and eastern San Fernando Valley. District 6 takes in all or part of the neighborhoods of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood and Sun Valley.

The special election was prompted by City Council President Nury Martinez’s resignation last year.

Marisa Alcaraz, 38, is a top policy advisor to South L.A. Councilmember Curren Price. She has worked on high-profile city laws that legalized street vending and mandated higher wages for workers. She lives in Lake Balboa.

Imelda Padilla, 35, has worked for a variety of nonprofits and community groups on economic mobility and environmental justice issues. She served on the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council and founded an annual career and college fair day for Los Angeles Unified School District students. She lives in Sun Valley.

Both candidates pledge to make helping the homeless a top priority.

Alcaraz wants to expand a city program that she worked on that helps individuals avoid homelessness through financial assistance and counseling. She also wants to use vacant government properties to build housing.

She supports the enforcement of 41.18 — the city’s anti-encampment law — in targeted areas. She would back a citywide ban on RVs in residential neighborhoods.

Padilla wants to audit the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the agency that oversees many homeless programs. She said she would bring more types of housing, including emergency interim housing, to District 6. She also supports 41.18.

Padilla said she wouldn’t support a citywide ban on RVs in neighborhood areas because she is worried the vehicles would set up in industrial and business areas.

Padilla said she would hire staffers who ensure that she is accountable. She also wants to increase the power of neighborhood councils, including allowing them to more easily spend money and launch programs.

She also supports expanding the size of the 15-member City Council so members represent a smaller pool of residents.

Alcaraz also supports expanding the City Council to more members. She supports taking some discretionary power away from council members when it comes to development as a way of fighting possible corruption and said she supports state Senate Bill 423, a housing bill that would allow for more “by-right” development, subject to a streamlined approval process.

Alcaraz has the support of Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Heather Hutt, San Fernando Councilmember Cindy Montañez, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Unite Here Local 11, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, Abundant Housing, among others.

She took down the endorsement of Price off her website after he was charged last week with 10 felonies by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón. Price on Wednesday said that he is innocent and that the charges against him are “misguided.”

Padilla is supported by Rep. Tony Cardenas, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Laborers Local Union Local 300, Apartment Assn. Of Greater Los Angeles, East Area Progressive Democrats, among others. She is also endorsed by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Biz Fed PAC.

The Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters has spent more than $150,000 to support Alcaraz. IBEW Local Union 18, which represents Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers, has spent more than $100,000 to back her.

The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the union representing city firefighters, has spent more than $195,000 to back Padilla. Another group backed by the California Apartment Assn. and the American Beverage Assn. has spent more than $219,000 to support Padilla.

Voters can mail in their ballots or stop by voting centers that opened last week. The centers include Albert Piantanida Intergenerational Center at 9540 Van Nuys Blvd. in Panorama City; Goodwill Southern California at 14565 Lanark St. in Panorama City; and Central Lutheran Church at 6425 Tyrone Ave. in Van Nuys.

Additional voting centers will open June 27. They include Gault Street Elementary School at 17000 Gault St. in Van Nuys; Bassett Street Elementary School at 15756 Bassett St. in Van Nuys; Fernangeles Elementary School at 12001 Art St. in Sun Valley; and LA Family Housing at 7843 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.