Endorsement: Adrin Nazarian for Los Angeles City Council District 2
Los Angeles City Council District 2 stretches from Toluca Lake and Studio City in the south through North Hollywood and Valley Glen to Sun Valley in the north. Despite having some significant industrial corridors, film and television production studios, two subway stations and a growing hub of high-rises in North Hollywood, CD 2 is largely seen as a car-centric suburban area.
That’s changing, and there’s a tension in the district between preserving the character of old Valley neighborhoods, with their single-family homes and lawns, and making room for denser housing and bikeable, walkable, transit-friendly development. The next council member will need to be someone who recognizes the need for the district to evolve and with the experience and political skills to bring communities on board.
While the presidential contest will garner the most attention in 2024, there are many important races and measures on state and local ballots.
Councilmember Paul Krekorian has represented the district for 14 years. He’s termed out, and the race to replace him has drawn a large pool of candidates for the March primary, many of whom are running for public office for the first time.
The Times recommends Adrin Nazarian, an experienced lawmaker who represented the area in the state Assembly for a decade until 2022. Nazarian was Krekorian’s longtime chief of staff, first in the Assembly from 2006 to 2010 and then in the City Council when Krekorian took office in 2010. His background means he will be able to hit the ground running.
Nazarian is a thoughtful, collaborative leader who is willing to take on difficult, weedy issues. In the Assembly, for example, he repeatedly introduced bills to increase seismic safety — not a flashy topic, but essential in a state where an earthquake can raze homes and businesses but few private property owners have the money or inclination to voluntarily invest in retrofits.
The ballot measure would force L.A.’s leaders to enact their own visionary Mobility Plan, which aims to make the city’s car-dominated streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users.
He was persistent and focused on making changes, sometimes just small ones, to improve earthquake safety. This attribute would be an asset on the L.A. City Council, where big changes — such as increasing housing affordability, easing homelessness, improving public safety and reforming City Hall — will take years of consistent, committed leadership from elected officials.
Nazarian wants to make it easier to build rental and for-sale housing in the district, particularly around transit and along commercial corridors. He backs Mayor Karen Bass’ efforts to clear encampments by moving people into temporary housing and eventually permanent housing, and he stressed the need to resolve homelessness by helping individuals — not pushing them into industrial or lower-income neighborhoods. He supports expanding the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department while also hiring more mental health and crisis intervention workers to respond to nonviolent service calls instead of police.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky did the right thing when she continued to support a homeless housing project amid local opposition.
Six other candidates are in the race. Jillian Burgos is an optician and owner of a theater company who joined the North Hollywood Neighborhood Council in 2021, where she’s helped organize support for tenant protections and unarmed response pilot programs. Manny Gonez is the policy director at the nonprofit environmental group TreePeople and has worked in policy and politics. Jon Paul Bird is a marriage and family therapist who decided to run because he was concerned about community safety. Sam Kbushyan is a small business consultant who served on Bass’ transition advisory team. Marin Ghandilyan is an attorney and Rudy Melendez is a laborer and artist.
It’s not easy to qualify for the city ballot and to run a campaign for public office. The candidates bring good ideas and a desire to make their community better. In this race, Nazarian has experience and a record of leadership that makes him the best choice for voters.
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