Los Angeles Voters Select Two New Council Members in Historic Rallies
District 9 candidates compete to become the first Latino councilmember since 1962, while a business owner challenges a former aide in the West Valley.
By Aiko Petrov ·
Voters in Los Angeles Municipal Districts 3 and 9 selected new city councilmembers on Tuesday, replacing two veteran officials who are term limited. The election marks a demographic shift in the South Los Angeles district, where residents are choosing the first Latino representative since 1962.
The District 9 race features Estuardo Mazariegos and Jose Ugarte. The district covers central Los Angeles, Vermont Square, Central-Alameda, and Green Meadows. Demographic data shows the area is now approximately 80 percent Latino, a change from its previous representation by an African American councilmember for several decades. Edward Roybal last represented the district in 1962.
Mazariegos, codirector of the Los Angeles chapter of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, advocates for increased oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department and reduced funding for the force to support other city services. He supports strengthening unarmed crisis response programs and has criticized the city's camp ordinance, known as 41.18. His campaign received endorsements from the Socialist Democrats of America, Councilmember Eunisses Hernández, City Controller Kenneth Mejía, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and the United Teachers Los Angeles union.
Ugarte, former deputy chief of staff for outgoing councilmember Curren Price, supports Mayor Karen Bass's goal to restore the LAPD to 9,500 officers. He also backs the enforcement of the city's camp ordinance. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Action Fund, and Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove endorsed his campaign. Independent expenditures from Airbnb, Uber, and the California Apartment Association also supported Ugarte's effort.
In Municipal District 3, Tim Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan competed for the seat. The district includes Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, and Winnetka. Gaspar founded an insurance company that he sold in 2021 and campaigned on bringing a business-friendly perspective to the city hall. He focuses on defending small businesses. Girvan, a former government employee who worked for County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, highlighted her experience in government. She stated that her connections at different levels of government would help achieve results for West Valley residents.
The District 3 race saw intense campaigning and accusations in the final days before the Nov. 3 election. A former employee of Gaspar, whose family business merged with Gaspar's insurance firm, alleged that Gaspar created a hostile work environment. This claim appeared in a political ad produced by the Girvan campaign, according to the Los Angeles Times. Girvan also filed an ethics complaint against Gaspar with the City Ethics Commission. She alleged that Gaspar failed to report over $150,000 in personal and business expenses related to his campaign and violated rules regarding the city's matching funds program.
Gaspar maintained that he did nothing wrong and called the accusations lies. He described Girvan as a career politician who would not drive change. In District 9, Ugarte faced a $20,000 fine from the City Ethics Commission in 2025 for not disclosing outside income from lobbying and consulting work. He accepted the fine and stated that his work with Ugarte & Associates, which he started with his sister in 2018, did not overlap with his time as Price's deputy chief of staff. Price hired Ugarte in 2013, and he left that position in 2019 before returning in 2021.
