Looking for a silver lining in Los Angeles

Signs of hope in local government

Like so many other people today, I am trying to dig myself out of the emotional rubble of Election Night. I still can’t fully fathom the impact of the huge MAGA victory, but I am determined to stay engaged in the battles to come. I will keep faith, and I will keep fighting.

But to keep faith, I need to find hope, to see some silver linings, and while there were some big losses even in California and in Los Angeles, I see plenty of good news and find much to be encouraged and even excited about at the local level — and that’s key because local government will be the frontlines in the coming battles for social, economic and racial justice.

Based on the preliminary returns, which seem likely to hold in most races locally, progressives performed well in City Council races, and on local ballot measures. With Trump and a new rightwing district attorney in office, this will be crucial in protecting vulnerable communities.

Here is some very big and positive news: Los Angeles County voters overwhelmingly approved Measure A, providing a permanent funding source to combat and prevent homelessness. This is a huge win.

Also in LA County, The Defenders of Justice succeeded in electing two public defenders -- George Turner and Ericka Wiley -- to the Los Angeles County Superior Court bench. This is an important step in systemic change.

Tenants rights attorney Ysabel Jurado has trounced the disgraced incumbent Kevin de Leon in the hotly contested race for Council District 14 in Los Angeles. This will strengthen the council's progressive bloc, giving a strong ally to Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman.

In LA's Council District 10, Heather Hutt handily beat an opponent who led battles against homeless shelters and more housing. Hutt is often a reliable ally to the progressive bloc, and this will help pro-tenant, pro-worker policies win approval.

In Santa Monica, progressives swept local council elections, electing Ellis Raskin, Dan Hall, Natalya Zernitskaya, and Barry Snell, and ousting right-wingers Oscar de La Torre and Phil Brock. These four will join Jesse Zwick and Caroline Torosis on the council.

In West Hollywood, progressive John Erickson won reelection easily, and will be joined by fellow progressive Danny Hang. They both ran on platforms defending the city’s minimum wage law.

In Culver City, progressive Mayor Yasmine Imani McMorrin easily won re-election, and if current trends hold, she and Freddy Puza joined by Bubba Fish, making a progressive majority.

In Cudahy, progressive Daisy Lomeli won re-election to the council, and it is looking good for Amanda Gomez to join her and vice mayor Elizabeth Alcantar on the council.

In Montebello, progressive Scarlet Peralta won reelection, along with her ally David Torres.

In Burbank, progressive superstar Konstantine Anthony placed first, winning reelection, preserving the progressive majority there.

In Baldwin Park, progressive Mayor Emmanuel Estrada easily won reelection, placing first in the race for his city's council.

In Lynwood, Lorraine Avila Moore looks poised to win a seat on the City Council, and will be a strong ally to progressive Juan Munoz Guevara.

In South Pasadena, the two candidates backed by progressives -- Omari Ferguson and Sheila Rossi -- have won seats on the City Council.

In the Los Angeles Unified School district, progressive Karla Griego easily won a seat on the board, and voters easily approved a bond measure to make badly needed repairs to our local schools.

In the state legislative seats, a bunch of newly elected strong progressives are heading to Sacramento -- including new state Senator Sasha Renee Perez and new Assemblymembers Sade Elhawary and Nick Schultz.( And Pilar Schiavo seems to have fended off a rightwing challenger in her swing district.)

Many of these victories -- Ysabel Jurado’s and the Santa Monica and Culver City races in particular -- come despite huge funding and ugly attack ads from police unions, corporate landlords and special interests. (And let’s note for the record how much harsher their attack ads are against candidates who are women of color.

It shows yet again that LA County voters want more from local government, that voters are not persuaded by red-baiting and smears from the establishment, and that real community organizing works.

Now more than ever, progressives in California, and especially in LA, need to lead, to organize, to fight and to win some very tough battles. They will be joined by hundreds of progressive officials all around the country. It is a growing movement of leaders fighting for the future.

Mike Bonin, a Leadership in Government Fellow with the Open Society Foundation, is a teacher, writer, activist and podcaster. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 2013-2022.