L.A. voters are stuck with status quo in City Hall

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The Los Angeles primary election season was characterized by calls for change.But when the votes were tallied, the powers that be prevailed.Two City Hall fixtures — Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman — will compete in the Nov.

3 runoff after knocking out Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV personality who campaigned as an outsider looking to shake things up.And in a break with recent history, all of the City Council members running for re-election cruised to victories.Since the 2020 election, at least one council member lost their seat every two years to a well-funded, well-organized challenger.

Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, said voters sometimes favor their local representative even if they have issues with city government in general.“When voters are frustrated, they often say: ‘The system’s not working, the only one working for me is my council member,’” Guerra said.“Voters were frustrated with the city, frustrated with the way things are going, but were able to identify their council member as one of their few advocates, the one fighting the system with them.”The one exception to the trend was City Atty.

Hydee Feldstein Soto, who became the first city attorney to miss the runoff since 1933.Feldstein Soto found herself under assault from two sides — Deputy State Atty.

Gen.Marissa Roy, a democratic socialist with union support, and John McKinney, a deputy district attorney with backing from law enforcement and short-term rental giant Airbnb.

City Controller Kenneth Mejia, on the other hand, managed to trounce challenger Zach Sokoloff even though Sokoloff’s mother spent $7.5 million on her son’s behalf, while Mejia just had $146,000 in contributions and $500,000 in matching funds.Several council members were also bracing for for tough campaigns.

For most, that nev...