No matter who wins, this South L.A. city council district will see a historic change
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Set us as preferred Estuardo Mazariegos and Jose Ugarte, running against each other for a city council seat representing part of South Los Angeles, are immigrants from Latin America who arrived undocumented as children.Both 40 years old, they grew up in the area and established themselves as community organizers.And no matter which of them wins election on Nov.3, it will be a historic change for Council District 9, which has been represented by a Black council member since 1963, even as its demographics shifted to a Latino majority.
Mazariegos and Ugarte both said they are committed to representing all their constituents equally, including Black residents who have expressed concerns about the change.Ugarte, who was until recently a deputy chief of staff to the current council member, Curren Price, got about 39% of the vote in the June primary to 26% for Mazariegos, in a six-candidate field.Ugarte was born in Oaxaca and is Mazateco — an Indigenous group native to the Mexican state.
He has spent most of his life in South L.A., where he was embraced by his Black neighbors and schoolmates.He wants to model himself after Price, who he said is known in the community as the most “pro-Latino Black councilman.” “I want to be a voice for Black residents in my district,” Ugarte said at his campaign headquarters on Avalon Boulevard.
“I want to be called the most pro-Black Latino council member that the city really has.”Last year, Ugarte agreed to pay a $17,500 fine to the city’s Ethics Commission, later increased to $25,000, for repeatedly failing to disclose outside income he made from his lobbying and consulting firm while also working as a council staffer.He said the issue stemmed from “an unintentional clerical reporting error on my part.” Mazariegos is the L.A.
co-director of the Alliance of Californians for ...