Let The City Know.
Two brothers.
One love.
All of Los Angeles is who you are.
All of us mourning is who we are.
Two brothers.
One love.
All of our families is who you are.
All of us fractured, searching for answers is who we are.
J.T.
For Sergio Rios Jr. and Ricardo Rios.
It’s official! There are now just 136 days before it’s “high-key” time for elections again. This is because in California ballots for the election are sent to voters some 29 days before Election Day. So then, even if Election Day is on November 5th, many of us will have the opportunity to vote on L.A. City, LAUSD, L.A. County, and even California elections as soon as October 7th, or 136 days out. In this installment we go over certified L.A. City elections to see who won, who lost out, and what you can expect this Fall if you live and vote in Los Angeles. You can also see the graphics used in this recap here. And you can watch this podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on YouTube so you don’t miss our recap for LAUSD and L.A. County elections.
(1:48) Council District 2: Adrian Nazarian vs Jillian Burgos
(6:06) Council District 4: Nithya Raman
(11:36) Council District 6: Imelda Padilla
(14:56) Council District 8: Marqueece Harris-Dawson
(19:54) Council District 10: Heather Hutt vs Grace Yoo (K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean)
(24:16) Council District 12: John Lee
(29:25) Council District 14: Ysabel Jurado vs Kevin De Leon
(38:20) Patreon Shout Out!
And remember, if you’re able to, you can make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in The City here.
You can also check out my Patreon page at https://patreon.com/jimbotimes; each subscription plays a real part in supporting my independent research and journalism for the nearly 10 million people who make up L.A. County. Because yes, I am in fact doing it for every last one of you!
With that said, let the city know. This is 2024’s official Primary Election RECAP by JIMBO TIMES, the L.A. Storyteller.
J.T.
Who Is Your Neighborhood – Shirt
During purchase, in the “Instructions to Merchant” section, please specify your shirt size. Style-heavy t-shirts with images from This Side of Hoover, Jimbo Times, and designs provided by Nathan Ward (In Passing LA). Proceeds support a new arts and education project at Quien Es Tu Vecindario, the first non-profit organization by yours truly for East Hollywood. Small – 1 Medium – 2
$25.00
J.T.
You can also catch this WRAP-UP on YouTube. On Friday, May 17, the L.A. City Council presented a number of local celebrities with some proclamations. May 17th was declared “Shohei Ohtani day,” while May 19th is now “Father Greg Boyle” day, at least on the official calendar of the L.A. City Council chambers. Afterwards, a number of different speakers made Public Comment, many in opposition to an eviction notice filed against the Hernandez family at Plazita Olvera, who’s owned the landmark destination’s only burro or donkey for over 60 years.
Plazita Olvera is located less than half a mile north of L.A. City Hall, but half a mile south of L.A. City Hall is Suehiro cafe, or the former location of Suehiro Cafe, which had been in operation in Little Tokyo for over 50 years before closing this January not because of an eviction notice, but because of a massive rent hike imposed by the landlord; two months later, a brand-new mural of Ohsei Ohtani was revealed across the street from Suehiro’s former location in Little Tokyo. It was a special day on 1st street, full of vibes, not so different from those at this L.A. City Council meeting.
While institutions like L.A. City Council have the power to declare and even decorate for symbolic purposes like Ohtani or Father Boyle day, they do not have the power to prevent eviction notices like the one given to the Hernandez family and their burro at Plazita Olvera, nor the power to prevent rent hikes for legacy businesses like Kenji Suzuki’s Suehiro Cafe in Little Tokyo. The question for Ohtani in particular then is if his legacy will go the way of Fernando Valenzuela, another “once-in-a-generation” talent who the Dodgers would nonetheless isolate from local working class communities outside of the jersey and uniform.
That’s all for the introductory wrap-up! To learn more about my nonprofit work in Los Angeles, visit onevecindario.org. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at Patreon.
Until the next time, stay vigilant and stay tuned!
J.T.
Francisco Xavier Alarcón was born in 1954 in Wilmington, Los Angeles, but spent most of his childhood in Guadalajara, Mexico. Returning to L.A. as a young adult, he attended Adult School and East Los Angeles City College before transferring to California State University, Long Beach, where he graduated with a B.A. in Spanish and History in 1977. Alarcón went on to earn a Master’s Degree from Stanford University in the 1980s, during which his life also became ensnarled in racial profiling at the hands of the San Francisco Police Department based on false charges that he was eventually cleared of. In 1992, Alarcón joined the team at UC Davis (which is also yours truly’s alma mater!) to direct the Spanish for Native Speakers program. A prolific poet and advocate for the arts, Alarcón published more than 20 books before passing away in 2016 at the age of 61. He is survived by his husband, Javier Pinzón, whom he married in California in 2008. I first encountered Alarcón’s poetry at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central branch.
J.T.