Two finalists are running for the Los Angeles City Council electoral district number 2: Adrin Nazarian and Jillian Burgos.
The position is vacant following the retirement of Paul Krekorian after 14 years in office.
Initially, for the March 5 primaries, seven candidates competed against each other. Of them, Nazarian won 37% (14,033) of the votes and Burgos with 22% (8,430).
They prevailed over the rest, so they reach the runoff. The position will be decided on November 5.
Burgos has been a member of the North Hollywood Neighborhood Council since 2021 and is considered one of the progressive-based candidates in these elections, with the support of the local group Democratic Socialists of America.
District 2 is located in the San Fernando Valley, northwest of the city center.
It has certain industrial epicenters, including film and television production studios, as well as two subway stations, a central one in North Hollywood, around which a focus of new housing and entertainment was erected. But the majority of the district is made up of single-family homes, characteristic of the Valley, and has a significant Latino population, with a total of 260,000 residents and almost 100,000 homes.
It includes the communities of North Hollywood, Studio City, Sun Valley, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Toluca Lake and Van Nuys, by far the most populous with 130,000 inhabitants, in addition to having the commercial airport.
This is precisely almost all of the populations that Nazarian represented between 2012 and 2022 in the California Legislative Assembly in Sacramento. And the one he served previously, as Krekorian’s chief of staff in that same district.
Regarding the most pressing task and the most controversial issue in these elections – the homeless occupying the streets of Los Angeles and its surroundings – Nazarian counts himself among the adherents of humanism and patience, against those who promote massive, constant and permanent with the use of law enforcement.
He supports the initiative of Mayor Karen Bass – who for her part supports his candidacy – called Inside Safe, which consists of housing the homeless in hotel and motel rooms temporarily and then moving them to permanent housing.
However, contrary to those who advocate reducing the budget of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), he is in favor of hiring more officers, taking into account the historical deficit in the number of police officers in the city.
He is also supported by Congressman and California Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
In responses to questions from La Opinión, he said that he was proud to have advanced, as an assemblyman, legislation that expanded access to mass public transportation in the Valley, as well as another that established one of the largest college savings programs in the country. .
Nazarian arrived from Iran at the age of eight, fleeing violence in that country, and says he identifies with the immigrant community in his district, having lived similar experiences and growing up in an immigrant family.
Regarding the Latino community that is legion in his district, he lists its main problems: the helplessness in which people without housing live, the public safety crisis and a chronic deficit of public transportation.
“During my time in the Assembly I prioritized legislation that responded to the needs of immigrant and worker families,” he told La Opinión. “I also fought for solutions to be approved to protect renters,” he added.
As an assemblyman, Nazarian was the author of the law AB 442, which toughened existing penalties for employers who refuse to pay their workers, addressing a problem that especially afflicts undocumented immigrants, who are afraid to report the offender.
Supports the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, favors women’s right to abortion and collective bargaining with workers.
It has received the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and the unions SEIU 721, SEIU 2015, and United Firefighters of Los Angeles local 112. And in educational matters it requires transparency and the same standards of quality from charter schools. accountability that public schools: “should not drain resources from public schools or exclude students from underserved communities.”
If as a councilor he shows the same initiative and activity that he displayed as a state legislator, it would be enough. But as we see, Adrin Nazarian also brings with him a wealth of experience, political relationships, knowledge of complex problems and massive support.
For all these reasons, La Opinión supports the candidacy of Adrin Nazarian as a Los Angeles councilman and calls on its readers in District 2 to vote for him on November 5.