Marisa Alcaraz, 38, bills herself as an advocate for working families and serves as deputy chief of staff and director of environmental policy to LA Councilman Curren Price. She has worked on several anti-poverty programs, including one that gave “hero pay” to supermarket workers who worked during the pandemic. She grew up in Lake Balboa and is a single mother.
Los Angeles City Council District 6 candidate Marisa Alcaraz during a debate in Panorama City on Thursday.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Rose Grigoryan, 37, emigrated from Armenia ten years ago. She lives in North Hollywood, started a marketing company and is a former journalist at the Armenian TV station ARTN-SHANT. She has also helped educate the Armenian community about mental health issues. Her voter registration says “no party affiliation”, and she described having liberal views.
Isaac Kim34, said he wants to redefine the role of a city councilor to be less political and more of a “good and helpful neighbour.A resident of Van Nuys, he is active in his church and regularly volunteers to help the homeless. Kim said his parents, who were born in Korea, inspired him to start a men’s hair and skin care business.
Los Angeles City Council District 6 candidate Isaac Kim during a debate in Panorama City on Thursday.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Imelda Padilla, 35, is a longtime community organizer who has worked to raise the minimum wage, the environment, and women’s economic and health issues. Her background includes working for the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and Pacoima Beautiful. Padilla grew up in Sun Valley and lives in the house she grew up in, she said.
Mark Santana, 32, praises the community work he has done in his professional career, including helping to create a shelter for homeless women and doing health care. He has worked for former Senator Bob Hertzberg and Representative Tony Cardenas. At LA Family Housing, he leads a department that places families and individuals in housing. Santana, who lives in Van Nuys, has spoken about the housing issues his family faced while he was growing up.
Antoinette Scully, 38, has a background in racial justice. She is a national organizer with the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation. She has also worked as a field worker and housing coordinator at NoHo Home Alliance. She founded the Valley Justice Coalition/Collective, which led food distribution campaigns, campaigned for environmental justice, and protested against transphobia. Scully lives in Van Nuys.
Douglas Sierra, 37, praises his background in business and education. Until recently, Sierra worked at management consulting firm Monitor Deloitte, he said. According to his resume, he was also an educational services coordinator at A Place Called Home in South LA. He grew up in Sun Valley. At certain times in his life, he and his family have struggled with financial insecurity, which is what drove him to succeed, he said.
