Good morning and welcome to Records LA – City Hall newsletter. It’s Julia Wick’s assist and Dakota Smith, providing the latest in city and county government.
As a member of the LA city council Isabel juryOn oath last month, the Philippine national anthem was played, performed by traditional Filipino dancers.
Jurado is part of the latest group of Filipino-Americans making political history in California.
Three years ago, I became the first Asian and first Filipino-American to hold citywide offices.
After that, Jurad slammed the current position. Kevin de Leon He won seats in Downtown and East Side and became the first Filipino-American on the city council.
Also, in November Jessica Karosa He has acquired the State Capitol, which represents the North LA County district that stretches from Glendale to East LA. Rob Bontacurrently the first Filipino attorney general in California; Todd Gloria.
And in Northern California, Christopher Cabaldon He became the first Philippine American senator.
Over 1.6 million Filipino-Americans live in California, with about 1 million living in Southern California. They are Los Angeles’ largest Asian American community, with many residents in the eastern San Fernando Valley and the city’s East Side.
However, Filipino-Americans are highly underrated in state legislatures and local elected offices.
Cabaldon, who worked in the state legislature and mayor of West Sacramento, cited Bonta’s milestones and several other breakthrough moments, but said that long-term benefits remain elusive.
“One of the things that really encourage you about this round is that it’s very extensively based: different places, different stories, different ages,” Cabaldon said. “It feels like we’ve laid the foundation for the long term.”
“To see Filipino Americans in both homes? That’s history,” he said. Melissa Ramos, Carosa and Cabaldon councillors;
Meanwhile, Bonta believes it reflects the strong campaign of candidates and the strong coalition they have built rather than the turning point.
“I don’t know if there’s any magic about this particular moment,” he said.
Experts praised the political interests for several factors, including Filipino Americans working for government and nonprofit organizations, including more Filipino Americans on issues important to the community.
At the same time, Filipino-American leaders of business and civic life have successfully built a coalition with other communities, allowing Filipinos to break through candidates, particularly in areas far from the majority, Cabaldon said.
One of the hurdles to organizing Filipino-Americans is that residents are spreading throughout the state. In LA County, most cities and neighborhoods have Filipino American residents, but voter data shows few have more than 10% of focus.
At the same time, due to the intense corruption of the Philippine government, new immigrants may be distrustful of politics.
“A lot of people just don’t think their vote is important,” he said. Aquilina Soriano-VersozaExecutive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles.
Caloza, who worked at La Mayor Eric Garcetti And the Obama administration was born in Quezon, the Philippines. Her family moved to Eagle Rock as a child and learned English from the “famous with Phonics” program.
Jurad was born in Highland Park and worked as a tenant rights lawyer before joining the council. She told the Times she wanted an oath ceremony to showcase Indigenous Filipino culture from her father’s hometown of Iligan.
People at the ceremony included politicians from Cerritos Mark ParidMany Filipino-American mentors and mayors Karen Base others. Jurad joins two other Asian American councillors. John Lee and Nicha Raman.
Jurad described her and Karosa’s victory as a turning point, “not only for Filipinos, but for women to be considered leaders.”
Both Koraza and Jurado told the Times they plan to focus on workers’ rights and housing, stating it is important for Americans and other groups in the Philippines.
Filipino Americans make up the largest proportion of foreign-born caregivers in the state. Soriano Versoza said she often sees them in unstable housing situations.
Soriano-Versoza said both Colaza and Jurado were plugged into the American community in the Philippines and understood the needs of its residents.
“It means a lot for immigrants to see themselves in the government here,” she said.
The Pilipino Workers Center is raising and distributing funds to Filipino Americans affected by the recent fire, Soriano Belzo said.
Jurad told the Times that her campaign sent a Tagalog mailer to registered Filipino-American voters in the Council District. The district extends from Eagle Rock to Boyle Heights, including parts of downtown Los Angeles
The Political Division of the Pilipino Workers Centre held an event in November to vote for Oinster’s Jurado and Karosa, the brother-run Eagle Rock Burger Restaurant Fred and Max Guerrero.
The event featured the antique jeepney and Ube Shakes, traditional outdoor vehicles used in the Philippines. The Guerrero brothers call themselves Filipino mestizos, or “mixed” because of Spanish pedigree, Fred Guerrero said.
“For us, the inclusiveness is the community… it belongs to our backyard, our neighborhood,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cerritos created his own history this week, electing the All-Asian American City Council.
Councillors voted for installation Frank Aurelio Yokoyama, Filipino-American as mayor. Another Filipino American, Linda P. JohnsonHe was elected to the mayoral protem.
Purid, who previously served as mayor of the city, was also elected to the council and sworn by Bonta.
The state of play
– Zip It: City Council Chairman Marqueece Harris-Dawson To ban N and C words at council meetings, hate speech is argued to discourage people from speaking. However, experts from the first amendment doubt that the ban will survive the legal challenge.
– I’ll show you the text: mayor Karen Base‘The Palisade fire shows how worried she was about returning from Ghana to LA. Meanwhile, the Times this week accused officials of withholding mayor’s text messages and other public records related to the Palisades fire, including To the Fire.
– In the middle of LA: There will be both a city ad hoc committee on the 2028 Olympics and a full council on several venue changes, including the shift in equestrian events from the valley to Temecula this week. Still, Tim Makosker I hope to sail in San Pedro, not in Long Beach.
City analysts are asking LA28, a private group that organizes and pays for games, to spell out the economic impact of shuffle.
Ironically, city council member HugoSoto-Martínez, Recently, I joined the ad hoc committee as a former member of the anti-game group Nolympics. We caught up with Soto-Martínez for a short time this week, and he expressed concern over the game’s potential cost overrun in light of the city’s budgetary issues. (LA28 pays for multi-billion dollar events, but the city is responsible for covering the first $270 million overrun.)
“The last thing you need is another big hole in your budget. “That’s a big concern.”
–stand up: Assembly speaker Robert Rivas (d-hollister) And most of the Democrats in the California Congress say it’s become a toxic stew full of attacks and falsehoods. Majority leader of the meeting Cecilia Agia Curry When I announced my departure from X, I looked up to La Fires.
—CD2 Movement: Karo TorosianThe long-standing presence of the council in the horseshoe shape left the city government after 15 years in the council’s two districts. Torosian served as former president of the council. Paul ClecorianChief of Staff before joining the council Adrin Nazarianstaff. There is no word yet as to where he will land.
– New gig: Former LA City Council member Mike Bonin He was appointed executive director of Pat Brown civil servants at California State University
– HGTV Guide to Rebuilding: “Property Brothers” co-host Jonathan Scott I’m looking for a rebuild. The fire was personal to Scott – his fiancee Zooey DeschanelPalisade’s childhood home burned.
Quick Hit
- Where is the inside? The mayor’s signature initiative to tackle the homelessness went to councillors Bundy Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard Trace Park‘district. Outreach also returned to its previous safe internal operations locations in Hollywood, Southern and San Fernando Valley.
- At the docket next week: The LA County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday to discuss proposals to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Department of Homeless Services and establish a new county agency.
