A Cataclysmic Election for Los Angeles

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: While most political junkies have their eyes on DC in the wake of Donald Trump’s successful bid to return to the White House, we’re looking south, where Los Angeles voters delivered a seismic shift to the region’s politics, passing Measure G, which expands the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five members to nine, and Charter Amendment DD, which creates an independent redistricting commission for the city.

Support for reform measures exploded after the 2022 release of “The Tape,” a secret recording of council members Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon and LA County Labor Fed President Ron Herrera making racist and derisive comments about their colleagues and constituents, and planning a gerrymander of Nithya Raman’s district in order to oust her. Two years after the release of the tape, de Leon was the only one of the four still in place, and on November 5, District 14 voters handed the former state senator his walking papers in favor of DSA candidate Ysabel Jurado, giving the Democratic Socialists a four seat bloc on the city council. We asked political consultant and California Target Book co-editor Robb Korinke to walk us through what just happened and what it all means.

Plus: Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?

2:01 Measure G

4:37 County Executive

5:52 What will the new districts look like?

9:30 Charter Amendment DD

11:48 KDL

15:38 Nithya Raman

16:15 Adrin Nazarian

17:02 George Gascon

19:20 Turnout

23:00 Incumbency

25:24 #WWCA