Los Angeles voters select new council members and city attorney

Los Angeles voters will cast ballots on Tuesday, November 3, to fill two open City Council seats and elect a new city attorney. The elections replace term-limited members Bob Blumenfield and Curren Price, while also deciding the leadership of the city's legal office after incumbent Hydee Feldstein-Soto lost in June.

In the Third Council District, which includes Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, and Winnetka, businessman Tim Gaspar competes against Barri Worth Girvan. Gaspar, who sold his insurance company in 2021, campaigns on a pro-business platform aimed at supporting small businesses. Worth Girvan, a former government employee who worked for County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, emphasizes her cross-government relationships to advance local interests.

The Third District race has featured intense campaigning and mutual accusations. Worth Girvan aired an advertisement featuring a former employee of Gaspar who alleged he created a hostile work environment. She also filed an ethics complaint with the City Ethics Commission, claiming Gaspar failed to report over $150,000 in campaign expenditures and violated matching-funds rules. Gaspar maintains his conduct was proper and describes Worth Girvan as a career politician.

In the Ninth Council District, which covers downtown L.A., Vermont Square, Central-Alameda, and Green Meadows, voters will choose between Estuardo Mazariegos and Jose Ugarte. The district is approximately 80% Latino, and the winner will be the first Latino council member elected there since 1962. Mazariegos, co-director of the L.A. chapter of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, advocates for increased police oversight, reduced LAPD funding for other services, and stricter enforcement of crisis-response programs. He criticizes the city's anti-camping law, known as 41.18.

Ugarte, a former deputy chief of staff to Price, supports Mayor Karen Bass' goal of expanding the LAPD to 9,500 officers and favors enforcing the anti-camping law. Ugarte has received independent spending support from Airbnb, Uber, and the California Apartment Association. Mazariegos has criticized these outside groups for seeking influence at City Hall. In 2025, the City Ethics Commission fined Ugarte $20,000 for failing to disclose outside lobbying income, a penalty he agreed to pay.

Citywide, voters will decide the next city attorney between Marissa Roy, a California Deputy Attorney General, and John McKinney, an L.A. County Deputy District Attorney. A UC Berkeley poll released in late October showed Roy leading McKinney by 17 points among likely voters. Roy stated she would focus on prosecuting wage law violations and landlord harassment. McKinney said he would prosecute chronically homeless individuals to facilitate treatment placement.

The city attorney role serves as the legal adviser to the mayor, City Council, and city departments. The office oversees contracts, defends the city in civil lawsuits, and prosecutes misdemeanor cases. The incoming official will manage a staff of more than 1,000 attorneys and administrative personnel with a $200 million budget.