Guide to L.A. City Council District 13 election: Mitch O’Farrell vs. Hugo Soto-Martinez
This article is part of a series on candidates running for office, sponsored by the Los Angeles News Group
After decades of building up power in their campaign war chests, two candidates for Los Angeles City Council are trying to bring their campaign prowess to the voters of their neighborhoods in the June primary.
The candidates, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Mitch O’Farrell, are both in the thick of their respective battles for the 10th District, which is currently represented by Jane Kim.
Kim has held on to her seat for more than 30 years by campaigning hard and playing hard ball with opponents. So strong is her performance that at least 16 candidates have dropped out so far, including Kim’s fellow incumbent Tony Cardenas.
The 10th District also happens to be a district with high-profile political battles coming up, too. The City Council’s three other members—Alfonso Moreno, Scott Wiener and Paul Koretz—all face tough reelection battles in November.
Kim is backed by a group called Los Angeles Rising, and in February, Kim announced she was running for mayor against Mayor Eric Garcetti.
O’Farrell, a former councilwoman who ran for mayor in 2016, said he’d go up against Kim because “we have different views on the issues.” O’Farrell is the only Republican running, which puts him in competition against Kim.
O’Farrell, who is the current vice president of the Mexican Consulate, said Kim has been fighting for political survival for decades, while he has built his political platform on what he calls “pro-labor, pro-worker policies.”
But O’Farrell said that hasn’t translated into money in this campaign, though he said the Mexican Consulate “does great work” because of their “strong political involvement.”
“You can have the best campaign ever run, or you can have