As we near the June 27 special runoff election, all eyes are on the Council District 6 race to fill the vacancy left open by disgraced former Councilmember Nury Martinez. For those following the contest, it has taken a nasty turn as candidate Imelda Padilla, Martinez’ former staffer, has begun distributing a racist mailer in an attempt to polarize the community and its leaders.
Aimed at creating a negative perception, the piece from her campaign highlights the word “CRIME” under a photo of L.A. City Council President Pro Tempore Curren Price, who represents District 9 covering much of South Central. Price also happens to be the current boss of her rival Marisa Alcaraz, a senior policy advisor for Price’s since 2013.
The mailer falsely states that Price is currently being investigated by the FBI tying him to former L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to racketeering conspiracy and tax evasion charges. From all of the information we have acquired over the years, these allegations are completely FALSE and when contacted by the Los Angeles Sentinel, Councilmember Price stated: “My lawyers indicated that I am NOT the target or subject of any investigation.”
In an attempt to distort public perception and put doubt into the minds of San Fernando Valley voters, Imelda Padilla has chosen to take the racist low road, a page out of her former boss’ book and it is using her platform to criminalize an innocent Black Man, by insinuating that Price is under investigation or is a target of the government instead of a hardworking honest and trusted servant of the people.
Not only are such tactics discriminatory, but they’re also proof that Padilla is following in the footsteps of her mentor and previous boss Nury Martinez, earning her the nickname “Nury 2.0.” The voters of District 6 should be very careful and not allow Padilla to carry Martinez’ legacy of racism back in the chambers of the very City Council that is just now beginning to recover from the cloud of mistrust and racism that Martinez, Cedillo & DeLeon brought upon the council.
To move Los Angeles forward and past the culture of racism, we need a clean break from the disgraced former Councilwoman Nury Martinez cloud of misconduct, and we certainly don’t need any parts of her political machine lingering in the council chambers.
By contrast, Marisa Alcaraz is about bringing Los Angeles together, and that’s why she has the support of regular people in the Valley and throughout Los Angeles. We must not allow the status quo of corruption to continue to spread like cancer.
Voting in Padilla will be a shift in the wrong direction, taking the City 100 steps back from progress, equity and inclusion that so many currently working within the walls of city hall strive for. The time is now to heal and move forward and any remnants of the Nury machine must be defeated.
