SELA cities may soon see several new faces in council seats

As ballots continue to be tallied, the Southeast L.A. area (SELA) may see significant changes in leadership. The preliminary results as of Wednesday afternoon showed several current councilmembers at risk of being voted out or not seeking reelection, making way for new faces. 

These are the midterm election results as of Wednesday afternoon.

South Gate

The city, with approximately 92,000 residents — 95% of whom identify as Latino — has two open seats. So far, numbers show incumbents Joshua Barrón and Al Rios being ousted by candidates Jimmy Ozaeta with 29% of the vote and Edgar Pelayo with 26.57%.

Ozaeta and Pelayo ran as a slate and have a website called “South Gate for Change” where they advocate No on Taxes and Yes on term limits for councilmembers. 

Barrón, who currently serves as mayor of South Gate, has 18.89% of votes. Vice Mayor Rios has 15.77%. 

Trailing last is candidate Alan García with 9.85%.

Lynwood

The city of Lynwood is the second-largest SELA city, with about 64,000 residents, and 88% identify as Latino, according to the Census. 

In this election, the city has three seats to fill. Preliminary results suggest two of the three councilmembers seeking reelection will keep their seats: Gabriela Camacho, currently serving as mayor, with 19.15%, and Councilman Juan Muñoz Guevara with 18.99%.

It appears that the third seat could be a fight between native Lynwood resident Emiliano Arellano, who has 3,894 votes, and Lynwood Planning Commissioner Mishaun Watkins, who has 3,775 votes. 

In the list of six candidates, current Councilman Luis Gerardo Cuellar is inlast place. He was appointed to council in 2024, replacing José Luis Solache, who was elected to the assembly.

Huntington Park

Huntington Park has been in the public eye in the past year due to allegations of fund mismanagement and investigations into some councilmembers by the L.A. County district attorney.

The city, which was recently divided into districts, has three seats open.

Councilmembers Karina Macias and Nancy Martiz are fighting for District 2. The latest numbers showed Macias leading by only eight votes, 580 vs. 572.

For District 4, Graciela Ortiz, who served in the council in the past, is taking a significant lead with 64% over former Councilman Valentin Amezquita at 36%.

For District 5, Councilman Arturo Flores is being ousted by candidate Celia Beatriz Rivas. Flores, who served as mayor of Huntington Park in 2025, is at 32.67% and Rivas at 67.33%. Flores faced severe backlash after being accused of sexual harassment earlier this year.

Huntington Park has about 52,000 residents, with 97% identifying as Latinos, according to the U.S. Census. 

Bell Gardens 

Preliminary results show Bell Gardens is the only city keeping all three incumbents. The city has about 37,000 residents with about 97% identifying as Latinos. 

Acting Mayor Miguel de la Rosa has 2,424 votes, followed by Councilmembers Francis de León Sanchez with 2,368 and Marco Barcena with 2,184 votes.

Far behind are candidates Samuel Perez with 1,723 and Jorge Verdin with 819 votes.  

Maywood

Maywood, considered one of the smallest cities in SELA with about 1.2 square miles and 25,000 residents, also seems poised to keep two incumbents while welcoming a new one.

Three seats are up for grabs, and while two councilmembers are seeking reelection, current Mayor Herbert Marquez is leaving the council, giving the opportunity to a new member to join.  

Councilmembers Mayra Aguiluz (21.27%) and Eddie de la Riva (21.17%) are leading the list of nine candidates. Preliminary results show candidate Maritza de la Cruz is securing the third seat with 17.02%. 

About 97% of Maywood residents identify as Latino, according to the Census. 

Cudahy 

Another small SELA city is Cudahy, with about 23,000 residents and 97% of them identify as Latino. Preliminary results show the city is keeping one incumbent, Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez, leading the list with 31.25%. 

It also seems likely there will be two new members: Cynthia Romo, at 28.92%, and José R. Gonzalez, at 15.19%. He served on the council for six years and left two years ago. 

Councilman Martin Fuentes is in fourth place with 13.27% of the votes. His tenure has been controversial after he was censured at a March 2026 city council meeting following three allegations of misconduct. An independent investigation found two of the three allegations were credible.