Candidate for LA’s CD1 pledges to sleep in RV until MacArthur Park is revitalized

Raul Claros, a candidate running for Los Angeles City Council seat in District 1 has pledged to go above and beyond the councilmember role if elected in 2026. One of his priorities is to revitalize MacArthur Park. 

Claros is a longtime active member of CD1 and co-founder and interim executive director of El Salvador Corridor Association. He is one of at least eight candidates vying for incumbent Eunisses Hernandez’ seat.  

Among his many concerns in CD1 is the crisis happening in MacArthur Park. According to Claros, in the past years, addicts, dealers and more have turned the park into another Skid Row with an increase in drugs and crime in the area. He claims that Hernandez’ plan is not producing visible results. 

“As a former executive director of the Red Cross here in Los Angeles, I know a crisis, I know a disaster. I know how to respond to one and we need to triage the situation,” he said. 

The City of L.A. has invested $27 million in MacArthur Park in street medicine doctors, mobile overdose response teams, peace ambassadors and clean up crews. However, Claros said that this is just a misuse of taxpayer dollars since the effects are not visible and there has not been any positive impact yet. 

“You've given pipes, you've given needles, you've given food and you've given showers to drug addicts at the park, which has enabled them to stay there. Why would they want to leave anywhere?” he questioned. “They're getting fed and they're getting drugs, and they're getting showers and they're getting because if they go to Skid Row, they can't do any of that to get the shelter. So they would prefer to just stay inside of a park and do whatever they want.”

While the 2026 homeless count reported that homelessness across the city of LA went down 3%, it went up over 20% in CD1, according to the CD1 Coalition.  

“This area is being treated like an open drug market. It's being used as a de facto hospital for people. But what it's not being utilized is as the backyard in the front yard to our youth and our families,” said Claros. 

The plan

Claros said if elected, he will set up a trailer or a bungalow in the park and he will live there until the park is cleaned. His objective is to make a point and remove all the red tape to start the much needed clean up. He will also challenge LAPD to protect him while he lives there. 

Claros said adding a 24-hour, seven day a week presence of officers at the park will create a safer environment for the entire community, especially the children who live in nearby apartments whose only place to play is the park. 

“That way, we can refurbish the whole park, similar to how it was before [former councilman Gilbert] Cedilo left about three and a half years ago,” said Claros. 

 The candidate said the park has a domino effect that is affecting the community, including the nearby small businesses who are losing clientele due to the unsafe nature of the zone. Property owners have told Claros they can’t lease their spaces because people are worried about the danger. 

Claros said that he and many families are frustrated to see that the historic park is decaying and there is not a specific plan, timeline or a budget to revitalize it. There is a fence that is planned around the park to keep homeless out of the park overnight, however, this plan doesn’t come from CD1 but instead from the Mayor of L.A. with a $2.3 million budget approved by the Department of Rec and Parks. 

There have been two candidate forums for CD1, one in Westlake/MacArthur Park Pico Union area and another in Lincoln Heights. Councilmember Hernandez was absent for both. 

There is another forum coming up in Highland Park on Dec. 11 at 6:30 pm. Hernandez and Claros have both been invited. 

Claros said the number of candidates willing to take Hernandez’ seat speaks about how unhappy constituents have been regarding her tenure. He said he knows the race is competitive and all he wants is any candidate to win “but Hernandez.”