Estuardo Mazariegos vies to be the first Latino to represent CD-9 in six decades

On May 15, approximately two weeks before the June 2 primary election, Senator Bernie Sanders officially endorsed Estuardo Mazariegos, one of the many candidates running for the Los Angeles City Council District 9 (CD-9) race. 

Mazariegos, 40, is part of the most packed council race in the City of L.A., running against Jose Ugarte, Jorge Nuño, Marta Sanchez and Elmer Roldan, as well as Chris Martin, a write-in candidate. 

The race is especially important because the district, where approximately 80% of the residents are Latino, has not had a new representative in 12 years. Longtime Councilmember Curren Price, who is currently facing an open public corruption case, is leaving office in December 2026. 

This year, voters could also choose their first non-Black councilmember since 1963, when former councilmember Gilbert Lindsay was elected almost six decades ago. 

Although his most formidable opponent, Uguarte, has raised $503,900 as compared to $245,099 that he has raised, Mazariegos remains hopeful that the residents of South Central L.A. will choose him to represent the district, which includes Exposition Park, Historic South Central, Central-Alameda and Vermont Square. 

On Friday, he announced that his campaign has unlocked matching funds and will enter the final week before the primary with the most “cash at hand,” which is the amount in its bank account or available budget needed for the final stretch of an election. 

“It means we have the greatest ability to reach voters between now and Tuesday, June 2,” he wrote in an Instagram post. 

Mazariego said he runs a 100% corporate-free campaign.

“This is a people power campaign, and that's how we're gonna be able to truly build the ninth district that we deserve,” he told CALO News. “A district that represents all of our interests, that works for the people in the community, that pulls up those 37% of children that live below the federal poverty line, to ensure that we have more green space, to ensure that our transit works, that our streets are safe to walk in. I believe that if the ninth district does better, the entire City of L.A. does better.” 

Mazariego, who is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, L.A. chapter, as well as LA Forward, sits as the current co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), a grassroots community organization representing low-wage workers and tenants in L.A. 

He earned his degrees from California State University, Dominguez Hills, in labor studies and California State University, Los Angeles, in public administration. 

Mazariegos immigrated to the U.S. when he was three years old, fleeing political violence in Guatemala. Despite not having been born and raised in South Central like some of his opponents, he said he has gotten to know CD-9 very intimately because of the community organizing he has done in the district. 

Before establishing residency in South Central L.A., Mazariegos lived in various parts of L.A. County and the city. When he first arrived in the U.S., he and his family first landed in Sun Valley, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. 

“After that, we ended up bouncing around from place to place during a lot of my youth. A lot of the people that I grew up with throughout the city have been gentrified out of different neighborhoods and evicted from different places. I was in Hollywood, West Adams, Inglewood, Hyde Park and Koreatown, all depending on where we could find affordable housing, but my family and I always fought to stay in L.A.” 

Although today he lives in South Central L.A. with his two daughters and his wife after becoming a homeowner about nine years ago, he said the road was not easy. 

“I didn't have the luxury of saying ‘this one neighborhood is my home forever’ because, unfortunately, we were evicted multiple times from different neighborhoods and we were always going to where rent was cheaper,” he said. “South Central is home and I plan on this being my forever home. This home is where I'm laying my roots.”

Last week, he sat with CALÓ News for a 40-minute exclusive interview where he provided details on her campaign and the policies he hopes to implement if elected. 

Housing

Today, CD-9 is one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in the city, wth low-income residents living between L.A. landmarks such as USC, the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium, among others. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in L.A., the average person per household is 2.61, but in CD-9, where there are about 261,470 residents, the overcrowding is greater. 

Mazariegos said that through his work with coalitions like the UNIDAD (United Neighbors In Defense Against Displacement), a labor organization in South Central L.A., which advocates against gentrification, he has learned what development without displacement can look like. “The goal has always been seeing improved neighborhoods but with the same neighbors,” he said. “I also wanna make sure that as development occurs here, if it occurs here, we make sure that we are including inclusionary zoning in new development. This means we are making sure that there are high levels of affordability for extremely low-income individuals.” 

He said if elected, he will ensure he partners with community organizations that are fighting displacement in South Central, such as the Flower Drive Tenants Association, a grassroots community organization founded in 2021 by working-class Black and Latino residents fighting gentrification just blocks away from USC. 

“I stand in solidarity with them because I understand that those residents have been there for multiple decades, sometimes multiple generations now. They're being threatened to be, potentially, displaced by the development of housing and hotels on their street. I would ensure that their voices and rights are heard because oftentimes, poor folks in our community are not heard and are pushed out without any real consideration.” 

Building trust

Price, who will officially leave the CD-9 office late this year, is facing 12 felony charges, including grand theft by embezzlement of public funds, conflict of interest and perjury. 

Just days after the primary election on June 5, he is scheduled for his next pretrial hearing after pleading not guilty. Mazariegos said that although it will not be easy, he looks to build trust with residents, especially those who have already become deeply distrustful about politics in CD-9.

“Our council member hasn't been active or connected with our neighborhood and you see the outcomes of that on the street. The way that you build more trust with people is by showing action,” he said. “Part of my platform is creating transparency and co-governed spaces in our community for our district, and it's one of the ways that we'll be able to also activate and get people engaged and participating in civic engagement.”

Despite the district having one of the city's lower turnouts, Mazariegos said he understands people not showing up to vote in the last elections. 

“I understand when people say they don't want to vote because they feel folks are corrupt. That's a vote too. Not voting is not giving consent to what's been going on,” he said. “I've heard folks outside of our neighborhood saying, ‘Oh, the ninth district doesn't vote,’ and I'm like, 'Actually, it does vote.' Not voting means that they don't consent to what's happening. That's why I'm presenting this alternative to engage people. I know it's a lot of work ahead of me as a council member and I would have to get people to participate.”

Food justice

For years now, areas like South Central L.A. have been known for having a high concentration of liquor retailers and fast food restaurants, leading to its official classification as an urban food desert by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mazariegos said one of the primary things he would like to do to tackle food insecurity in CD-9 is to create city-owned grocery stores with healthy and affordable food options, as well as partner up with community organizations like L.A. Neighborhood Land Trust or Root Down L.A. to educate community members about alternative food recipes and establish more community gardens. 

“There are many organizations that can help to unlock the power of our district to produce our own food and rely less on the food logistics industry, which is really dominating how our people get food,” he said. 

He said street vendors are also part of the conversation when it comes to food justice, culture and economic forces of CD-9. “Street vendors are part of the [food insecurity] solution as well. Many of them need kitchen space to be able to cook. Community freezers might be something we open up to ensure that street vendors in our community aren't criminalized, especially around our venues and instead can operate and make a living without fear of being arrested or cited,” he said. 

2028 Olympic Games 

In March, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion requiring county officials to identify and present an inventory of county-owned facilities that visiting countries could use and lease during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Many of these facilities, apart from those being used for official matches and training, will be located within CD-9. 

He said the residents' concerns about displacement, rent increases and homeless sweeps ahead of the 2028 Olympics are valid. 

“One of the big issues that we're going to face as a community is an increase in short-term rentals throughout L.A.,” he said. “We need to ensure that there's a moratorium on short-term rentals while the Olympics are here and increase tenant protections near Olympic venues.”

He said if elected, he would like to organize community meetings where people can bring their concerns to the table regarding the games.

“I want to ensure that we can get Olympic revenue to be reinvested back into our community so that we have a long-term outcome that benefits the community. We have to really organize our community to hold the Olympics accountable, as well as the City of L.A. And see if we can make the games more healthy for the city and more just and equitable for South Central and if that can't be done, then we really need to question whether or not we follow through with the Olympics.” 

Youth and the arts

CD-9 is made up of some of the most socially, culturally and artistically important locations in the country, including Central Avenue, site of the West Coast jazz scene in the 30s and 40s; the former Black Panther Party headquarters in L.A and one of the epicenters of the Watts rebellion in 1965.

Mazariegos said part of his work will be to amplify and invest in the cultural and artistic aspects of CD-9. 

“The arts in South Central have always been a part of our community. You walk around our neighborhoods and you'll see mural after mural and that's the cultural aspect of our community,” he said. 

Mazariegos looks to create opportunities where streets, sidewalks and public spaces, such as the Slauson Bike Path, are turned into public art installations. 

Another of his plans is to work with museums such as the California African American Museum and the Natural History Museum, or the California Science Center, located in CD-9, to increase access to free and low-cost outdoor programming. “I would also work on creating and advocating for permanent affordable housing for artists in our neighborhood. When you're an artist, many times you don't get a steady income. If you have steady housing, you'll be able to do your craft and continue developing your work,” he said.

Early in-person voting in all Voter’s Choice Act counties begins on May 23. In addition, in-person early voting locations throughout California will open on Saturday, May 30.

June 2, election day, is the last day to vote in-person or to return a ballot by 8 p.m. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked no later than June 2.