| Election Name: | 2023 Los Angeles special election |
| Country: | Los Angeles |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | April 4, 2023 (first round) June 27, 2023 (runoff) |
| Previous Election: | 2022 Los Angeles elections |
| Previous Year: | 2022 |
| Next Election: | 2024 Los Angeles elections |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| Seats For Election: | 1 out of 15 seats in the City Council |
| Majority Seats: | 8 |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 13 |
| Seats1: | 1 |
| Seats After1: | 14 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Party2: | Independent (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 1 |
| Seats2: | 0 |
| Seats After2: | 1 |
The 2023 Los Angeles special election was held on April 4, 2023 with a runoff occurring on June 27, 2023.[1] Voters will elect a candidate in a nonpartisan primary, with runoff elections potentially scheduled. One of the fifteen seats on the Los Angeles City Council was up for election due to the vacancy of one member, councilwoman Nury Martinez of District 6, who resigned in the wake of the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal.[2] Sharon Tso was installed as a caretaker to the district, but no formal appointment was made.[3] There was potential for a recall over Kevin de León's statements made during the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal as well, though due to the lack of signatures turned in by the deadline on April 1, 2023, the petition to recall de León failed.[4] Former City Attorney Mike Feuer also proposed that a special election be held on a referendum to replace the Council's ability to redraw the City Council districts with an independent commission before the 2024 elections.[5]
Municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan, and candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.
| Election Name: | 2023 Los Angeles City Council District 6 special election |
| Flag Image: | File:Flag of Los Angeles, California.svg |
| Country: | Los Angeles |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | April 4, 2023 (First round) June 27, 2023 (Runoff) |
| Previous Election: | 2020 Los Angeles elections#District 6 |
| Previous Year: | 2020 |
| Next Election: | 2024 Los Angeles elections#District 6 |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| 1Blank: | First round |
| 2Blank: | Runoff |
| Image1: | Imelda Padilla, 2024.jpg |
| Candidate1: | Imelda Padilla |
| Color1: | c0c0c0 |
| 1Data1: | 3,421 25.69% |
| 2Data1: | 8,520 55.79% |
| Candidate2: | Marisa Alcaraz |
| Color2: | c0c0c0 |
| 1Data2: | 2,812 21.12% |
| 2Data2: | 6,751 44.21% |
| Image3: | Marco Santana 2023 (cropped).jpg |
| Candidate3: | Marco Santana |
| Color3: | c0c0c0 |
| 1Data3: | 2,515 18.89% |
| 2Data3: | Eliminated |
| Image4: | Rose Grigoryan 2023 (cropped).jpg |
| Candidate4: | Rose Grigoryan |
| Color4: | c0c0c0 |
| 1Data4: | 1,980 14.87% |
| 2Data4: | Eliminated |
| Image5: | Isaac Kim 2023 (cropped).jpg |
| Candidate5: | Isaac Kim |
| Color5: | c0c0c0 |
| 1Data5: | 1,452 10.90% |
| 2Data5: | Eliminated |
| Image6: | Antoinette Scully 2023 (cropped).jpg |
| Candidate6: | Antoinette Scully |
| Color6: | c0c0c0 |
| 1Data6: | 744 5.59% |
| 2Data6: | Eliminated |
| City Councilor | |
| Before Election: | Vacant |
| Posttitle: | City Councilor |
| After Election: | Imelda Padilla |
The 6th district includes the neighborhoods of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood, and Sun Valley, as well as Van Nuys Airport and the Sepulveda Basin.[6]
Although the election was officially nonpartisan, all qualified candidates were members of the Democratic Party except Rose Grigoryan, who was registered as "no party preference."[6]
| Campaign finance reports as of February 18, 2023[13] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Contributions | |
| Marisa Alcaraz | $100,606 | |
| Rose Grigoryan | $23,379 | |
| Isaac Kim | $13,275 | |
| Imelda Padilla | $55,362 | |
| Marco Santana | $53,900 | |
| Antoinette Scully | $5,688 | |
| Douglas Sierra | $8,113 | |
| Candidate | Eliminate parking minimums | Increase upzoning in District 6 | Support Healthy Streets LA | Close Whiteman Airport | Police staffing level | Reallocate police funding | Repeal Section 41.18 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marisa Alcaraz | |||||||||
| Rose Grigoryan | |||||||||
| Isaac Kim | [14] | ||||||||
| Imelda Padilla | |||||||||
| Marco Santana | [15] | ||||||||
| Antoinette Scully | |||||||||
| Douglas Sierra | Possibly |
Kevin de León's recall was first introduced in October 2022, in the midst of the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal. The recall petition was approved by the city clerk office on December 6, 2022.[16] The petition failed on April 1, 2023, as only 21,006 of the required 25,000 valid signatures were turned in.[17]