Assembly District 54 sought by Mark Gonzalez, John Yi, Elaine Alaniz
Race became an open battlefield after incumbent Miguel Santiago passed to run for L.A. City Council
State Assemblymember Miquel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, who has long represented Assembly District 54, is not seeking reelection in Sacramento so he can challenge incumbent Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de Leon in the March 5 primary for de Leon's City Council District 14 seat.
That leaves the Assembly District 54 seat open, attracting candidates Mark Gonzalez and John K. Yi, both Democrats, and Republican Elaine Alaniz, in a district that was dramatically redrawn in 2022 during statewide redistricting. In 2022 before redistricting, Alaniz ran against Santiago in the heavily Democratic district and Santiago easily won.
Assembly District 54 was moved inland in 2022, far from its more upscale and middle-class West Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Culver City. It is still heavily Democratic and is now made up of highly diverse Koreatown, downtown Los Angeles, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights, Vernon and Montebello, and has a population of about 495,000.
Elaine Alaniz (R), who hails from Texas, is a 38-year-old healthcare recruiter responsible for finding qualified people and educating communities about services and career opportunities. She is the president of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council and decided to run for the assembly seat because she sees a lack of leadership in Sacramento. Alaniz hopes for a chance in this heavily Democratic-leaning district.
“I believe that all communities want to excel and strive for the best for their future and their families,” Alaniz said. “The redistricting and addition (of new neighborhoods) in AD 54 is positive because more voices that care for our community have been added” to the district map. Voters are “able to observe the current condition and leadership of AD 54 and vote to continue to follow it, or change the path.”
She says public safety is her top priority. “If our first responders are not safe, then our communities follow suit,” she said. “All people should feel safe where they call home.”
But as she sees things now, “parts of the district are facing homelessness, and the growth of adding more homeless from other areas into the district, (and) rampant public opioid drug use on the streets, and skyrocketing crime.”
Her campaign website says her platform includes supporting law enforcement, protecting parental rights to make education and medical decisions for their children; fixing the mental health system by increasing and reopening mental health care facilities — and utilizing vacant hospitals and hiring qualified staff to provide support 24/7.
The first bill she would author or pass in Sacramento, she said, would create workforce opportunities by focusing on education and bringing vocational training back to secondary schools and high schools. Protecting the constitutional freedoms and civil liberties of constituents in all communities is one of her key goals, along with small business development, protection of the unborn, youth development, tourism, citizenship and naturalization.
Alaniz's endorsements include the California Republican
Party and the Republican Party of Los Angeles County.
Both of the Democratic candidates, Gonzalez and Yi, see the redistricting as advantageous to them.
Mark Gonzalez (D) is assembly district director for legislator Miguel Santiago and is also chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Gonzalez has endorsements from powerful labor and teachers' unions and support from the California Democratic Party. Challenging him for the Democratic vote is John Yi, executive director of Los Angeles Walks, a pedestrian advocacy nonprofit.
Gonzalez, 38, has raised more than $800,000 compared to Yi's $80,000.
A renter in Chinatown, Gonzalez says one of his top priorities is to expand access to affordable quality healthcare for all.
He said he would fight for legislation that addresses the inequality of the education system and ensures that students have access to the best instructors and resources, tackle the lack of affordable housing and rising rents, and find ways to place the homeless in stable housing.
“I am proud of the work I did with Assemblymember (Miguel) Santiago to expand the California College Promise program and make two years of community college
during the city's once-per-decade redistricting process.
The discussion was laced with racist and derogatory comments. After the recording was leaked online, a scandal broke and many demanded de León's resignation but he refused. He has said that a comment he made — intended as a joke about thenCouncil President Nury Martinez, who was at the meeting — was misinterpreted.
Seven candidates are hoping to unseat de León in a council district that represents much of downtown Los Angeles as well as Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, El Sereno and Northeast L.A.
is a former assemblymember and state senator elected to the City Council in 2020. He said more than 2,000additional beds or housing units for the homeless have become available in District 14since he took office. But he said there's more to do, including addressing RV encampments.
On public safety, de León said he's invested in fixing street lights, creating youth programs to keep kids safe and ensuring the police department has the resources it needs.
has represented Assembly District 52since 2017. She recently pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge stemming from an incident in November in which she crashed into two parked cars.
Born in El Salvador, Carrillo believes that if elected she'd be the first formerly undocumented person to serve tuition-free for thousands of students,” he said.
In 2023, he worked in Sacramento to pass a law ensuring that all healthcare workers receive a minimum wage of $25 per hour and he has endorsements from the California Labor Federation and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.
“The 54th Assembly District, as one of the more working-class communities in the state, has been confronting many of the broader problems facing our state for years, including rising homelessness, housing insecurity and skyrocketing cost of living,” Gonzalez said. Noting that the homeless crisis has been “particularly acute” in his district, he says help is underway but “far more needs to be done to get unhoused people into permanent housing — as well as providing the supportive services they need to stay off the streets.”
Gonzalez says what sets him apart from his opponents is his forward-thinking vision and depth of experience as an organizer and public servant.
“As chair of the largest local Democratic Party in the country, and senior staff for both the current and former assembly members representing District 54, I have spent well over a decade leading the charge on some of the most impactful,
on the City Council.
Carrillo cited housing, mental health and public safety as her priorities. She noted that as a legislator, she secured more than $50million to turn L.A. County General Hospital into a housing and mental health facility. She said that as a councilmember she'd employ “robust solutions” and use her connections to bring resources to District 14.
Nadine Diaz: is a geriatric social worker and professor who serves on the city's Council on Aging. She has served on the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council and as a delegate for the L.A. County Democratic Party and the California Democratic Central Committee.
Diaz worked for a time in Skid Row along with a medical team to provide services to the homeless. She supports measures to prevent homelessness and to increase affordable housing. She also wants to reform campaign financing, reduce the influence of money in politics and elections, and expand the city's first-time homebuyer programs.
Genny Guerrero: is a small business owner whose company works with nonprofits. She was a senior field deputy for then-City Councilmember José Huizar from September 2014to September 2015– before his arrest and subsequent sentencing to 13 years in prison for his role in a corrupt pay-to-play scheme. Guerrero has served on a number of community organizations, including the Community Police Advisory Board for the LAPD's Hollenbeck Division. forward-thinking policies in Los Angeles,” he said.
He added that he is committed to “fighting for increased affordable housing, criminal justice reform, fully funded public schools, climate justice and an economy that works for everyone. We've made some significant progress on these fronts — including the passing of California's groundbreaking free community college laws and securing justice for communities poisoned by the toxic contamination at Exide Technologies.”
John Yi (D), is a 38-yearold community organizer born in Koreatown who has fought for policies impacting families, immigrants, public health and the environment. He was also instrumental in helping pass Proposition 56.
Yi promises to tackle the
Guerrero said she'd create jobs and “build the bridges that are missing” so people facing homelessness can get help. Her priorities also include tenant protections and protecting hillsides and green spaces from overdevelopment, and addressing crimes and “quality of life” issues like investing in street lights and park programs for youth.
Teresa Hillery: is an attorney who retired from Fidelity National Financial last year. She's a member of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council and South Park Neighborhood Association and has served on the Los Angeles Congress of Neighborhoods.
Hillery wants to address housing production and protect against gentrification in Northeast L.A. Also important to her are transportation and mobility – including efforts to promote safe walking and bicycling, carpooling and electric vehicles – and support for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Ysabel Jurado: is a tenant rights attorney who said her knowledge as a legal housing expert and her experiences as a teen mom and a “queer, immigrant-raised, working class, woman of color” make her a “battle-tested representative” for the district.
She called for stronger tenant protections and wants to fight climate change through measures like enhancing green spaces, creating tree canopies and community gardens, and creating green jobs to foster a fossil fuel-free future. homeless crisis and create more affordable housing by giving communities more ownership of their land. “We do this through policies like social housing, community land trusts and fixing our state's first-time home buyers' program,” Yi said.
Yi says he differs from Gonzalez in other ways and took a shot at his better known opponent.
“Our campaign reflects the urgency of … our community's (needs) when it comes to issues like displacement and urban climate change,” Yi said. “And unlike our opponent and the political establishment, we do not take money from the very deep-pocketed interest groups that continue to worsen conditions in our district and then claim to fight those very interest groups.”
Yi went on, “They include groups like oil and gas companies, real estate money, anti-union corporate PAC money and insurance money. We practice what we preach and that's the kind of Democrat we need.”
Yi has been endorsed by Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, LAUSD Board President Jackie Goldberg and state Senator Dave Min, District 37.
His platform includes pushing for significantly improved public transit and bus services; welllit sidewalks; and shaded, clean and safe bus and subway stops. Seniors are also a priority for him, along with city planning; civil rights and LGBTQ and immigrant rights; public health and tobacco control.
“We deserve world-class buses and trains and dignified public infrastructure” such as better sidewalks, parks and transit stops, he said. “(And) we need to protect our seniors, some of the most vulnerable in our communities. We need to give them safe neighborhoods and resources to age in place and with dignity.”
Yi agrees with Gonzalez over growing concerns about skyrocketing rents and the consequential displacement of residents, and Yi also wants to take a step further to address unsafe streets and broken infrastructure.
“Nearly half of our sidewalks in L.A. are considered failing,” Yi said. “Three quarters of all of our bus stops have no shade even though our city is sunny. Our sidewalks are notorious for the lack of street trees and shade … and our subway and bus service continues to be unreliable and inconsistent.”
“I believe that all communities want to excel and strive for the best for their future and their families. The redistricting and addition (of new neighborhoods) in AD 54 is positive because more voices that care for our community have been added.” — Elaine Alaniz
“The 54th Assembly District, as one of the more working-class communities in the state, has been confronting many of the broader problems facing our state for years, including rising homelessness, housing insecurity and skyrocketing cost of living. — Mark Gonzalez
“We deserve world-class buses and trains and dignified public infrastructure” such as better sidewalks, parks and transit stops. (And) we need to protect our seniors, some of the most vulnerable in our communities. We need to give them safe neighborhoods and resources to age in place and with dignity.” — John Yi
was elected in 2014to represent Assembly District 54after serving as a community college board member. In Sacramento, he represents parts of downtown Los Angeles, along with East Hollywood, Boyle Heights, Vernon, Commerce and Montebello. To address affordable and homeless housing needs, Santiago proposes “adaptive reuse” projects in which old buildings are repurposed for housing, and building more tiny home villages. He also wants to focus on job creation and addressing income inequality and has called for safe and clean neighborhoods and a city government that's responsive when residents request services like street maintenance or tree trimming.
is a high school science teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. He calls himself “a proud socialist” and an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Vargas proposed using eminent domain to take over empty housing units to permanently house the homeless and residents displaced by rising rents, banning luxury developments to prevent gentrification and repealing a city law that bars homeless encampments in certain “sensitive” areas including near schools, parks or libraries. His other priorities include addressing police brutality and workers' rights.
Writers Olga Grigoryants and Marianne Love contributed to this report.