Candidates for Los Angeles City Council District 6 face off in debate hosted by homeless nonprofit
Candidates running to replace Nury Martinez's city council seat in District 6 squared off in a debate hosted by Hope the Mission.
NORTH HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Six of the seven candidates running to replace Nury Martinez on the Los Angeles City Council squared off in a debate hosted by the homeless nonprofit organization Hope the Mission in North Hills.
"We are so thankful to be able to host this so we can be able to give that opportunity, so the community at large can learn about the candidates," said Hope the Mission CEO Ken Craft.
The candidates are running for the District 6 seat. Nury Martinez resigned the seat in October amid controversy over a leaked audio recording of her making racist comments.
"Everyone up here is running to replace a member of the city council and bring with them new ideas and new leadership," said candidate Marisa Alcaraz.
The debate was centered around the homeless crisis. Candidates were asked about different issues and discussed how they would take action if they were elected.
"Something is broken within the system. And I'm going to bring my approach of being outcomes-driven to really make sure we start to see a change within this crisis," said candidate Imelda Padilla.
"We want accountability and we need folks to understand this is a priority and we cannot let this continue to be kicked down the road," said candidate Marco Santana.
Council District 6 covers part of the northern San Fernando Valley. Many of the candidates believe housing for the homeless is a major concern there and needs to be addressed.
"We need to build more or figure out how to house these folks," said candidate Isaac Kim.
"It starts with shelters, but that's not enough. We need to make sure that the funnel from shelters to temporary housing to semi-permanent residence, is active," said candidate Douglas Sierra.
"Making sure the services accommodate their needs on their path to housing is what I'm going to do when I'm in office," said candidate Antoinette Scully.
Mail ballots for the special election go out on March 6 and election day is April 4. For more information on the candidates, go to lavote.org.
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