With the presidential election looming, many Angelenos are excited to vote, but some haven’t thought about the important races happening down the ballot – their local elections.
According to Pew Research, about 66% of Americans voted in the last presidential election, but a 2015 Carnegie study found that only 15% voted in municipal elections. This year, Los Angeles residents will vote to elect new members to the City Council, the school board and the District Attorney’s office.
Frank Zerunyan, mayor of Rolling Hills Estates and a professor of the practice of governance at USC, said local elections can have a large impact because they aren’t as divisive as the presidential race.
“Our federal and state politics have become too polarized,” Zerunyan said. “Tomorrow, half of the nation is going to be unhappy. That’s a lot… I believe that that the last hope for democracy is really at the local level.”
While the District Attorney’s race polling leans heavily in Nathan Hochman’s favor according to a poll conducted by USC researchers, 30% of voters are still undecided, and many other local races remain competitive.
The seats for Districts 2, 10 and 14 on the L.A. City Council will also be on voters’ ballots this year. Jillian Burgos and Adrin Nazarian are running in District 2, which covers North Hollywood, Studio City and Sun Valley. Incumbent Heather Hutt and Grace Yoo are running in District 10, which covers Arlington Heights, Koreatown and Mid-City. Incumbent Kevin de León and Ysabel J. Jurado are running in District 14, which covers Downtown, Boyle Heights and Eagle Rock.
De León is running for reelection despite calls for his resignation after a leaked audio recording revealed the councilmember engaging in racist remarks during a meeting.
The L.A. City Council, consisting of 15 members, serves a central role in shaping the city’s policies and regulations and addressing issues that are most important to many voters. The City Council is responsible for setting the budget for the police department, creating housing development and supporting transportation methods. Councilmember Curren D. Price of District 9, where USC’s campus is located, is not up for reelection.
“[Voters] should look for upright people, people that are not sold out to any particular narratives, people that have an independence of mind – and they can make decisions to serve that,” Zerunyan said.
Zerunyan says that while local governance in big cities like Los Angeles does play into the political polarization prevalent in national elections, local politicians’ policies can connect better with what their constituents need.
“Most of our responsibility as councilmembers, to be honest, is to really serve the constituency that we represent, meaning that we actually fix things or provide things that are needed in the community: pruning trees, fixing potholes, making sure the roads are safe, putting stop signs where they’re needed,” Zerunyan said. “I have much more impact if you were to live in my city, in your daily life, than the president of the United States does.”
The ballot will also include three races for the L.A. Unified School District board: Districts 1, 3 and 5. Kahllid Al-Alim and Sherlett Hendy Newbill are running in District 1, incumbent Scott Mark Schmerelson and Dan Chang are running in District 3 and Karla Griego and Graciela Ortiz are running in District 5.
The L.A. Unified School District board is responsible for the nation’s second-largest school district, serving over 538,000 students. With more than 74,000 educators, administrators and support staff, the district also ranks as the second-largest employer in the county, according to LAist. The school district is responsible for an $18 billion budget and directly runs Los Angeles schools.
Julie Marsh, a professor of education policy at USC, said endorsements and incumbency are important factors in voters’ decisions in school board races. In the primary, incumbents Tanya Ortiz Franklin and Scott Mark Schmerelson won more than 55% and 44% of the total vote in their respective races. Marsh encouraged voters to educate themselves on the school board races and each candidate’s policies.
“If you’re concerned about our democracy, if you’re concerned about the polarization that’s occurring across the country, if you’re concerned about some of these big issues in society, one of the solutions is our education system,” Marsh said.
According to Marsh, some of the major issues for LAUSD include school safety, chronic absenteeism, funding and the authorization of charter schools.
Given its size and influence, LAUSD is home to some of the most expensive school board elections in the country. According to the LA School Report, more than $14.5 million was spent on school board campaigns, the most in United States history.
“Even if you don’t have kids in schools or work in schools, what occurs in schools matters for our society and for our democracy,” Marsh said. “You must get involved, and you must pay attention to school board elections. They’re super consequential for the future of our country.”
The District Attorney, City Council and school board races on the ballot this year will decide the future of many of the key issues in Los Angeles. Zerunyan said focusing on local elections gives citizens the opportunity to influence the policies directly impacting their community.
“Policy is thoughtful and is tested out from different perspectives. I think at the local level, we get to do that,” Zerunyan said. “We get to hear from our constituents. We are the closest to them.”