“I got the rizz to win baby,” said Ysabel Jurado, a candidate for Los Angeles City Council District 14 in an interview with Annenberg Media Oct. 30.
That was Jurado’s pitch to young voters as she tries to unseat incumbent Kevin de León in tomorrow’s election.
“We want to talk to youth,” Jurado said. “We want to engage folks into electoral politics. It may not be the end, but it is part of the toolbox for the changes that we need to fight for and at the local level, it’s really where you can grasp it.”
In the interview, Jurado also responded to recent criticism about her response to a question about abolishing the police.
“What’s that rap lyric, f*** the police,” Jurado told college voters at Cal State LA. “That’s how I see them.”
She defended her comments saying it was a reflection of the views of some in her district.
“In order to relate to students, which I think all teachers and also parents know, you try to meet them where they’re at,”Jurado said. “And so I used the rap lyric to start off the conversation, but really led a conversation about a balanced and nuanced view about law enforcement in our communities.”
She said that a part of the conversation on policing should be talking about investing in youth which she claims would prevent future crimes.
“The safest cities in America invest in their communities, youth development programs, city services, recreation and parks, and that’s just not something that we’re doing at the city right now, and it’s fiscally responsible for us to prevent crime before it happens,” Jurado said.
Jurado and de León both advanced out of the March primary, with Jurado garnering 24.5% compared to de León’s 23.4%.
This is the first time voters will see de León’s name on a ballot since a 2022 leaked audio recording where de León was present for a meeting about redistricting where racist comments were made.
“There’s so many circus and distractions, like baggage that comes with him,” Jurado said. “And I’m just excited to get to the work, roll up my sleeves and do the dirty work of like providing city services which is the main part of the job.”
Jurado said she would work to rebuild the trust that she says voters feel has been lost.
“One of the things that we want to do when we begin is going to town halls, going on a listening tour throughout the district, and really meeting voters and constituents where they’re at,” Jurado said. “Whether it’s their library, their school, the garbage place. We want to see how things are happening and where the breakdown is and learning what the problems are.”
She said in office she would bring back city services to the district.
“If you look at our street lighting, a lot of the lighting in the city is out, especially in the 14th,” Jurado said. “In fact, in downtown, nearly half of the lights are out and so bringing back lighting to the community because we know safety has a direct correlation to the lighting on the street, and that affects everyone.”