Political Round: Imelda Padilla, a victory announced

The victory at the polls of Imelda Padilla in the special election to elect the councilwoman for the 6th district of the Los Angeles Council, was already coming.

What made Imelda win? There is no doubt that the community will identified and believed in it. And as Gliceria, Imelda's mother, told us, she knows the district and they know her.

Marisa Salazar, the losing candidate, would have been an ideal fit for the 9th district in south-central Los Angeles, where she has worked for a long time, and he has the connections it takes to win a race. The problem is that she does not live in the south-central but in the San Fernando Valley. And a lot of people didn't know her in this district until now that she launched herself for a seat on the Angelino Council.

In addition to accusations of fraud, perjury and conflict of interest against his boss, Councilor Curren Price put an end to his electoral dream. This despite the money injected into his campaign by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

And it seems that it is not important, but something that also made a difference was Spanish. A Latina community leader who lives in Panorama City, he made it very clear to us that he supported Imelda because he could communicate with her in Spanish, and Marisa, not. And like her, so many think.

So candidates who are planning to run for majority Latino districts, please take the time to take Spanish classes. That can make the difference between voters, when it comes to voting, and even more so if they come from Latino descent.

Suffers setback

Former Councilor Mark Ridley-Thomas had a rough day, on Friday, June 30, when a federal judge denied his request for a new trial or to dismiss the public corruption charges for which he was convicted in March, and is awaiting sentencing.

The judge said that there is sufficient evidence in relation to the accusations of conspiracy, bribery, fraud and others. Everything indicates that the godfather of several prominent Los Angeles politicians will not be able to escape going to prison for a few years. What we must recognize is that his faithful followers have given him great support at all stages of his process, and have never left him alone in the midst of his misfortune. It's a loyalty to be admired.

New Speaker of the Assembly

Hollister Assemblyman Robert Rivas, grandson of farmworkers and Mexican immigrants, is the new speaker of the California Assembly to replace Anthony Rendon, elected to the position in 2015.

Rendon leaves the presidency peppered with comments about possible ethical issues. In early 2021, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported that nonprofit organizations associated with Rendon's wife, Annie Lam, received more than $500,000 in donations and sponsorships from more than a dozen companies that had commercial interests at stake with the legislature.

And this year, the Los Angeles Times reported that the wife received an unusually large income of $600,000 in 2022 from her work as a consultant to many organizations doing business before the legislature.

There should be a law that prohibits family members of elected officials from doing business with companies that have interests at stake in the legislature, councils or municipal administrations. We do not want to see more politicians fall for corruption. There are already many!

Well, we must say that there is a lot of tolerance for those who submit to the orientations of the political establishment as long as the FBI or some local prosecutor doesn't show their noses.