On election night, Isabel Jurado marched to the Block Party, a hip bar in Highland Park, dressed to impress her supporters.

Hot pink power suit and heels. Fuchsia satin blouse. hoop earrings. Her hair is tied back with a clip. He was smiling as widely as he was in his original comeback race, where he had a double-digit lead over incumbent Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de Leon.

My eyes moved to Jurado’s neck. In an Instagram video from the previous day, she wore a red and silver pendant of Archangel Michael, spread her wings of victory, and held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. She was wearing it again.

In Revelation, Michael and his angelic army drive Satan and his minions out of heaven. I couldn’t think of a better metaphor for the battle for District 14 that ended that night.

De Leon — “that old serpent” in Revelation 12:9 — resigns from his East Side seat over his role in secretly recorded racist conversations For a year and a half, he obstructed the opposition’s demands, sparking a scandal. City in 2022.

Next, Jurado, a first-time candidate from Highland Park, surprised the L.A. political world by coming in first place in the March primary, ahead of De Leon and two other Latinx senators from the East Side. If Tuesday’s results are correct, she will become the city’s first Filipino-American city council member, defeating a Latino politician who has served as a City Council member and state Senate majority leader.

De Leon’s campaign said the primary victory was an anomaly and Jurado dismissed it as a prime-time joke. During the tense debate, the incumbent repeatedly called his challenger a liar and a complainer and publicly theorized that he lied about his coronavirus diagnosis in order to reschedule the debate. His supporters have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on negative mailings and ads painting Jurado as everything from a puppet of outside interests to a usurper who will end nearly four decades of Latino representation in the district. Ta.

In the final two weeks of the campaign, the Los Angeles Police Protective League awarded De Leon $445,000 after Jurado quoted a song with the lyrics “F – Police” in response to a student’s question. donated. The student turned out to be the same way. De Leon’s aides talk about defunding law enforcement agencies.

Archangel Michael is the patron saint of police officers, so I wanted to ask Jurado if her pendant was aimed at her adversaries.

There was no chance. Block party crowds flocked to her.

The 34-year-old single mother hugged everyone in the small bar area as she walked toward the patio, where the applause grew even louder. Volunteers presented her with a white orchid, the official campaign flower, and a bouquet of red roses, the symbol of the Democratic Socialists of America, which supports the campaign.

“More people!” she declared in disbelief.

One of them is Nitya Raman, a member of the council’s Progressive Bloc, which will grow to four members if Jurado maintains his lead.

“You did it!” Raman told Jurado. “I can’t believe it. Now the real work begins.”

Next up was former city councilman Mike Bonin. He and his young black son were the targets of some of the worst attacks on the leaked audio.

“Oh my god,” Bonin exclaimed. “You’re the only bright spot in my night.” At this point, Donald Trump already held a commanding lead over Kamala Harris.

In addition to L.A. Unified Director Rocio Rivas, City Councilor Eunice Hernandez, who wore a warm-up jacket shaped like the Philippine flag, and City Secretary Kenneth Mejia were also in attendance.

Nearby was City Councilor Hugo Sotomartínez, a fellow DSA-LA member from Jurado. On the eve of Trump’s inauguration and the night Republicans took control of the Senate, I asked residents of the 14th District how they felt about their progressive politicians.

Isabel Jurado gives an upbeat speech to supporters at an election night party in Highland Park.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

“This shows that LA has to take the lead and fight hard on how to win in multiracial coalitions on important issues,” Sotomartinez responded. “She was able to talk about issues that Latinos cared about, like housing and wages. And people wanted hope, and she was able to give it.”

While all elected officials were in attendance, there were far more ordinary people like Rose Hills residents Naida Serak and Roxana Stroska. They showed me photos of broken sidewalks in their neighborhoods and elderly people forced to use wheelchairs in bike lanes. They said they invited De Leon and Jurado to a neighborhood meeting, but Jurado was the only one who showed up.

“I felt that if Isabel could do something, she would do it even if she wasn’t in government,” said Serak, 38.

“Kevin did nothing at the time to address our issues,” added Stroska, 53. She mentioned the food giveaway that Ms. de Leon expanded throughout the 14th District after the audio leak. “Instead, he responded to the needs of his constituents to survive.”

Axel Orozco said he knocked on doors in his hometown of Boyle Heights and asked residents what they wanted from their city council members. When safety was paramount, he organized meet-and-greets with Jurado and other local moms at the Wabash Recreation Center.

“They liked her so much that a lot of them said, ‘Even if I can’t vote, I’ll tell my sisters and daughters who can vote to vote for her.'” Orozco, 24, said. So Much of this. My legs may be tired, but my muscles worked hard! ”

Isabel Jurado received flowers from supporters as she arrived at an election night party in Highland Park.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Memphis Perez, a Lincoln Heights resident and business owner, did not vote in the primary. About three months ago, he contacted Jurado’s campaign because the rent on his corner store had increased significantly. He said they connected him to the Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation with an application for a business grant.

“Dude, that’s what made it all for me,” the 44-year-old said. “If Isabel could do that for me, who has no power, imagine what she could do for anyone. Tiendita When she’s at City Hall. ”

Jurado tried to take the podium to address the jubilant crowd, but well-wishers kept pulling her aside to take selfies or just stand in front of her. When we finally arrived, we heard a cry of “Isabelle!” It drowned out her voice, prompting Jurado to do a quick happy dance on the spot.

“My dad dropped me off and he said, ‘Watch your language,'” she began.

The audience laughed. Then she got serious.

Jurado, who speaks without a microphone in a soft but direct voice, said in a prepared speech that his motivation for running was because of the audio leak.

“Once again, my community has been betrayed by its leaders,” she said. This is a reference to the parade of 14th District council members who have brought scandal to the East Side for decades.

“They mocked us and belittled us,” she said of her opponents, adding that they called her “every depraved slander in the book.”

Jurado cited an axiom often repeated by the left. “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were a species.”

“And here we are,” she exclaimed, to a roar of approval. “Unbreakable, unyielding, unapologetic, unyielding, existing and blossoming.

“They’ll say it was just luck or a fluke,” she continued. “I would say we have benefited every step of the journey.”

She acknowledged that her team had knocked on 170,000 doors and shouted, “Honour to my team’s name!”

“We are orchids growing out of concrete,” she concluded. “And no matter how much they stomp on us, we’ll rise up brighter than ever. Come on, let’s all party!”

I pulled Jurado aside for a quick interview and immediately asked him about the Archangel Michael pendant.

“My father gave it to me a few weeks ago,” she replied, adding that it was the patron saint of her father’s hometown in the Philippines. “He and his friends said the St. Michael’s Prayer every night to keep me safe and brave. Things ended up getting tough.”

How did she come out before De Leon? I asked.

“It’s like an extension of the family parties we used to have every week,” she said, gesturing to us, as she grew up in Highland Park.

People were eating a buffet at The Park’s Finest, a delicious Filipino barbecue spot run by a friend of hers. DJs spun timeless remixes from “Stayin’ Alive” to reggaeton.

“That’s why we have music and food,” she said. “All these people are characters in my life, and we know each other and help each other. We’re just growing up now.”

Is she done quoting song lyrics in response to policy questions?

“No! Music is another language and a way of accessing it. Yeah! I don’t think I’ll ever quit.”

She then recited Nicki Minaj’s “Moments 4 Life” in her trademark goofy but charming motherly manner.

Let’s applaud the heavyweight champion, I/But I couldn’t do it alone, we …

Then the ambitious archangel of the East Side took off into her night.