Isabel Jurado made waves in East Los Angeles last spring when she came in first in a five-way primary for a City Council seat representing an area stretching from downtown to Eagle Rock.

The 34-year-old tenants' rights lawyer is a first-time candidate but defeated politically tarnished incumbent Kevin de Leon, a former state Senate president.

But de Leon, 57, has made it clear he intends to fight for every vote, taking part in at least four in-person debates between the candidates in the final months before the Nov. 5 election.

Residents got a taste of just how tough the competition will be on Wednesday when de Leon and Jurado traded insults and verbal abuse during a 90-minute forum co-hosted by the Lincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce.

Jurado, a Highland Park resident, blasted de Leon for taking part in secretly recorded conversations in which he made racist and derogatory remarks. In the wake of the scandal, she argued he has governed in isolation and failed to effectively represent his district.

Jurado told the audience that De Leon should have stepped down in 2022 after many political leaders, including President Biden, called on him to step down.

“You have to put your ego aside to serve your community, that's what my Jesuit education taught me,” she said. “When people ask you to step aside, do so.”

Mr. De Leon, meanwhile, described Mr. Jurado as a political extremist and said he was working with activists who want to “defund” or abolish the LAPD. Mr. De Leon defended his own record, pointing to his work on public safety, transportation and efforts to move homeless people indoors.

Since De Leon took office in 2020, the city has opened “tiny home villages” for homeless residents in Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Boyle Heights. Shelters and other temporary housing facilities have been built in De Leon's district, including downtown and El Sereno.

“There were 50 RVs on Valley Boulevard, right across from Lincoln Park. What did we do? We found housing for those people and we removed all the RVs off the street,” he told the crowd at Sacred Heart Auditorium. “That's the real work. That's the real accomplishment.”

Three city council seats in the San Fernando Valley and South Los Angeles are up for grabs on Nov. 5. The De Leon Jurado race is sure to be the most hotly contested of the three.

Jurado stood before a crowd of about 300 and slammed De Leon for missing nearly two months of City Council meetings in 2022, shortly after the audio leak incident. De Leon countered that his safety was at serious risk as protesters shut down City Council meetings, demonstrated outside his Eagle Rock home and confronted De Leon at community events.

Council President Nuri Martinez, another politician featured in the leaked audio, resigned that year. By contrast, de Leon has steadily returned to public life, returning to council meetings, regaining committee assignments and securing the support of his colleagues for policy proposals.

Jurado has criticized De Leon's attempt to make a comeback, saying his district has seen many renters evicted, many street lights out and many businesses struggling. He has also disparaged De Leon's approach to homelessness, calling the small homes in his district “shacks.”

She touted support from heavyweights like the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the County Labor Federation, and she pointed to endorsements from Councilmen Hugo Soto Martinez and Eunises Hernandez, who occupy the left end of the legislative political spectrum.

Jurado used his list of supporters to argue that de Leon no longer had any meaningful allies.

“They can't work with you,” she said. “So your partners in the Legislature and the county, and even your former colleagues, [colleagues] We don’t support you in the state senate.”

De Leon disputed those allegations, saying he has worked well with colleagues both locally and in Sacramento, and cited his list of supporters.

The union representing the construction industry has endorsed de Leon's campaign, as has the Avance Democratic Club, which recently praised him for his “unwavering commitment to improving the quality of life for all.”

“Kevin de Leon has more consistently than any other elected official over the past 20 years championed issues important to the Latino community, from affordable housing to economic opportunity to environmental justice,” said club president Nilsa Serrano, who attended Wednesday's debate.

De Leon, meanwhile, called Jurado's comments about tiny houses “insulting,” saying the structures provide homeless residents with air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter and access to toilets year-round.

De Leon said the tiny homes also have locks, giving homeless women a level of protection against rape and assault that tents don't offer.

“So they're not just sheds,” he said. “They're a lifeline to people who are suffering.”

Pointing to the 232-bed Hilda L. Solis Care First Village, built from used shipping containers, Jurado said he would build a facility that would give homeless Angelenos “dignity,” and boasted the support of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, the East Side politician who started the project.

De Leon responded by attacking Solis' record and claiming the county's Department of Mental Health has “failed miserably” in responding to mentally ill Angelenos, who have been seen “running naked” and “yelling at the top of their lungs” on Los Angeles sidewalks.

“Every day, people die in our city, whether it's from crystal meth addiction or fentanyl addiction,” he said. “Certainly there's conflict, certainly there's conflict with the county, because I strongly believe the county is not doing what it should be doing.”

De Leon spoke favorably about the Solis Marine Container project, noting that the city is putting money into services at the facility. This year alone, the city allocated $5.2 million for those services, said City Administrator Matt Sabo, senior budget analyst.

The day after the debate, Solis fired back with his own criticism of de Leon, posting on Instagram that his office was working to help homeless people on Skid Row and other parts of his district “without the support of the congressman.”

“Rep. Kevin de Leon has once again demonstrated his incompetence and inability to take responsibility for his failed policies,” she said.