Voters in seven Los Angeles City Council districts went to the polls Tuesday to decide who wins outright and who advances to the second round in a series of races that could reshape City Hall.

Thirty-one candidates entered the contest to determine the future of the city's fight against homelessness, its approach to police and public safety, and especially its continued efforts to make housing more affordable for the city's renters. It would be helpful.

Six of the seven races will feature incumbent members seeking four-year terms.

On the east side, City Councilman Kevin de Leon is hoping to fend off seven challengers, including state Reps. Miguel Santiago and Wendy Carrillo (both Democrats) and tenant rights attorney Isabel Jurado. I was thinking.

De Leon, a former state lawmaker, is trying to make a comeback after being at the center of a scandal for secretly recording conversations with former colleagues that included racist and derogatory remarks. Since then, he has repeatedly apologized for his own role in the conversation, which took place in October 2021.

Meanwhile, in the northwest San Fernando Valley, City Councilman John Lee was facing off against nonprofit leader Selena Oberstein. The race focused on ethical issues as it approached its final day.

Mr. Oberstein spent much of his campaign highlighting the ongoing Ethics Commission case against Mr. Lee, which involved Mr. Lee's reporting of gifts provided to city politicians. The main focus is on suspicions that there was a violation of laws regulating the receipt of such documents. Lee criticized Oberstein over a 2019 court case over Oberstein's eligibility to run for city council, but a judge found Oberstein was legally barred from running. The trial ended.

In a district that straddles the Hollywood Hills, City Councilor Nitya Raman was trying to fend off a challenge from Deputy City Manager Atty. Ethan Weaver and software engineer Levon “Lev” Baronian. Raman was running in a much different race than the one that elected her in 2020.

In South Los Angeles, City Councilman Marquise Harris Dawson has garnered significant support in his bid to run for a third and final four-year term. His rivals in the race are real estate broker Jahan Epps and union leader Cliff Smith.

Meanwhile, in the San Fernando Valley, City Councilwoman Imelda Padilla is dating real estate broker Ely de la Cruz Ayao and respiratory care practitioner Carmenlina Minasova, who is also running for state representative. became the big favorite in the battle. Padilla won a special election last summer to replace former Council President Nuri Martinez and is seeking her first four-year term.

City Councilwoman Heather Hutt, who has been in office since 2022, was running for her first four-year term in a district that stretches from Koreatown to Crenshaw.

The four candidates are state Rep. Reggie Jones-Sawyer, attorney Grace Yu, former city commissioner Orla Vasquez, and community organizer Rev. Eddie Anderson, along with former City Council member Mark Ridley Thomas. The aim was to unseat Hutt, who was first appointed to the seat several months after the election. He was indicted in a federal corruption case.

The only race without an incumbent is in the East San Fernando Valley, where seven candidates have come forward to fill the seat vacated this year by City Council President Paul Krekorian, who was first elected in 2009. Raised.

Former state Rep. Adlin Nazarian, a former Krekorian aide, was in contention with several others, including housing advocate Manny Gonez, small business owner Jillian Burgos, and Commissioner Sam Kubuchan. .