good morning and Welcome to LA on record — City Hall Newsletter. Directed by Dakota Smith with assistance from Julia Wick.

Distrust of Los Angeles City Hall was a major theme in the June 27 special election to fill the previous office as City Council Speaker Nouri Martinez even in front of city council members Current price He was indicted on 10 criminal charges this week.

The question, then, is how badly the allegations against Price will affect his deputy chief of staff’s campaign. Marisa Alcaraz, one of two candidates running for the San Fernando Valley seat special election this month. Price has publicly endorsed her campaign, and the two have gone hand in hand since she defended many of his biggest policy initiatives.

the price is billed on tuesday There were embezzlement, perjury and conflicts of interest related to development projects and medical benefits my wife received from the city.

price spokesperson Angelina Valencia-Dumaro The city councilman said he was looking forward to defending himself and was “a long-time public servant who has given his life to the City of Los Angeles.”

Wednesday, Alcaraz and Opponents Imelda Padilla At a candidate forum hosted by the Van Nuys District Council, questions were asked about the charges against Price and the larger issue of voter confidence.

Padilla said another city council member was “in the limelight with corruption” and wondered “what was the team around them doing to curb the outbreak?” .

Alcaraz told the audience that he was “very sad” about the charges. She said she found out on Tuesday at the same time everyone else found out. “We have to let the judicial system do it,” she said, echoing the city council president’s comments. Paul Krekorian.

Alcaraz began working for Price in 2013, first as policy director and later as chief of staff. She used a photo of her standing next to Price in campaign materials and last month sent mail to a fundraiser hosted by a city council member.

By Thursday, she removed Price’s name from the campaign website’s list of supporters.

Meanwhile, Padilla’s campaign sent a text message to voters in the Sixth District on Thursday with a screenshot of a Times headline about Price’s accusation.

“We must stop Marisa Alcaraz and vote against bringing corruption to the Valley,” Padilla’s campaign wrote.

With just two weeks to go until the election and many district voters have already cast their ballots, the impact of the charges against Price may not be as great, public relations consultants said. Helen Sancheznot involved in elections.

As of Friday, 6,947 mail-in ballots had been returned in the election, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office.

At the same time, “This is definitely a blow for Alcaraz. It kills the enthusiasm for her campaign,” Sanchez said.

Alcaraz and community activist Padilla were among the top two vote-getters vying for a seat in District 6 in April’s primary election. This district includes all or part of Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Aleta, North Hills, North Hollywood, and Sun Valley.

Earlier this week, the campaign had swayed as both candidates tried to smear each other over their ties to various elected officials.

Padilla features Mr. Price, who was briefly named in an FBI search warrant related to a former city council member’s corruption case. Jose Wizar, Among the postmen attacking Alcaraz. In that case no fee was charged.

This postman linked Alcaraz with a former city councilor Richard Alarcon. At one point, Alcaraz worked for the San Fernando Valley City Councilman, who was later convicted. suspected voter fraud. However, the Court of Appeal reversed the decision.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, has attacked Padilla over his relationship with Martinez, who resigned last year following outrage over racist and divisive remarks contained in leaked audio tapes. In one email, Alcaraz said Padilla “Backed by Nuri Martinez’s Political Machinery‘ while another mailer pointed out: Padiya worked under Martinez years ago.

Padiya is backed by members of the House of Representatives. Tony Cardenas (D-Pacoima) sided with Martinez on points.However, Cardenas soon Call on Martinez to resign After last year’s leak.

Usually in elections where two candidates have similar political views, as is the case with Padilla and Alcaraz, the attacks are more personal because the candidates cannot go after each other over their policy differences. tend to become

“I know this campaign has gotten really dirty,” Padilla said on Wednesday’s forum. “And it will probably get worse in the next two weeks.”

state of play

— A nasty poll awaits: City councilors are also considering a third suspend vote in three years following Price’s accusations. But this time, they’re taking a significantly slower approach to that decision.

Mr. Krekorian initiated the suspension of Mr. Price on Wednesday, but colleagues said Mr. Price should first answer the allegations. Krekorian said city council members should also listen to residents of Price’s South Los Angeles district and carefully consider the “real-world impact” of Price’s voter suspension before voting. Stated.

— New Number 2: After Price resigned from his leadership and committee positions, Krekorian moved to serve on the city council. marquise harris dawson The organization’s new interim chairman will serve to put Harris Dawson in a strong position to ultimately succeed him as chairman of the council.

— Further price analysis: Loyola Law School Jessica Levinson and Dakota Smith of The Times discuss the Price allegations and the role of the city’s ethics committee. KCRW.

— “very confusing”: Scott Frazier will also be in the cast. Skepticism about the Price scandal on his blog. “These are substantially different from other charges we have seen in recent years.”

— Immigration Bus: Mayor Karen Bass On Wednesday, 42 immigrants arrived at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on a bus sent by the governor. Greg Abbott of Texas. Bass said in her statement that the city of Los Angeles was ready to welcome them, and that she and city officials have been committed since immediately after her inauguration “if Los Angeles becomes involved in the despicable behavior favored by Republican governors.” I was planning for it,” he said. office.

— Is it a nice bargain? The City of Los Angeles moved homeless people to motels that had previously been declared a “public nuisance” and had criminal activity. LA Taco Report.

— Homeless updates: Bass provided a six-month update on progress in fighting homelessness during his administration, and provided new numbers on Inside Safe and other initiatives.

– Guest list: Several interesting power brokers, including the Disney CEO, were invited to Bass’ first State of the Union address in late April, according to a recently returned public records request. Bob Iger, East West Bank CEO Dominic Ng, dodgers president Stan KastenWarner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and co-founder of Snapchat Evan Spiegel. (According to the list provided, Zaslav, Spiegel, and Kasten all declined, but Ng and Eiger did not.)

— Rebuild the Council? Those who followed the local governance reform effort closely probably noticed a small group of eminent scholars quietly working on an independent report.of LA Governance Reform Project (led) Ange Marie Hancock, Gary Segura, Raphael Sonnenschein, Sarah Sadwani, Boris Ricks and Fernando Guerra) issued preliminary recommendations on Thursday. Scholars advocate increasing the size of the council from 15 to 25 to include 21 members elected by district and four general members.

The city council’s own Task Force on Urban Governance Reform will hold its final meeting this week before the July recess and will meet again in August.

quick hit

• where is the safe? Bass’ signature effort to move people off the streets was first implemented in the San Fernando Valley Northwest District, which is headed by a city council member. John Lee. The 20th operation since Bass took office took place in Chatsworth.
• Record for next week: The council is scheduled to vote on the role of Harris Dawson’s presidential candidate on Tuesday. Price’s suspension will be considered by the Committee on Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations on Friday.