- Efren Martinez, Democrat, small-business owner.
Martinez is a Marine veteran and has served as the executive director of the Florence-Firestone/Walnut Park Chamber of Commerce. He has credited his struggles with poverty growing up in South L.A. as his motivation for community activism.
If elected, Martinez has vowed to prioritize “community policing” that focuses on prevention and emphasizes positive interactions with law enforcement.
In 2020, Martinez ran against Jones-Sawyer in a tight race, collecting 42% of the vote, in which he enjoyed the support of the California Correctional Peace Officers who opposed the incumbent’s criminal justice reform efforts.
In this election, he has been endorsed by U.S. Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) and Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) as well as Democratic L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
- Sade Elhawary, Democrat, educator and community organizer.
Elhawary helped create the curriculum at the Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has worked for the Community Coalition, an organization dedicated to the racially “exacerbated socioeconomic inequities” in South L.A. that was founded by Mayor Karen Bass. She also worked on Bass’ mayoral campaign in 2022.
She has named universal healthcare, reproductive justice and equity issues such as equal pay and paid family leave as priorities if elected.
In addition to Bass, her endorsements include Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and a list of influential labor unions including the California Teachers Assn.
- Greg Akili, Democrat, nonprofit director.
Akili is a longtime community organizer and co-founder of a labor union for domestic workers. He named restorative justice and the expansion of “good-paying union jobs” as priorities of his campaign.
He has received endorsements from labor leader Dolores Huerta and actor Danny Glover and has vowed to fight for the “working poor” if elected. In 2012, he unsuccessfully ran against Jones-Sawyer.
- Dulce Vasquez, Democrat, neighborhood council member.
Vasquez is an educator, community activist and Mexican immigrant. Ending gun violence, ensuring reproductive freedom and investing in climate change policy are all priorities of her campaign.
She is endorsed by Jones-Sawyer and former L..A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
In 2022, she unsuccessfully ran for the Los Angeles City Council.
- Tara Perry, Democrat, reparations advocate.
Perry is an activist and community organizer. She created Black Pact, an organization dedicated to opposing racism and securing reparations for the descendants of enslaved African Americans.
Her campaign platform includes a commitment to “addressing historical injustices.”
In 2020, she unsuccessfully ran for the Los Angeles City Council.
