Ysabel Jurado

Ysabel Jurado
Official portrait, 2025
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 9, 2024
Preceded byKevin de León
Personal details
Born
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA, JD)

Ysabel J. Jurado is an American politician who is the member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 14th district. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Jurado defeated incumbent Kevin de León the 2024 general election, becoming the first person of Filipino descent elected to the City Council. Her victory was largely attributed to de León's role in the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal.[1]

Early life and education

Jurado was born and raised in Highland Park, Los Angeles, to Carlo Jurado, a DJ, and Jocelyn Jurado. Both of her parents were undocumented.[2] She has one brother, Raphael. Her grandmother, Irene Jurado, was a lawyer in Iligan, Philippines, serving as lead counsel for The Evening Post. At age 17, Jurado became a mother and co-parented with her aunt while working. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Juris Doctor.[3] She then pursued a career as a housing rights attorney, where she focused on defending workers facing wage theft and representing tenants in eviction cases.[4]

Political career

In 2023, Jurado launched her campaign for Los Angeles City Council in the 2024 election, targeting the seat held by Kevin de León, inspired by the elections of Nithya Raman, Eunisses Hernandez, and Hugo Soto-Martinez. De León had faced significant public backlash due to his involvement in a 2022 political scandal, where he, along with council members Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo, was recorded making racist and disparaging remarks.[5] In the 2024 primary election, Jurado led de León and California State Assemblymembers Wendy Carrillo and Miguel Santiago.[6][7][8] In the runoff election, Jurado led de León in early returns and declared victory days later.[9][10]

Jurado's deputy for economic innovation and community growth, Luz Aguilar, was arrested on June 8, 2025 during a protest against ICE activity in Downtown Los Angeles, on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. Jurado described the allegations as “deeply concerning” and placed Aguilar on unpaid leave.[11]

In 2025, Jurado voted in opposition to Senate Bill 79 which allows six-story buildings near light rail stations and rapid bus stops across California.[12] She also voted against a City Council proposal to place a measure on the ballot that would exempt new apartment constructions from the city's Measure ULA real estate transfer tax ("mansion tax"). Jurado defended the tax as a vital funding stream for tenant protections and affordable housing subsidies, opposing the modifications despite empirical academic studies from institutions like UCLA indicating that the tax's flat threshold suppressed multifamily property sales and disincentivized new housing permits across the city.[13]

In 2026, Jurado's governance was characterized as "political malpractice" by her predecessor and others after mismanagement and budget issues threatened the loss of $100 million in State funding for public infrastructure projects in her district.[14]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Jackie Goldberg
Year Office Party Primary General Result Swing Ref.
Total % P. Total % P.
2024 Los Angeles City Council 14th Nonpartisan 8,618 24.52% 1st 46,007 57.17% 1st Won N/A

References

  1. ↑ "Challenger Ysabel Jurado maintains lead over Los Angeles Councilman Kevin de León in District 14". KABC-TV. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Councilmember Jurado".
  3. ↑ Dela Cruz, Prosy Abarquez (November 21, 2024). "Ysabel Jurado: A daughter of the community achieves victory to represent LA's Council District 14". Asian Journal News.
  4. ↑ Steinman, Sharla (October 8, 2023). "Double Bruin Ysabel Jurado runs for LA City Council 'to represent my community'". Daily Bruin.
  5. ↑ Stoltze, Frank (October 15, 2024). "Who is Ysabel Jurado? Progressive candidate battles incumbent for eastside LA council seat". LAist.
  6. ↑ Arellano, Gustavo (March 20, 2024). "Column: Ysabel Jurado made history in the primary. Can she do it against Kevin de León?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ Tat, Linh (April 24, 2024). "How two grassroots LA City Council candidates got on the November ballot". Los Angeles Daily News.
  8. ↑ Zahniser, David (March 12, 2024). "Tenant rights lawyer Ysabel Jurado will face Councilmember Kevin de León in runoff". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ "Ysabel Jurado declares victory over incumbent Kevin de León in LA City Council race". ABC7. November 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ Zahniser, David; Smith, Dakota (November 7, 2024). "With Jurado victory, L.A.'s audio leak scandal takes down another Latino politician". Los Angeles Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Zahniser, David; Jany, Libor (June 9, 2025). "L.A. City Council aide put on unpaid leave following arrest at anti‑ICE protest". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ↑ Wagner, David (August 20, 2025). "Why the LA City Council narrowly voted to oppose state bill allowing more housing near public transit". LAist.
  13. ↑ Schrank, Aaron (June 18, 2025). "In about-face, LA council votes to pursue a ballot measure for 'mansion tax' reforms". LAist.
  14. ↑ X; Email (June 19, 2026). "L.A. poised to lose $100 million in state grants to fund transportation projects". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 20, 2026. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.