Eunisses Hernandez

Eunisses Hernandez (born 1990)[1][2] is an American activist and politician, currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district since 2022.[3] A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Hernandez defeated incumbent councilmember Gil Cedillo in an upset in the 2022 election.[4][5]

Eunisses Hernandez
Member of the Los Angeles City Council
from the 1st district
Assumed office
December 12, 2022
Preceded byGil Cedillo
Personal details
Born1990 (age 32–33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationCalifornia State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Long Beach (BA)

A self-described police and prison abolitionist, Hernandez was endorsed by progressive groups and leaders like City Councilman Mike Bonin and Dolores Huerta, and the Los Angeles Times.[1][6][7] Hernandez declared victory on June 18, 2022, before the final vote tally, which was certified on July 1, 2022.[8] Cedillo conceded the same day.[9]

Early life and career

Hernandez was born in 1990 to Mexican immigrants, Juan and Leticia Hernandez, and grew up in Highland Park, Los Angeles.[6][10] Early in her life, Hernandez thought about becoming a police officer. She attended Franklin High School and later California State University, Los Angeles for one year in 2009, where she majored in civil engineering.[11] During her employment at Universal Studios Hollywood, she graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2013. It was during her time at CSU Long Beach where she "experienced [...] a revelation" after she took a class for criminology and the War on Drugs.[12]

Career
Hernandez giving testimony to the Board of Supervisors in 2020.

Hernandez started her career in 2014 as a policy coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance where she advocated for the passing of Senate Bill 180 and California Proposition 64.[13] In 2018, she moved to JustLeadershipUSA as a campaign coordinator for JusticeLA where she pushed for a halt to a plan to build a new $3.5 million women's jail at the county's Mira Loma facility in Lancaster.[14] In 2019, she was appointed by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to be a community stakeholder for an Alternatives to Incarceration working group.[12]

In 2020, she co-founded La Defensa with Ivette Alé, a women-led organization that supports reducing the number of incarcerated people in Los Angeles County.[12] That same year she co-chaired Measure J, a ballot initiative that would allocate at least 10% of Los Angeles County's funding for community reinvestment and incarceration alternatives.[15] She co-chaired the ballot initiative campaign with future Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and future councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez; the initiative passed with 57.12% of the vote.[16] In 2021, the measure was temporarily blocked by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel, who ruled that Measure J violated California law by infringing on the County Board of Supervisors' authority to set budgets;[17] in 2023, however, the California Court of Appeals reversed this ruling, allowing the measure to take effect.[18]

Los Angeles City Council

On October 8, 2021, Hernandez announced her campaign for Los Angeles City Council District 1 in the 2022 elections.[19] After three other candidates were disqualified, she was the only opponent against incumbent Gil Cedillo.[6] Hernandez was endorsed by multiple progressive groups and leaders, with Council-member Mike Bonin and Dolores Huerta endorsing her in the primary.[1] Hernandez ultimately unseated Cedillo with 53.9% of the vote, avoiding the need for a runoff.[8]

In May 2023, Hernandez was the only member of the Los Angeles City Council to vote against Mayor Karen Bass's first budget. Hernandez cited the $3.2 billion allocated to the LAPD as the motivation for her vote, giving a speech in which she said that "we are celebrating moving pennies around, while we put a quarter of our entire budget into just one department."[20]

In May 2023, Hernandez spoke at a press event to reveal “La Sombrita", a piece of grated metal on a pole intended to provide shade and lighting for bus riders at a bus stop. The bus stop structure was criticized for failing to provide any meaningful shade.[21][22]

Positions on housing

In 2023, she reversed an effort by her predecessor to remove housing height limits in a section of Chinatown.[23] During her campaign for the city council, Hernandez blamed rising housing prices and evictions on new housing developments.[24] She said, "My plan to fight gentrification is to be the biggest barrier I can to luxury and market-rate development."[24]

In 2022, she expressed support for the discretionary permit system in Los Angeles, which gives City Council members discretionary power over land-use decisions, allowing them to veto proposed projects.[25] In 2023, Hernandez took no position on a proposal by Mayor Bass to convert the Mayfair Hotel, a 294-room facility in L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood, into housing for the homeless. Hernandez said, "At this time, we are awaiting additional details regarding the project and its potential outcomes."[26]

In 2023, Hernandez supported a motion in the City Council to prohibit the sale or rental of recreational vehicles for use as housing.[27]

Electoral history
Results by precinct map
2022 Los Angeles City Council District 1 election
Primary election
Candidate Votes  %
Eunisses Hernandez 16,108 53.9
Gil Cedillo (incumbent) 13,700 45.8
Elaine Alaniz (write-in) 80 0.3
Total votes 29,888 100.00

Notes

    References
    1. Zahniser, David (June 14, 2022). "Eunisses Hernandez pulls ahead of Gil Cedillo in tight L.A. Council race". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
    2. CASTAÑEDA, MARIAH (May 19, 2022). "O.G. HIGHLAND PARK'S EUNISSES HERNANDEZ HAS A PLAN TO STOP GENTRIFICATION IN CD 1". L.A. TACO. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
    3. Cagle, Kate [@KateCagle] (June 18, 2022). "INBOX: Progressive challenger Eunisses Hernandez declares victory over incumbent Democrat Gil Cedillo to represent Los Angeles Council District 1. Hernandez is a local community organizer who has been instrumental in pushing the County to build alternatives to incarceration" (Tweet). Retrieved June 18, 2022 – via Twitter.
    4. Sanchez, Jesús (June 14, 2022). "Incumbents Gil Cedillo and Mitch O'Farrell lose ground to challengers". The Eastsider. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
    5. Stein, Jeff (August 5, 2017). "9 questions about the Democratic Socialists of America you were too embarrassed to ask". Vox. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
    6. Regardie, Jon (May 27, 2022). "The Incumbent v. Challenger Battle: Gil Cedillo and Eunisses Hernandez Tangle in a Tense Council Race". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
    7. "Endorsement: Why the L.A. Times endorsed so many newcomers this year". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
    8. Chou, Elizabeth (June 24, 2022). "In June primary, LA City Councilman Gil Cedillo appears to be ousted by newcomer Eunisses Hernandez". Los Angeles Daily News.
    9. "Councilman Gil Cedillo concedes defeat to challenger Eunisses Hernandez". July 1, 2022.
    10. https://councildistrict1.lacity.gov/councilmember-hernandez
    11. "EUNISSES HERNANDEZ". Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles.
    12. French, Piper (March 4, 2022). "Abolitionist Organizer Wants to Fill Los Angeles Power Vacuum". Bolts.
    13. Mai-Duc, Christine. "Law clinics offer 'second chance'". Los Angeles Times.
    14. "JLUSA Statement from Los Angeles Campaign Coordinator, Eunisses Hernandez, on the Historic JusticeLA Victory, as the LA County Board of Supervisors Votes to Stop Construction of a $3.5B Women's Jail". JustLeadershipUSA (Press release). February 13, 2019.
    15. Kelkar, Lyric (March 4, 2021). "What's the Latest on Measure J? A Conversation with Eunisses Hernandez". Inclusive Action for the City.
    16. Guerin, Emily (November 5, 2020). "Measure J Appears To Pass As Part Of LA County's Criminal Justice Reform Wave". LAist.
    17. Elizabeth Marcellino, LA County commits to community investment – to match Measure J, which court put on hold, Los Angeles Daily News (August 10, 2021).
    18. Jaclyn Cosgrove, Measure J, L.A. County's 2020 criminal justice reform measure, is constitutional, appellate court finds, Los Angeles Times (July 30, 2023).
    19. "Eunisses Hernandez Launches Campaign for LA City Council". Tamarindo Podcast. October 8, 2021.
    20. "L.A. Council approves Bass' $13-billion budget, greenlighting plan to hire 1,000 cops". Los Angeles Times. 2023.
    21. Univision (2023). "'La Sombrita', el proyecto piloto que suscita polémica entre usuarios de autobuses en Los Ángeles, ¿por qué?". Univision (in Spanish).
    22. "What L.A.'s Pilot "La Sombrita" Shade/Light Structure Does and Doesn't Do". Streetsblog Los Angeles. 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
    23. "L.A. adopts strategies for bringing 135,000 new homes to downtown and Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. 2023.
    24. "Rising rents and police abolition roil an Eastside race for L.A. City Council". Los Angeles Times. 2022.
    25. "Fixing City Hall survey: Who supports reducing council members' power over land-use decisions?". Los Angeles Times. 2022-11-02.
    26. "Bass wants to use the Mayfair Hotel to fight homelessness. The cost? $83 million". Los Angeles Times. 2023-07-28.
    27. "LA Council approves motion to ban sale or rental of RVs for housing". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2023-08-30.
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