Five candidates vying to represent the Los Angeles City Council’s 14th Distrcit squared off in a lively debate at The Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.
The battle to represent the Eastside district, which includes the University campus, is one of the more closely watched L.A. City Council races in the March 3 primary.
The candidates who participated in the debate were Mario Chavez, activist and union organizer; Nadine Momoyo Diaz, social worker, researcher and health advocate; incumbent Councilmember Jose Huizar, and former Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina.
The Feb. 18 debate was held in the University-Student Union Theatre and streamed live on ABC7.com.The event was co-sponsored by Cal State L.A., the Pat Brown Institute, the League of Women Voters and ABC TV.
They candidates discussed issues including using grand juries to investigate police officers, stopping the proliferation of billboards in the district and holding the city’s Department of Water and Power more accountable to taxpayers. At times, the candidates exchanged heated remarks.
ABC7 Eyewitness News co-anchor Marc Brown moderated the debate. The candidates were questioned by Anita Q. Gabrielian, board member of the Pat Brown Institute, reporter Carlos Granda of ABC-TV, and Ann Rushton of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles.
Cal State L.A. Honors College students Monserrat Ramirez and Joanna Tien also questioned the candidates about providing help for homeless people and improving constituent services.
The Pat Brown Institute is named after former California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, who held office from 1959 to 1967. The institute is a nonpartisan center for applied public policy research, community education, student internship opportunity, and youth violence abatement. Located on the Cal State L.A. campus since 1987, the Pat Brown Institute has developed a series of distinguished programs to carry out the mission of the University and create more inclusive and empowered communities in Southern California.
