Adrin Nazarian secured a win on Tuesday in the race to represent sections of the San Fernando Valley on the Los Angeles City Council, while Heather Hutt successfully retained the seat she was appointed to last year.
Meanwhile, Ysabel Jurado’s victory over incumbent Kevin de León, representing parts of downtown and the Eastside, has led to a historic shift: the City Council will now have a female majority for the first time.
Hutt expressed gratitude to her supporters in an email on Tuesday, thanking them for helping her secure a full term representing District 10, which spans from Koreatown to the Crenshaw corridor.
Initially appointed to the council in 2022 after Mark Ridley-Thomas faced federal corruption charges, Hutt, 65, has made history as the first woman and Black woman elected to this seat. When she, along with other new members, takes office on December 9, women will occupy eight out of the 15 council seats.
“We felt good with seven [women councilmembers] — eight makes it great,” Hutt remarked in an interview. She identified her top priorities for the upcoming four-year term as addressing homelessness, improving public safety, and cleaning up the city’s streets and sidewalks.
According to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Hutt led the District 10 race with 63% of the vote as of Monday night. With few ballots left to count, her opponent, Grace Yoo, is unlikely to close the gap.
Hutt’s campaign was bolstered by support from Mayor Karen Bass, alongside endorsements from both business leaders and labor unions. She has been a vocal advocate for Healthy Streets L.A., a voter-approved measure requiring the city to expand bus and bike lanes.
Yoo, an estate planning attorney and long-standing critic of City Hall, had previously raised nearly $500,000 during both the primary and general elections—slightly surpassing Hutt’s fundraising efforts. This marked Yoo’s third bid for the District 10 seat, having lost to Herb Wesson in 2015 and to Ridley-Thomas in 2020, who is currently appealing his federal conviction.
District 10 encompasses neighborhoods such as Mid-City, Little Ethiopia, Leimert Park, La Cienega Heights, Baldwin Hills, Jefferson Park, Koreatown, and South Robertson.
In the San Fernando Valley, former state Assembly member Adrin Nazarian is set to succeed outgoing Councilmember Paul Krekorian. As of Monday night, Nazarian held 54% of the vote, leading Jillian Burgos, a small business owner and NoHo Neighborhood Council member, by nearly 10 percentage points.
Nazarian, who previously served as an aide to Krekorian, expressed exhaustion but remained in “great spirits” when speaking on Tuesday. Despite raising over $1 million during his campaign—far more than Burgos—he secured endorsements from key business groups, labor unions, and Mayor Bass.
Burgos, backed by left-leaning organizations, including the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, had hoped to expand the influence of the council’s progressive bloc. This group, currently represented by Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, will soon include Jurado, the new District 14 representative.
Neither Burgos nor Yoo responded to requests for comment.
Looking ahead, Nazarian, 51, said he plans to prioritize tackling homelessness in District 2, which covers areas such as North Hollywood, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Valley Village. Reflecting on his campaign, he noted a growing “sense of insecurity” among residents, many of whom shared concerns about feeling unsafe on the streets due to issues like open drug use.
