What's Next, Los Angeles? with Mike Bonin

SARA HERNANDEZ: Candidate for State Senate District 26

Sara Hernandez, an attorney, educator, and member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees, is running for State Senate District 26, ans she joins me on this episode of What's Next, Los Angeles. District 26, currently represented by Maria Elena Durazo, is a dense, urban district centered in Los Angeles, including Downtown LA, Boyle Heights, Echo Park, and surrounding neighborhoods. It’s home to largely Latino and immigrant communities, with a mix of working-class families and renters, and it sits at the center of many of the city’s biggest challenges — from housing affordability and homelessness to economic inequality and access to public services. Hernandez has spent her career working at the intersection of education, housing, and public policy. She began as a middle school teacher in LAUSD, where she founded the nonprofit Helping Young People Excel, or HYPE, to support low-income students through high school and into college. Her work with students facing homelessness, food insecurity, immigration challenges, and barriers to opportunity led her to pursue a career in law and public service. After earning her law degree, Hernandez worked in Los Angeles City Hall, helping lead community revitalization efforts through investments in housing, transportation, infrastructure, and economic development. She now practices as a housing and environmental attorney and has done extensive pro bono work representing immigrants in asylum proceedings and assisting students navigating the DACA process. In 2022, she was elected to the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees, where she has focused on expanding access to education, increasing enrollment, connecting students to housing resources, and growing apprenticeship programs in the building trades. Hernandez is also active in grassroots organizing, including founding DTLA Strong, a community group that helped significantly increase voter turnout in downtown Los Angeles. https://www.sarahernandez.com/ What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

SARAH RASCON: Candidate for State Senate District 26

Sarah Rascon is community advocate and candidate for State Senate in one of Los Angeles’ most diverse and fast-changing districts. She is running on a message focused on affordability and access to opportunity. She joins me to talk about her campaign. That’s on this episode of WNLA. Today we turn to the race for the State Senate seat in District 26, currently held by Maria Elena Durazo, who is termed out of office. District 26 is a dense, urban district centered in Los Angeles, including Downtown LA, Boyle Heights, Echo Park, and surrounding neighborhoods. It’s home to largely Latino and immigrant communities, with a mix of working-class families and renters, and it sits at the center of many of the city’s biggest challenges — from housing affordability and homelessness to economic inequality and access to public services. Today’s guest is Sarah Rascón, a candidate for State Senate. Rascón has been active in community and policy work in Los Angeles, and is running in a crowded field to succeed Durazo. Her campaign has focused on issues like the cost of living, housing, and access to economic opportunity — themes that are central to the district. I sat down with Sarah Rascón recently to talk about her campaign and how she sees the role of the State Senate in addressing those challenges. Here is that conversation. What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

Ellen Evans: State Senate Candidate Spotlight

A neighborhood leader and civil rights advocate, Ellen Evans is running for State Senate District 24. She joins me to talk about her campaign and the issues shaping the district.  Evans has spent decades working in her community as an organizer, advocate, and local leader. She is the co-founder of the Doheny Sunset Plaza Neighborhood Association, where she has represented more than 2,000 households and led efforts to improve public safety, address homelessness, and support responsible housing development. She also serves as Vice President of her local Neighborhood Council, where she has worked on land use, wildfire preparedness, and environmental protections. Evans’ background spans public policy, labor, and the arts. After graduating from Brown University, she worked as a union carpenter on major construction projects and later as a union apprentice film editor, eventually earning her M.F.A. in screenwriting from Columbia University. She has also been active in civil rights advocacy for decades, including work with Equality California Institute, where she helped lead efforts in the wake of Proposition 8. She says her campaign is focused on defending reproductive freedom and civil rights, fully funding public schools, tackling the housing crisis responsibly, investing in wildfire prevention, and growing the local economy to support working families and small businesses. https://www.ellen4senate.com/ [https://www.ellen4senate.com/] What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

ZENNON ULYATE-CROW: State Senate Candidate Spotlight

Zennon Ulyate-Crow is a recent college graduate and housing advocate who is aiming to become one of the youngest members of the California State Senate. He joins me to talk about his campaign for the 24th Senate district seat. That’s on this episode of WNLA. Ulyate-Crow grew up in Topanga and has been involved in organizing and public policy work since he was a student. While in college, he focused on housing issues, helping to organize around student homelessness and affordability, and working on legislation aimed at expanding student housing across California.  He later worked in public service roles including as a commissioner in Santa Cruz and on a national political campaign, and has continued to focus his advocacy on housing, cost of living, and what he describes as government accountability.  Ulyate-Crow is running in a crowded field, arguing that younger leadership and a different approach to policymaking are needed to address issues like affordability and access to housing in California. https://www.instagram.com/zennonuc/ What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

What's Up with City of LA Charter Reform?

Los Angeles may be on the verge of some major changes to how its city government actually works — changes that could affect everything from who holds power at City Hall to how decisions get made and services get delivered. Raymond Meza, who chaired the commission behind those proposals, joins me to walk through what’s being proposed. That’s on this episode of WNLA. The City Charter is essentially the city’s constitution — which defines how power is divided, how decisions get made, and how different parts of government interact.The Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission has just wrapped up months of work and sent a package of recommendations to the City Council — proposals aimed at making city government function more effectively. Those recommendations take on some of the biggest structural questions facing Los Angeles: the size of the City Council, the balance of power between the council and the mayor, oversight of the LAPD, how the city handles budgeting, and how to address long-standing concerns about infrastructure, governance, and public corruption. Raymond Meza and I take a deep dive into the proposals and what they could mean for the people of Los Angele. https://reformlacharter.lacity.gov/ [https://reformlacharter.lacity.gov/] What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].