Donations and union spending have led to a lopsided race for former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez’s seat in the San Fernando Valley.

Three of the seven candidates have raised significant amounts of or benefit from external spending from trade unions or companies

Tuesdays

special election.

The other four candidates face an uphill battle. They have much less money, which makes them less able to buy glossy mailers or hire consultants to spread their message to voters in District 6 of the City Council.

Isaac Kim, a new candidate who lives in Van Nuys and runs a men’s skin and hair care company, has just been brought up

$20,175 through the end of March.

He relies on free labor to run his campaign: Kim’s mother is in charge of treasurer duties, while his campaign manager works for free, he said.

Mailers, text messages and knocking on the door help introduce him to voters. Still, Kim is realistic about his lack of resources,

“The fact is that the more money you have, the more voters you can reach,” Kim said.

Visibility is especially important in elections that are expected to attract few voters. As of Friday afternoon, 6,278 ballots had been mailed back to the county, said LA County Registrar-Recorder spokesman Mike Sanchez. In total, more than 118,000 registered voters received ballot papers.

In a boost for candidate Imelda Padilla, a committee associated with Laborers Local 300 reported that she had spent $25,000 on

a

television advertising to support

her campaign

. The union represents construction, maintenance and factory workers.

Two outside committees also support Padilla and have reported making a combined expense

$92,300.

One of the committees received money from the American Beverage Assn. and PepsiCo.

Separately, Padilla has raised more than $98,000 in donations and raised more than $150,600 in government funding through a city program that allows candidates who collect enough small donations from residents in the district to receive matching funds.

Padilla spokesperson Lauren Perez-Rangel

credited

the candidate’s support for her work with the LA Youth Council, the Sun Valley Neighborhood Council and other local organizations.

Imelda’s edge comes from organizing in the district for the last 20 years, Perez-Rangel said.

Another candidate, Marisa Alcaraz, a top aide to City Councilor Curren Price,

has

grossed over $161,200. Outside groups, including committees supported by United Food & Commercial Workers Local 700, the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, and a real estate development company, respectively, have reported that together

$110,825

to support her campaign.

Alcaraz worked two years ago on municipal legislation requiring larger supermarket chains to pay employees extra money for their work during the pandemic. UFCW, representing grocery workers, spearheaded the initiative.

UFCW 770 received a lot of attention in the District 6 race after the commission distributed 14,200 mailers in support of Alcaraz falsely stating that it was endorsed by Spanish-language newspaper La Opinin.

Armando Varela, executive editor of La Opinin, called for a public retraction, noting that the paper has not endorsed a candidate.

“We regret the mistake and apologize to La Opinin,” said UFCW spokeswoman Bertha Rodriguez. “We want to clarify that our political action committee functions autonomously, without any direct connection or coordination with the Marisa Alcaraz campaign.”

Katherine Tattersfield, Volunteer Field Coordinator for Candidate Antoinette Scully,

said the incident “demonstrates why communications should come directly from campaigns so that there is accountability for messages.

You can’t undo a post, the damage from this misinformation has already reached voters, Tattersfield said.

Another candidate from District 6, Marco Santana, director of engagement at LA Family Housing, has raised more than $89,020 and received $115,578 in matching funds.

A committee affiliated with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank officers, has spent more than $70,400 opposing Santana. A mailer from the committee highlights Santana’s opposition to 41.18, the city law that allows council members to designate areas off limits to homeless camps. It includes a quote from Santana where the candidate said he would definitely look into repeating 41.18.

Other candidates, including Scully, a self-proclaimed supporter of police abolition of the death penalty, oppose 41.18. Scully just raised $13,992, according to the latest filings.

Tom Saggau, a spokesman for the Police Protective League, said the union considers Santana the “most viable” of the candidates

That

against 41.18. The union supports the law.

It’s not just cops”

[

who support 41.18

]

,

said Saggau. For many Angelenos, homeless camps next to schools and daycare centers are something they don’t want to see.

The police union spent a lot of money last year on the Council District 11 race, running against candidate Erin Darling, who ultimately lost to Traci Park.

Santana responded to the mailer, saying, “I am clearly a threat to those who want City Hall to remain the same and for this council seat to be filled with an insider who will continue to put politics before the needs of our communities.

“It’s ironic that the PPL is attacking me, since my public safety plan has always been to create ways for LAPD officers to spend more time preventing violent crime — something the PPL says it wants.”

Santana added.

Meanwhile, candidate Rose Grigoryan, who runs a marketing firm, has raised about $59,986. In an email, Grigoryan

to email,

said

That

she does not approach “special interests to which I would owe something later”.

Candidate Douglas Sierra, who formerly worked at management consulting firm Monitor Deloitte, has raised about $11,670, but

has

spent over $21,000,

according to the latest reports.