Seven candidates have passed

the

pitched itself to San Fernando Valley voters seeking a seat on the LA City Council in recent months.

Now it’s Election Day. Turnout is expected to be low due to voter apathy and mistrust of the city government.

City Council President Nury Martinez, who formerly represented District 6, resigned in October after leaked audio from a private meeting she attended captured her racist remarks.

Voting centers opened a week and a half ago, but only 108 people have used the centers, said LA County Registrar-Recorder spokesman Mike Sanchez. Four additional polling stations will open in the district on Tuesday.

More than 8,000 mailed ballots have been returned to the county through Monday, Sanchez said. In total, more than 118,000 registered voters received ballot papers.

Your guide to the LA City Council District 6 election to replace Nury Martinez

The candidates include political newcomers, former and current aides to elected officials, and community volunteers.

Marisa Alcaraz is top adviser to City Councilor Curren Price; Rose Grigoryan runs a marketing company; Isaac Kim owns a men’s hair and skin care business, Imelda Padilla has worked as a community organizer; Marco Santana works at LA Family Housing; Antoinette Scully is a national organizer with the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation; and Douglas Sierra recently worked at management consulting firm Monitor Deloitte.

The race is nonpartisan, but all but one candidate are registered Democrats. (Grigoryan’s voter registration is not a party preference.”)

Voters can find a voting center or drop box by visiting the county’s website. District 6 includes all or part of the Lake Balboa, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta, North Hills, North Hollywood, and Sun Valley neighborhoods.

Shortly after the polls close on Tuesday, the first batch of results will be released. That count

That

will include all or most of the ballots submitted before Election Day.

Voting by mail postmarked on Election Day will be accepted until April 11.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, a runoff between the top two candidates is scheduled for June.

The winner will be re-elected to this seat in March 2024, when Martinez’s term would expire.

Outside money, donations shape the Valley race for the LA City Council seat

Homelessness became one of the main issues in the race. Some candidates have differing views on 41.18, the law that allows council members to designate areas off limits to homeless camps.

Candidates Kim, Scully and Santana have all said they would vote to repeal the law. Alcaraz and Padilla approve 41.18, arguing that restrictions are needed around schools, parks and other areas.

The biggest drama in the race revolved around campaign fliers. A door hanger sent by Santana’s campaign drew complaints from the LA County Democratic Party because the hanger stated that the candidate was endorsed by the Democratic Party. (The provincial Democratic Party did not support the race.)

Scott Mann, Santana’s communications director, defended the flier by saying that Santana has the support of several Democratic clubs, including the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley.

A mailer sent by a committee associated with United Food & Commercial Workers Local 700 also drew criticism after the mailer inaccurately stated that Alcaraz was endorsed by the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinin. The newspaper did not support anyone and the union, which supports Alcaraz, apologized.