LOS ANGELES – As the vibrant dancers at Parque La Plaza welcomed current City Councilman Kevin de León with warm hugs and enthusiastic greetings, the shadows of past controversies loomed large.

de León, who is trying to repair the broken trust of his constituents, is determined to divert attention from a backroom rigging scandal involving two former city council members.

“Since then, I worked hard, I apologized every day, but we moved on,” he said, hoping to gain community support.

However, his opponent, Ysabel JuradoHe is not willing to let bygones be bygones. The former tenants’ rights attorney and single mother, who has deep roots in Highland Park, calls De León’s past inexcusable.

“Our leadership has failed us time and time again,” he lamented, a sentiment ignited by the leaked audio that fueled his campaign against him.

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Jurado recently found himself in the spotlight for his own audio scandal. When a Cal State LA student asked her about De León’s discretionary spending for police, she cited a popular rap lyric: “What’s that rap lyric? fuck the policeThat’s how I see them.”

When asked if this reflects his actual feelings about law enforcement, Jurado clarified, “It’s more like a lived reality for constituents,” pointing to the grim statistics of black and brown lives lost in the district.

Jurado’s campaign has gained steam, boosted by the endorsement of three current city council members. “The magic is that we listen to people,” he emphasized, echoing his commitment to improving the quality of life on basic issues such as street cleaning, lighting and homelessness, concerns that, in his opinion, are have been overlooked.

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Promising a renewed city-county partnership to address homelessness, Jurado highlighted the need for cohesive strategies that are currently lacking.

“You know, there’s no difference between left or right; we want the same things: clean, safe streets,” De León responded as he reminded constituents of his work on the council to house more homeless people than anyone else. district.

like him the campaign heats upboth candidates outline their visions for District 14.

de León, with years of experience in the state Assembly and Senate, successfully received $200 million in grants, which means 250 new trees in Hollenbeck Park and installation of new sidewalks. Meanwhile, Jurado offers a fresh perspective, deeply rooted in his lived experience in the community.