SELA celebrates local and state elections

The community of Southeast Los Angeles celebrated Tuesday night the election of Jose Luis Solache as the new member of the California State Assembly representing District 62. 

Solache, the current mayor of Lynwood, will be replacing termed-out Speaker Emeritus of the Assembly, Anthony Rendón. 

As of Wednesday morning, Solache had 62.7% of the votes versus 37.3% from Republican Paul Jones. District 62 includes the cities of Lakewood, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, South Gate, Huntington Park, Bellflower, and Walnut Park. 

In a passionate speech, Solache told his supporters at El Farallón Event Center in Lynwood that he was proud to secure this seat to represent his community and honor his father, who supported him, and his mother in heaven.

“This kid from Lynwood goes to Sacramento,” he told an excited crowd that cheered for him. “My experience is like many in the community, the immigrant parents coming to this country ensuring we have the American Dream and making sure we live this American dream every day.”

Solache told CALÓ News that his priorities as an assembly member are to get California out of the recession and advocate for resources. He also pledges to work on environmental issues in the SELA area, education, and making sure the residents of District 62 have a voice.

Lynwood race

In Lynwood, the top two candidates who won a seat for City Council are Lorraine Avila Moore (30.3%) and current Vice-Mayor Rita Soto (33.3%), who will be elected the new Mayor of Lynwood in December. 

Soto, a retired Lynwood Unified School District principal, said she had been getting ready for this position and promised to give her 100% with the city. She said the City will work on a plan to address the residents’ main concerns. 

“Many areas of the city are not clean because of the situation with the homeless, and we also have the issue of safety. Right now, those are the most difficult things we are facing in Lynwood and all around Southeast,” she said. 

Maria “Lulu” Quinones won 100% of the votes, as she ran unopposed for the seat of City Clerk. Liliana “Lily” Delgadillo won for Lynwood Treasurer with 67.3% of the votes against Linda George, who received 32.7%.

For the Lynwood Unified School board, the top three winners are Maria G. López (25.4%), Alma Carina Castro (22.7%) and Gary Hardie Jr. (19.3%). 

Lynwood Unified School District Measure U passed with 61.7%. This measure authorizes $80 million in bonds to repair and improve school facilities and programs in the district. 

South Gate elections

The top three candidates that win a seat for South Gate City Council are current Vice-Mayor Maria R. Davila (26.1%), Councilwoman Maria Del Pilar Avalos (23%), and Mayor Gil Hurtado (19.6%). 

During the weeks before the elections, the City of South Gate was involved in a scandal after the City Clerk was accused of ethics violation for donating to Davila’s campaign. Despite the discontent of many residents, the City Clerk said that she did not donate to the campaign, but her husband did. 

Mayor Hurtado said it is time to continue the work now that the elections are over. He said one of the things that the Council needs to do better is to work on communication with the residents and prioritize their needs. 

“Our challenge is that we are allowing social media to be the main voice of the City,” he said.

He said residents have brought up topics of concern to his attention in the past, and he has to clarify them because sometimes this information is deliberately highlighted in social media. He gave an example of disinformation about sales tax in South Gate. The resident obtained it from Facebook, and she believed it. Hurtado had to prove her with facts the truth. 

“People imply that we are corrupt, but we are not. We just have to do better in communicating irrefutable facts,” he said. 

Now that Los Angeles will have a new District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, who won against current D.A. George Gascón, Hurtado said they hope misdemeanors will be appropriately prosecuted. He is optimistic things will be better with the new D.A. and the passing of Proposition 36, which will increase sentences for drugs and theft crimes.  

Other races

In other SELA cities, the top two candidates for Bell Gardens City Council are Jorgel Chavez (37.4%) and Isabel Guillen (30.2%). For the Bell Gardens City Council, the unexpired term ending December 14, 2026, is Miguel de la Rosa (55.1%). For Maywood City Council, Frank Garcia (51.7%) and Jaime Flores (48.3%). Maywood Measure MC passed with 65.1% to establish city clerk as an appointed position and Measure T with 64.1% to establish city treasurer as an appointed position. 

Keep checking CALÓ News for election updates.