Get to know congressional, city council candidates
The districts representing USC’s campuses will elect new candidates this year.
By DAILY TROJAN STAFF
Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Sydney Kamlager-Dove is running for reelection in Congressional District 37. Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat, is the district’s sitting representative, as she successfully ran for the State Assembly in 2018 and the State Senate in 2021.
Originally from Chicago, Kamlager-Dove studied political science at USC and has an M.A. in arts management and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Throughout her career as a public servant, she has focused on educational advocacy, fighting for its accessibility and affordability.
On her website, Kamlager-Dove says her platform is focused on expanding voting rights, prioritizing reproductive justice, providing healthcare for all, creating jobs, investing in housing, acting on climate issues, and investing in arts and education.
— Ava O’Connor, Features Staff Writer
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Juan Rey
Juan Rey, a train mechanic and elected union steward for the Los Angeles Metro Rail, is running as an independent for California’s 37th District’s seat in the United States Congress. In March’s primary, Rey narrowly earned the second nomination with 10.3% of the popular vote. Previously, Rey ran for California’s 29th Congressional District’s seat in 2018, but did not advance through the primary after receiving 1.4% of the vote.
Rey is running on a platform of advocating for the working class. On his campaign website, Rey said he ran due to high housing costs, deterioration of essential services, poor benefits for the working class and the U.S. spending too much on a “gigantic military” and “wars of domination.”
In a public survey on Ballotpedia, Rey said he chose to run independently due to “both the Democrats and Republicans [serving] the interests of the wealthy.” Rey said working people need to create an independent, working-class party. While officially running with no party preference, Rey is one of 17 candidates — from Michigan, Illinois and California — affiliated with the “For a Working Class Fight” coalition that advocates for working-class rights, including an independent party.
— Sean Campbell, Assistant News Editor
Michael Zhang / Daily Trojan
Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Gomez is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing California’s 34th Congressional District since 2017 and running for reelection this year. Gomez, a Democrat, received a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA before earning his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Before his election to Congress, Gomez served four and a half years in the California State Assembly, where he notably fought for paid family leave and climate change through his position as chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
According to his website, Gomez became a key figure in creating milestone legislation to address public health, water conservation, environmental justice, access to education, civic engagement, affordable housing, LGBTQIA+ rights and campaign finance disclosure.
He is running against fellow Democrat David Kim and promises to protect reproductive freedom, the right to contraception, equal pay, marriage equality and humane, inclusive immigration.
His reelection campaign is oriented around his advocacy for renters and working families, accessible healthcare, service and provision for L.A.’s unhoused community, and anti-climate change policies. He is the proud child of Mexican immigrants and now lives in Eagle Rock with his wife and young son.
— India Brown, Features Staff Writer
David Kim
David Kim is a children’s court attorney, activist and former neighborhood board council member in his L.A. community. In the prior 2022 cycle, Kim ran for Congress CA-34 as well, and gained 48.8% of the general election votes against the incumbent.
In the nonpartisan primary election, Kim earned 27.9% of general votes opposing incumbent Jimmy Gomez, who gained 51.2% of votes. Kim is also running a 100% clean money campaign to highlight his “people-centered and people-powered politics,” and his website highlights how his opponent, Gomez, prefers to “listen to the directions of the wealthy few.”
Kim’s primary focus is on bridging the access gap between marginalized communities through policy change initiatives. This goal framework comes from his experience working in children’s court, where he has interacted with families who are facing adverse situations due to poverty, resource deprivation and a government that fails to support their needs.
Kim plans to “win back power for the people” by focusing on campaign finance reform, ranked-choice voting, democracy vouchers and more.
— Yahvi Shah, Features Staff Writer
Seungmin Han / Daily Trojan
Kevin de León
Kevin de León has represented District 14 on the L.A. City Council since 2020. Born in Downtown L.A. to an immigrant mother, de León became a first-generation honors student at UC Santa Barbara and Pitzer College. He later served as a policymaker-in-residence and senior analyst at UCLA before becoming a city council representative.
On his website, de León outlines his main campaign goals as tackling homelessness in L.A., increasing the number of parks and open spaces, solving the problem of food insecurity, protecting communities from gentrification, improving street cleanliness and supporting working families.
— Lucy Chen, Features Staff Writer
Ysabel Jurado
Ysabel Jurado, a tenants rights attorney and Highland Park native, is running to become the next Council Member for L.A.’s 14th District.
A daughter of Filipino immigrants and single mother, Jurado graduated from UCLA’s Law School with a Juris Doctorate with a specialization in Critical Race Studies, and now works as a housing rights attorney fighting to stop tenant evictions.
Jurado’s campaign promises to advocate for “hard-working” Angelenos, seniors and children of District 14. Her campaign aims to prioritize affordable housing, supporting small businesses, environmental justice and building a more “fair” economy.
Jurado makes her position clear: to tackle the challenges working people face in District 14 and be a local leader who will ensure no individual feels left behind.
— Daniela Mattson, Features Staff Writer
