“I’m doing this because why not?” said Martha Sanchez, a candidate running for Los Angeles City Council District 9, which includes USC’s University Park Campus. “I could be dead right now. I’m doing this because this is probably the last thing I will be able to do with the little life that I have.”

Sanchez shared her reasons for campaigning at USC’s L.A. City Council District 9 Candidate Forum, Thursday evening. The forum featured four candidates; Incumbent District 9 Councilmember Curren Price is not eligible to run for reelection.

The forum was hosted as a collaboration between the USC Center for the Political Future, Trojan Democrats, USC Political Union and Trojans for More Housing to “give members of the USC and South L.A. community a chance to interact directly with the candidates running for this district’s City Council seat.” 

Patrick Done, one of the panel’s moderators and the president of Trojan Democrats, said candidates were invited based on viability, including looking at fundraising endorsements and whether they had been invited to previous forums. 

Distribution of campaign material was prohibited to keep the forum unbiased, but candidates still worked to connect directly with attendees; prior to the panel starting, candidates Jose Ugarte and Estuardo Mazariegos made an effort to shake hands with and introduce themselves to students who arrived at the panel early. Attendees were asked not to show support for any specific candidates, in line with University policy. 

Tom Hammond, a sophomore majoring in business administration, said he came to the panel without a preferred candidate preference. He said he attended because he wants to grow his knowledge of L.A. politics. 

In their introductions, all four candidates mentioned how their experience as immigrants impacted them and inspired them to run for office. 

“Los Angeles has accepted me and has educated me and also has given me the promise that my family has fought for so far,” Mazariegos said. 

When candidates were asked how they planned to engage with students, Sanchez encouraged students in the room to get involved in politics regardless of who the elected candidate is. 

“I’m gonna ask why you have to wait for someone to be elected to get involved, why we have to wait for someone to take that position to do something for us in our community,” Sanchez said. “I’m working so hard to bring people that have very bright and meaningful ideas to the team, and you are very welcome to start working right now. Don’t wait for me to be elected. Let’s do it right now.” 

Ugarte said he wants to have a student department in his office, considering many students in District 9 use city services frequently.

After the prepared questions, the moderators opened the discussion up to the audience. Hammond asked candidates about their opinions on regulating the growing self-driving car industry.

Sanchez said it is important to not only tax these companies but also ensure there are ways to “educate [individuals in L.A.] on how to navigate that new opportunity.” Ugarte said it is important to reconsider the role of autonomous vehicles in L.A., citing his concern that they may take away jobs from people in the city. 

“Other countries and other states [are] realizing that the workforce is insecure, and we have to take note of that right away,” Ugarte said. “If we’re gonna go that way, we need to make sure that people get paid.” 

Mazariegos had a similar stance, saying he supports a ban on self-driving vehicle companies, like Waymo. 

“[Waymo is] not here to create a utopia,” Mazariegos said. “It’s actually here to extract more wealth from working people in this country and throughout the world. … [We need to] fight back to defend the industries that are still in this country, and driving is one of them.” 

Hammond said while the candidates’ thoughts on self-driving cars were not deal breakers, their wariness of the new technology made him less inclined to vote for them. 

One attendee introduced himself as a local pastor and said his church has been struggling to get service for a necessary tree removal. Candidate Elmer Roldan said one of his biggest motivations for running for City Council is to ensure the city can be more responsive. 

“I’m a resident on 55th and Broadway, and I’ve been disheartened by how long it takes to get a response,” Roldan said. “In this case, to trim a tree. In some cases, the situations we’ve dealt with have been life-threatening. … I will approach it the same way that I’ve done my entire life, which is to build with the community.” 

Ugarte said his current role as deputy chief of staff to Price helped him understand how government assistance is delivered to citizens and said promises to speed up the process may not be realistic.

“You can promise whatever you want, [but] once you’re a council member, you have to budget things,” Ugarte said. “You have to decide if you’re gonna prioritize safe streets or tree trimming — it’s hard.” 

Wesley Clum, a freshman majoring in political science, said he came into the panel with his “mind wide open,” hoping to hear a variety of perspectives. Coming out of the event, Clum said Ugarte’s government experience stood out to him. 

“What I’m looking for is someone who knows the environment and is able to actually make serious progress when there’s a lot of people with similar platforms,” Clum said. “For me, Jose Ugarte looked really great and sounded like he had a lot of experience.” 

The moderators facilitated what they called a “rapid-fire” round, giving candidates one minute to state who they look up to most, their favorite movie and one thing they wish they knew when they were younger. 

Sanchez said her role models are local leaders and “regular people,” not a “big name.” 

Roldan said he encouraged students to lean into their thoughts and emotions and said he wished he embraced his feelings of inadequacy when he was younger. Ugarte said students should “slow down” when they could, and Mazariegos told listeners to “enjoy life.”

“I wish I knew when I was a kid that if you feel imposter syndrome, lean into it,” Roldan said. “It has something that has been prominent in my life: feeling inadequate and like I don’t belong. … I think it is okay to lean into that imposter syndrome and push yourself to be courageous in moments that require you to show up.” 

Ugarte currently has the fundraising lead in the race. The election will not be held until June 2, 2026. Done said he thinks it is crucial that students get involved and vote in the election. 

“Voting is the most important duty that we have as citizens and as Americans,” Done said. “I think as students in particular, we have so much at stake. … I would just encourage students to get involved in their communities, whatever that looks like, and to be real advocates for the issues they care about.”