He has served the 9th City Council District in Los Angeles for years as a council deputy. He has managed political campaigns. And he racked up a ton of endorsements from elected officials. Today I talk with candidate Jose Ugarte.

In this third installment of interviews with candidates to succeed retiring councilmember Curren Price, I speak with Jose Ugarte, A top aide to  Price, Ugarte is a visible face at City Hall, in the district and in the media. He has served Price off and on since 2013, handling district projects and constituent services. Prior to that, he worked as a district deputy to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. He has taken several extended leaves of absence from government to work as a consultant for political campaigns, including those of Price, Rendon, Assemblymember Mike Fong and former Assembymember Miguel Santiago. 

An immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico, Ugarte says he will focus on serving the immigrant and low-income communities of the 9th District, and wants to be the "transportation councilmember” with a vision for more Metro rail lines in the 9th District.

Ugarte was recently the subject of an investigation form the city ethics commission, which found that he failed to disclose outside income from his consulting business. He and I discuss that, as well as his biography, and his vision for the city and distinct, in the interview.

Campaign website: https://ugarteforla.com/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

He is a housing justice advocate who has been a community organizer since he was a kid – and now he is running for Los Angeles City Council. I talk with Estuardo Mazariegos, candidate for Council District 9 in the City of Los Angeles, on this episode of WNLA.

Today is the second installment of our series of interviews with candidates running to succeed Curren Price on the LA City Council. The 9th Council District in Los Angeles stretches from the southern edge of Downtown Los Angeles, through South Central, all the way toward Watts. The communities of Central-Alameda, Vernon-Central, South Park, Green Meadows, and Vermont Square all call District 9 home. The district is among the most diverse and youngest in the city, with over three-quarters of residents identifying as Latino, a significant Black community, and many families with roots across Latin America and beyond. Nearly 40% of District 9 residents live below the federal poverty line, making it the city’s poorest council district, and many households face challenges of housing insecurity, limited access to good jobs, and environmental burdens.

With Price completing his third and final term, the seat is open for the first time since 2013. The primary election will take place on June 2, 2026, and the runoff, if needed, will be in November. This year, the field features community leaders, non-profit executives, and policy advocates all vying for votes. The candidates include Jose Ugarte, Estuardo Mazariegos, Elmer Roldan, and several others—each bringing their own vision for the future of South LA.

Today’s guest is Estuardo Mazariegos. He is the Los Angeles co-director of ACCE, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, a grassroots organization working to organize and fight for  California's traditionally underserved residents, including communities of color, low-income and working families, and the undocumented population.

Estuardo is a an immigrant from Guatemala who was carried across the Rio Grande as a child by his mother. As you’ll hear in the interview, he says he learned to be a community organizer as a young child and has never stopped being one. He is known for his leadership in housing justice initiatives and organizing efforts, working with ACCE and other grassroots groups to address local community issues and advocate for social change

https://www.estuardo4la.com/

Nov 5 - Elmer Roldan

Nov 12 - Estuardo Mazariegos

Nov 19 - Jose Ugarte

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

The 9th City Council District in Los Angeles stretches from the southern edge of Downtown Los Angeles, through South Central, all the way toward Watts. The communities of Central-Alameda, Vernon-Central, South Park, Green Meadows, and Vermont Square all call District 9 home. The district is among the most diverse and youngest in the city, with over three-quarters of residents identifying as Latino, a significant Black community, and many families with roots across Latin America and beyond. Nearly 40% of District 9 residents live below the federal poverty line, making it the city’s poorest council district, and many households face challenges of housing insecurity, limited access to good jobs, and environmental burdens.

Currently, District 9 is represented by Councilmember Curren Price, who has held the seat since 2013. With Price’s tenure ending, this year’s open-seat race has drawn intense interest. The primary election will take place on June 2, 2026, and the runoff, if needed, will be in November. This year, the field features community leaders, non-profit executives, and policy advocates all vying for votes. The candidates include Jose Ugarte, Estuardo Mazariegos, Elmer Roldan, and several others—each bringing their own vision for the future of South LA.

Today’s guest is Elmer Roldan, a well-known education advocate whose work has focused on youth opportunity and social equity in Los Angeles. Elmer currently runs Communities In Schools of Los Angeles, has worked for LAUSD, and spent nearly two decades working for Community Coalition. We sat down recently for an in-depth conversation about who he is, what his ties are to the district, and what his agenda and vision are for the district and for Los Angeles.

https://www.elmerroldan.com/

Nov 5 - Elmer Roldan

Nov 12 - Estuardo Mazariegos

Nov 19 - Jose Ugarte

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

In a special episode of What's Next, Los Angeles, we present a 45 minute one-on-one interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, recorded last week.

In May, Mike became the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for public affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. The Institute is dedicated to strengthening, promoting, and defending democracy.  A key focus is studying, understanding, and cultivating public leadership. Last week, Mike launched a new series of fireside discussions, where he will talk  with public officials, candidates, and tought leaders about how their leadership is tested, how they think about how they lead, and what issues they choose to focus on.

Mike's first guest was Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. They sat down October 16 in front of live audience the top of the US Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles.   They her style of leadership, and the tests and crises that have forged her leadership. They discuss progressive politics, her new challenger in the mayor's race, and they get into the subjects of housing policy, homelessness and the upcoming Olympic Games.

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

A respected local University shocked its faculty and its students recently by abruptly ending labor negotiations and invoking a religious exemption to shut down a campus union. In this episode, we hear from professors fighting for fair pay, job security, and respect in a high-stakes labor battle at Loyola Marymount University.

Brian Wisch and Linh Hwa, both non-tenure track (NTT) faculty at LMU and members of the union, explain the vital importance of NTT teachers at colleges and universities, discuss their working conditions and wages at LMU, and recount how ongoing labor negotiations were scuttled last month when the Jesuit university claimed national labor law did not apply to the school.

Some recent coverage:

Loyolan “Voices of the Newsroom” Podcast: 

Other Links and Resources

LMU: The Path Forward

LMU alumni, families, staff, faculty colleagues, and community supporters template to send a message to the admin and board: https://secure.everyaction.com/zLZIqaL4ZkivQMzvMF3gjw2

The LMU NTT faculty union Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/lmu_nttfaculty/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Has California – once a leader in fighting climate change – begun to retrench, moving backward after years of progress? That’s what we discuss on this episode of What's Next, Los Angeles, with special guest Mike Young, executive director of California Environmental Voters.

The 2025 California legislative session brought headline-grabbing action on environmental and climate issues—but it’s a record that’s as contested as it is celebrated. Governor Newsom and lawmakers have been touting a package of legislation as historic, while environmental leaders are bemoaning what they describe as the one of the worst CA legislative sessions for the environment in recent memory.

Newsom and the legislature point to their actions to extend California’s signature cap-and-trade climate policy—now rebranded as the cap-and-invest program—which they say will provide regulatory certainty and continued revenue for critical clean energy and climate investments. That program is meant to steer billions to projects like zero-emission vehicles, clean transportation, and pollution reduction in frontline communities.

Those elected officials  also draw attention to legislation on wildfire resilience, and their work on California Wildfire Fund that will channel billions toward supporting wildfire survivors, modernizing the state’s utility grid, and protecting ratepayers from the costs of catastrophic wildfire liability.

But for all the progress claimed, the session’s record is under fire from environmental advocates. The legislature rolled back major protections under the California Environmental Quality Act—stripping environmental review for large projects in order to expedite crucially needed housing production. Critics argue these moves put disadvantaged communities at greater risk and weaken oversight of polluting industries. Controversially, the legislature also facilitated expanded oil drilling in Kern County, raising alarm about California compromising its climate leadership to address immediate energy and affordability concerns. Environmental advocates also say the legislature and governor and failed to seize the moment and move forward on several key environmental initiatives – such as holding fossil fuels companies financially responsible for skyrocketing wildfire insurance, and forcing polluters to pay for environmental devastation.

This year, the question is sharper than ever: Is California still leading the way on climate, or is its environmental ambition being undermined by political hand-wringing and powerful industry interests?

Joining us for a frank conversation on what this all means—for communities, for climate, and for the work ahead—is Mike Young from California Environmental Voters. 

Newsom signs climate overhaul, extending cap and trade while boosting oil drilling

Newsom signs California climate package aimed at lowering gas and utility costs

Newsom’s climate warrior image is backsliding, environmental groups say

California Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law

Gavin Newsom on Trump, Climate and California

California Environmental Voters Legislative Scorecard

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

What is the fuss about ULA, the measure Los Angeles city voters approved in 2022? The debate over its impact may be more hotly contested today than it was when it was on the ballot.

Measure ULA, dubbed “the mansion tax" by supporters, imposes a transfer tax on property sales above approximately $5 million. Funds go toward affordable housing production and homelessness prevention programs in the city. It's supporters say it is boosting production of affordable housing and keeping tenants housed, reducing homelessness. Detractors say it has had minimal impact on affordable housing, and is chilling production of affordable and market-rate housing, and putting a drag on the economy.

A conversation about Measure ULA is a conversation about housing, about affordability, about homelessness prevention, about finance and taxation, about real estate market forces, and about the finer details of government regulation. And that is what Mike discusses this week with Joe Donlin of United House LA, a champion of ULA, and Mott Smith, co-author a study critiquing ULA.

UCLA Lewis Center Study: Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA

Rebuttal: Major Research Flaws Undermine Authors' Bold Claims: Unpacking the Debate on Measure ULA

What has Measure ULA Done So Far? (Shelterforce)

How LA's transfer tax cost schools and local government $25 million (CA YIMBY)

Lawmakers seek to overhaul LA mansion tax (LA Times)

Mayor Bass withdraws her bill to overhaul LA mansion tax (LA Times)

United to House LA website: https://unitedtohousela.com/

Council of Infill Builders: https://www.councilofinfillbuilders.org/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Los Angeles may be home to a powerful labor movement today, but it was not always that way. Los Angeles was once known as one of the most anti-union cities in the country. On this Labor Day weekend, we re-air Mike's 2024 interview with Kent Wong of the UCLA Labor Center. Kent walks us through the ups and downs of the history of organized labor in Los Angeles -- and reveals how victories and losses here shaped the labor movement nationally.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

UCLA Labor Center

Memory Work Los Angeles

Cal Federation of Labor - Labor History

LA Stories: Labor Movements in Los Angeles

Miguel Contreras: Legacy of a Labor Leader

Mike Garcia and the Justice for Janitors Movement

From Coors to California: David Sickler and the New Working Class

Voices from the Front Lines: Organizing Immigrant Workers in Los Angeles

From Mission to Microchip: A History of California Labor by Fred Glass (book)

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Wallis Annenberg was a titan in the world of philanthropy. An heir to the Anneneberg family fortune, she served as chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation since 2009, giving away more than $3 billion in charitable grants to a variety of causes, including the arts, wildlife, seniors, and inner-city youth. But the obituaries celebrating her life and lauding her achievements failed to mention that she was well-known in LA’s LGBTQ+ community as a lesbian, and she had given significant and critical support for LGBTQ+ causes. It was a noteworthy example of queer erasure – the tendency to remove LGBTQ groups or identity from the historical record. 

 The queer erasure so bothered her former partner Karen Ocamb – a noted chronicler of the LGBT civil rights movement and the HIV/AIDS crisis that she took to Substack to write about – in a column titled “When Lesbian Philanthropist Wallis Annenberg Helped Save The Gays.” The article drew immediate praise from members of LA’s queer community, who were shocked that news outlets failed to mention Annenberg was a lesbian. I interviewed Karen Ocamb about the Wallis she and so many others knew, and about the work Wallis Annenberg did for the LGTBQ+ community.

When Lesbian Philanthropist Wallis Annenberg Helped Save The Gays by Karen Ocamb

LA Times Obituary: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-07-28/wallis-annenberg-dead-philanthropist-obituary

New York Times Obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/us/wallis-annenberg-dead.html

LA Times follow-up story: "Inside Wallis Annenberg’s final days: Opioid stupor, abuse claims and a bitter family feud"

The Suppression of Lesbian ^ Gay History by Rictor Norton: https://rictornorton.co.uk/suppress.htm

Hollywood Turns Out for AIDS Benefit (New York Times, 1985): https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/20/us/hollywood-turns-out-for-aids-benefit.html

Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing: https://www.gleh.org/

Project Angel Food: https://www.angelfood.org/

LGBT History: The Briggs Initiative - a Scary Proposition: https://www.glbthistory.org/briggs

LGBT History: Lesbian Solidarity During the AIDS Epidemic: https://www.youthco.org/lesbian_solidarity_during_the_aids_epidemic

LGBT History: The Blood Sisters - the Unsung Heroes of the AIDS Crisis: https://diva-magazine.com/2024/02/08/the-blood-sisters/

LGBT History: Meet Pioneer of Gay Rights Harry Hay: https://progressive.org/magazine/meet-pioneer-gay-rights-harry-hay/

LGBT History: The Lavender Effect: Ivy Bottini: https://thelavendereffect.org/projects/ohp/ivy-bottini/

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Is Los Angeles broken? And what will it take to fix it? We discuss that with Rick Cole on this episode of WNLA.

Cole knows local government. He was elected to the Pasadena City Council in 1983, and served for 12 years, including two as Mayor. He served as City Manager of Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica. He has served several times for the City of Los Angeles, as senior deputy to Councilmember Richard Alatorre, as deputy mayor for Budget & Innovation under Mayor Eric Garcetti, and as as deputy for City Controller Kenneth Mejia.  He left his position with Mejia last week, to focus on his role on the Pasadena City Council, a post he returned to in December after 30 years.

In his farewell ceremony at City Council last week, he spoke about what ills the city and what it will take to fix it. We follow up, in an in-depth discussion.

What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.