Jose Ugarte picked up the endorsement of the Greater Los Angeles Realtors Association in the race for the 9th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council, a move that stands out given the group’s limited involvement in this election cycle. Ugarte’s campaign focuses on expanding affordable housing and first-time homebuyer programs, along with grants for home repairs, aiming to increase the city’s housing supply. Ugarte, who previously served as deputy chief of staff to outgoing Councilmember Curren Price, is described as a Latino immigrant. If elected, he would become the first Latino councilmember for District 9 since 1963. The runoff is set for November 3, 2026, and features two Latino immigrant candidates, either of whom would end a decades-long gap in Latino representation for the district.
Housing advocacy groups such as Yimby Los Angeles and Abundant Housing LA, along with the Housing Action Coalition, have also lined up behind Ugarte. The Realtors Association’s voter guide calls Ugarte a candidate who will protect "private property rights, free enterprise, homeownership opportunities and housing production," and notes his pledge to address street conditions in the district. Ugarte’s approach to homelessness relies on a sequence: mental-health services and detoxification, then job training before housing. He has also called for a ban on RVs and trailers on residential streets, tying homelessness policy to neighborhood conditions and public-space rules.
District stakes and candidate contrasts
The 9th District covers the southernmost part of Downtown Los Angeles and a broad area south of the 10 Freeway, including venues like Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, BMO Stadium, and Exposition Park. The seat is open because incumbent Curren Price, who faces 12 felony public corruption charges—embezzlement, conflict of interest, and perjury—is termed out and awaiting trial after pleading not guilty. In August 2026, a judge denied Price’s latest bid to dismiss the charges and ordered the case to trial, raising the stakes in the district’s political climate.
Ugarte’s opponent, Estuardo Mazariegos, is co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, a tenant rights and housing advocacy group. Mazariegos is running on strengthening tenant protections and raising wages. He has backed the city’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, which took effect in 2021, and Measure United to House L.A. His endorsements include U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter. Mazariegos is described as a tenant organizer focused on housing and homelessness-prevention work. His campaign highlights reducing rents and increasing wages, as well as auditing homeless-services programs and funding for accountability and transparency. Mazariegos has said his priorities are making government more accountable and responsive, ensuring clean and safe streets, lowering rents, raising wages, and increasing transparency. If elected, he would expand the DSA’s presence on the 15-member council beyond current members Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Ysabel Jurado, and Eunisses Hernandez.
The main disputes in the district’s campaign include homelessness, public safety, street conditions, rents, wages, and government accountability. Ugarte and Mazariegos take sharply different approaches to homelessness: Ugarte supports a service-sequencing and enforcement model, while Mazariegos pushes for administrative oversight and affordability measures. Both candidates have made public safety and neighborhood conditions central, but they split on housing affordability and government accountability strategies.
Campaign finance reports show both Ugarte and Mazariegos each raised about $350,000, including contributions and public matching funds, in the District 9 runoff. Mazariegos reportedly had nearly $115,000 cash on hand, compared to about $43,000 for Ugarte. Outside groups backing Ugarte spent or contributed more than $1 million, underscoring the difference between candidate-controlled funds and independent expenditures. Ugarte is identified as a former Price aide, while Mazariegos is seen as a community organizer, reflecting the contest’s competing coalitions and political bases.
The campaign has seen rising tensions. Community activist Flor Estrada alleged she was struck during a debate involving Ugarte and Mazariegos. Mazariegos condemned violence against community members in civic activities, calling such actions "absolutely unacceptable." The incident became another campaign issue as the contest entered its final phase.
Mayoral race and real estate influence
The Realtors Association has not endorsed anyone in the Los Angeles mayoral race, but real estate developer Rick Caruso has appeared publicly with incumbent Karen Bass at events like the Palisades Recreation Center groundbreaking and has promoted efforts to streamline city development. Caruso has not formally endorsed a mayoral candidate. In a recent Instagram statement, he raised concerns about candidates making public statements on replacing Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell and the possibility of appointing George Gascón, a rumor denied by Nithya Raman.
The District 9 runoff between Ugarte and Mazariegos is scheduled for November 3, 2026, and will decide the district’s first Latino councilmember in over sixty years. The race is widely viewed as a referendum on the direction of housing, tenant rights, and government accountability in South Los Angeles, with both candidates offering distinct visions for the community’s future. For more background on the candidates and their endorsements, see CALÓ News and ABC7.
For additional details on Ugarte’s endorsement by the Realtors Association, see The Real Deal.
