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Eunisses Hernandez
Member-elect of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district
Assuming office
December 11, 2022
SucceedingGil Cedillo
Personal details
Born1990 (age 33–34)[1]
Highland Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Socialists of America
ResidenceHighland Park, Los Angeles[2]
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach (BCJ)
OccupationCommunity organizer

Eunisses Hernandez (born 1990) is an American activist and politician who is the member-elect of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 1st district.[3] A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Hernandez defeated incumbent councilmember Gil Cedillo in an upset in the 2022 election.[4]

A self-described police and prison abolitionist, Hernandez was endorsed by progressive groups and leaders like City Councilman Mike Bonin and Dolores Huerta, and the Los Angeles Times.[1][5][6] Hernandez declared victory on June 18, 2022, before the final vote tally, which was certified on July 1, 2022.[7] Cedillo conceded the same day.[8]

Early life and career

Hernandez was born in 1990 to Juan and Leticia Hernandez and grew up in Highland Park, Los Angeles.[5] Early in her life, Hernandez thought about becoming a police officer. She attended Franklin High School and later California State University, Los Angeles for one year in 2009, where she majored in civil engineering.[9] During her employment at Universal Studios Hollywood, she graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2013. It was during her time at CSU Long Beach where she "experienced [...] a revelation" after she took a class for criminology and the War on Drugs.[10]

Career

Hernandez started her career in 2014 as a policy coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance where she helped with the passing of Senate Bill 180 and California Proposition 64.[11] In 2018, she moved to JustLeadershipUSA as a campaign coordinator for JusticeLA where she helped with stopping the county's $3.5 billion jail plan.[12] In 2019, she was appointed by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to be a community stakeholder for an Alternatives to Incarceration working group.[10]

In 2020, she co-founded La Defensa with Ivette Alé, a women-led organization that supports reducing the number of incarcerated people in Los Angeles County.[10] That same year she co-chaired Measure J, a ballot initiative that would allocate at least 10% of Los Angeles County's funding for community reinvestment and incarceration alternatives.[13] The ballot, which she co-chaired with future Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and future councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, passed with 57.12% of the vote.[14] In June 2021, though, the measure was blocked by Judge Mary Strobel as being unconstitutional and the implementation of the measure has been slow.[15]

Los Angeles City Council

On October 8, 2021, Hernandez announced that she would be running for Los Angeles City Council District 1 in the 2022 elections.[16] After three other candidates were disqualified, she was the only opponent against incumbent Gil Cedillo.[5] Hernandez was endorsed by multiple progressive groups and leaders, with Council-member Mike Bonin and Dolores Huerta endorsing her in the primary.[1] With early results favoring Cedillo by a slim margin, Hernandez pulled ahead and unseated Cedillo with 53.9% of the vote, avoiding the need for a runoff.[7]

Electoral history

Results by precinct map
2022 Los Angeles City Council District 1 election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Eunisses Hernandez 16,108 53.9
Nonpartisan Gil Cedillo (incumbent) 13,700 45.8
Nonpartisan Elaine Alaniz (write-in) 80 0.3
Total votes 29,888 100.00

References

  1. ^ a b c Zahniser, David (June 14, 2022). "Eunisses Hernandez pulls ahead of Gil Cedillo in tight L.A. Council race". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  2. ^ CASTAÑEDA, MARIAH (May 19, 2022). "O.G. HIGHLAND PARK'S EUNISSES HERNANDEZ HAS A PLAN TO STOP GENTRIFICATION IN CD 1". L.A. TACO. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Cagle, Kate [@KateCagle] (June 18, 2022). "INBOX: Progressive challenger Eunisses Hernandez declares victory over incumbent Democrat Gil Cedillo to represent Los Angeles Council District 1. Hernandez is a local community organizer who has been instrumental in pushing the County to build alternatives to incarceration" (Tweet). Retrieved June 18, 2022 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Sanchez, Jesús (June 14, 2022). "Incumbents Gil Cedillo and Mitch O'Farrell lose ground to challengers". The Eastsider. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Regardie, Jon (May 27, 2022). "The Incumbent v. Challenger Battle: Gil Cedillo and Eunisses Hernandez Tangle in a Tense Council Race". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "Endorsement: Why the L.A. Times endorsed so many newcomers this year". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Chou, Elizabeth (June 24, 2022). "In June primary, LA City Councilman Gil Cedillo appears to be ousted by newcomer Eunisses Hernandez". Los Angeles Daily News.
  8. ^ "Councilman Gil Cedillo concedes defeat to challenger Eunisses Hernandez". July 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "EUNISSES HERNANDEZ". Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles.
  10. ^ a b c French, Piper (March 4, 2022). "Abolitionist Organizer Wants to Fill Los Angeles Power Vacuum". Bolts.
  11. ^ Mai-Duc, Christine. "Law clinics offer 'second chance'". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ "JLUSA Statement from Los Angeles Campaign Coordinator, Eunisses Hernandez, on the Historic JusticeLA Victory, as the LA County Board of Supervisors Votes to Stop Construction of a $3.5B Women's Jail". JustLeadershipUSA. February 13, 2019.
  13. ^ Kelkar, Lyric (March 4, 2021). "What's the Latest on Measure J? A Conversation with Eunisses Hernandez". Inclusive Action for the City.
  14. ^ Guerin, Emily (November 5, 2020). "Measure J Appears To Pass As Part Of LA County's Criminal Justice Reform Wave". LAist.
  15. ^ Slovin, Charlotte (July 1, 2022). "Despite Voter Approval, LA County Has Slow Rolled Measure J Implementation". Knock LA.
  16. ^ "Eunisses Hernandez Launches Campaign for LA City Council". Tamarindo Podcast. October 8, 2021.
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