Hosted by APALC, SIPA, and other community groups
LOS ANGELES – Various Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community groups will be hosting a candidates’ forum for Los Angeles Council District 13 (CD 13) on May 8, Wednesday, from 7pm to 8:30pm.
The forum will be held at the St. Garabed Armenian Church’s Karapetian Hall on 1614 N. Alexandria Avenue, Los Angeles, 90027.
Candidates John Choi and Mitch O’Farrell, both vying to represent the district that includes Historic Filipinotown, Thai Town, and some parts of Koreatown will participate in the forum.
As many as 15 candidates vied for the hotly contested CD 13 council seat during the primary nominating elections in March 5. The two candidates, Choi and O’Farrell, emerged from the pack and will face-off in the May 21 runoff elections.
The forum is being hosted by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), in partnership with the Korean Resource Center, Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC), League of Women Voters, Hye Votes, and Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA). Val Zavala of KCET will serve as moderator for the event.
For the first time in 12 years, a new city councilmember will be elected by residents of the district.
Residents and community stakeholders will hear from Choi and O’Farrell about their positions on key issues for the district, and will also have the chance to submit their own questions for the candidates to answer.
According to APALC Community Engagement Project Director An Le, the legal center has prepared a list of issues for the candidates to talk about at the forum, among them affordable housing and responsible community development.
“There are a lot of other issues that I think are important to the Thai community. You know, CD 13 also includes parts of Koreatown and Historic Filipinotown. So those are three major Asian ethnic communities will be impacted [sic] by who they will be voting as their representative,” Le added.
Le also noted that the forum will also be a good opportunity for the candidates to know more about the issues that are important for the community members.
Thai CDC Project Coordinator Andreu Neri told Asian Journal that the attendance of district residents on Wednesday’s forum is a “step forward,” and is a move towards “nvesting in the community.”
Neri pointed out that because LA is a melting pot of cultures, it is important for community members to come together, especially during the election period.
Aside from the forum, there will be a short presentation about language assistance programs for voters with limited English proficiency (LEP).
These programs are expected to help increase voter turnout by assisting LEP voters to overcome any communication barriers in the voting process.
