The housing rights attorney attended her first city council meeting the day after her swearing-in ceremony
ON Monday, Dec. 9, Ysabel Jurado was sworn in to the Los Angeles City Council, becoming the first ever LA City Council member of Filipino descent.
In a closed-doors ceremony, Jurado, 34, took the oath of office from the City Clerk to officially start her tenure as the city’s councilmember for District 14. Jurado is also the first openly queer person to lead District 14, which comprises of much of east and northeastern LA and downtown LA.
According to a report in Boyle Heights Beat, Jurado attended her first city council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
In addition to Jurado, Adrin Nazarian was also sworn into the city council as leader of District 2.
As previously reported in the Asian Journal, Jurado — a Highland Park native and resident — defeated incumbent Kevin de Leon in November by nearly 12,000 votes. Jurado’s grassroots campaign was built on progressive policies and solutions and a promise to serve the people, not corporations.
“I’ve always been an organizer and I never thought I would run for office, it’s true. But I feel called for this by my community. We [Filipinos] are the second-largest Asian population in Southern California and yet we haven’t had a council member ever is wild to me,” Jurado told the Asian Journal in an interview in late 2023.
Per city council regulations, Jurado’s term will be four years. As a housing rights attorney, Jurado has said that creating permanent solutions to LA’s long-existing housing crisis — while combatting gentrification — is one of her priorities.
