Jose Ugarte
Jorge Nuño
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — A quiet but consequential transition is underway in the 9th City Council District as Councilman Curren Price prepares for his last year in office, forced out by City Charter-mandated term limits.
Price has endorsed his longtime aide, José Ugarte, to replace him in next June’s primary election.
The endorsement hasn’t quieted critics. Rival candidate Jorge Nuño argues that next year’s race represents a
break from entrenched power at City Hall.
“People are tired of being overlooked and left behind,” Nuño said. “This is not about Black versus Latino. It’s about character, accountability and breaking away from a system that has failed our community.”
The stakes are high. The 9th District is now nearly 85% Latino. Community voices say the contest is less about demographics than about trust in government, accountability, everyday services, housing affordability and the future identity of South L.A.
Price is stepping down amid legal and ethical scrutiny. A preliminary hearing for charges of embezzlement of government funds, perjury and conflict of interest that was supposed to start Nov. 4 was postponed until Dec. 11.
His support makes Ugarte the early establishment favorite in the race, but Ugarte has his own ethical issues. Earlier this fall, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission records show Ugarte agreed to a $17,500 settlement for failing to disclose outside income from his consulting firm on required Form 700 filings in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The case involved reporting omissions, not lobbying while on city time or decisions affecting clients, according to commission documents.
“I didn’t fill out the paperwork correctly — that’s on me,” Ugarte said in an interview. “It wasn’t unethical activity. I paid the fine, I’m being transparent about it, and I want to move forward.”
He added that he did political consulting, not lobbying, and accepted the maximum penalty to resolve the matter rather than challenge it.
Ugarte, who was born in Mexico and raised in South L.A., has worked for Price for more than a decade — first as a driver, then as a field deputy serving Black, Latino and Central American neighborhoods.
“I grew up here. I know the parks, the blocks, the churches,” he said. “We all live the same struggles — whether you’re Black or Latino. We need solutions that reflect that.”
In a statement emailed to The Wave, Price strongly defended his endorsement of Ugarte.
“As a Black man who has served a majority-Latino district, I know our progress in South Central has always come from Black and brown families pushing forward together,” Price wrote. “Over the last 12-1/2 years, I’ve watched José Ugarte rise in this work by earning his place. … There’s still real work ahead — fighting to eliminate homelessness, increasing affordable housing and protecting our seniors and youth. This is what José Ugarte stands for. Therefore, I enthusiastically endorse his candidacy.”
But Nuño says Ugarte’s ethics settlement reflects a pattern residents recognize.
“This isn’t a one-time oversight — it happened multiple years,” Nuño said. “Residents want government that works on their block, not just in press releases.”
Nuño has been blunt about the field as it develops.
“Jose will not win. He is posturing with endorsements and money, but this district wants change.”
Ugarte points to tangible district projects — including upgrades to South Park and Central Avenue Park — replacing underused fields with high-demand soccer, football and basketball spaces.
He also highlights launching a community-policing model that prioritized hiring officers from L.A. and emphasized engagement over arrests.
“We interviewed about 100 officers and selected 10 — five African American and five Latino,” he said. “They know the community and focus on moving people along instead of arresting them. There have been zero complaints in seven years.”
Both campaigns emphasize homelessness, with contrasting strategies.
Ugarte supports expanding access to treatment and recovery programs alongside job training.
“Off the streets, into treatment and back to work,” he said.
Nuño calls for rapid improvements in cleanliness, lighting, 311 response and fair development rules that allow longtime residents to remain.
“Visible services rebuild trust,” he said.
Ugarte names transportation as his top priority, proposing rail expansion along Slauson Avenue and the Harbor (110) Freeway corridor.
“We’re the second-largest city in the country,” he said. “We should have world-class transit, and our district has been skipped for too long.”
Price and Ugarte both stress protecting Black cultural institutions — from the Central Avenue Jazz Festival to Martin Luther King Jr. Day events and legacy churches — even as demographics evolve.
“African American legacy started here,” Ugarte said. “We have to honor that history while moving forward together.”
Nuño agrees coalition-building is essential but says the district needs new leadership to deliver results.
“There’s love in this community — Black and brown,” he said. “We deserve leadership that reflects that and delivers on it.”
With months before the June primary, the race remains fluid — shaped by a public ethics settlement, demographic change and competing visions for how to improve daily life in a district long fighting for investment and dignity. The outcome will determine whether South L.A. chooses change through continuity, or through a break from the political past.
Stephen Oduntan is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.
