California Assembly District 57 election: Elhawary vs. Martinez voter guide

Democratic Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer will be forced out of office this year due to term limits, and for the first time in more than a decade this South Los Angeles district has an open seat.

Two Democrats, educator and community organizer Sade Elhawary and small-business owner Efren Martinez, are facing off in November.

Who are the candidates?

Elhawary, born to Egyptian and Guatemalan immigrants, has a background working in education advocacy and has worked for the Community Coalition, an organization dedicated to the racially “exacerbated socioeconomic inequities” in South L.A. that was founded by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. She also worked on Bass’ 2022 mayoral campaign. Her biggest priority is solving the housing crisis. A foster mom, Elhawary also said she wants to invest in future generations by focusing on mental health and climate justice.

She has been endorsed by Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles).

Elhawary said she appreciates the work Jones-Sawyer has done on parks and after-school programs for the district.

Martinez is a business owner, Marine veteran and has served as the executive director of the Florence-Firestone/Walnut Park Chamber of Commerce. In 2020, Martinez ran against incumbent Jones-Sawyer in a tight race, receiving 42% of the vote, and had the support of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn.

Martinez has vowed to prioritize “community policing” that focuses on prevention and emphasizes positive interactions with law enforcement. He has been endorsed by U.S. Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) and Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) as well as L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

He said he differs from Jones-Sawyer when it comes to his approach to public safety issues. “I believe in second chances and received second chances myself throughout life,” he said. But, he added, he also believes “there have to be consequences when there’s a repeat of unlawful actions.”

Martinez and a former colleague, Graciela Ortiz, who is also running for public office, were both named this year as defendants in a civil lawsuit alleging that they were liable for the actions of a campaign worker, who pleaded no contest to sexual misconduct with a high school volunteer in a 2021 campaign they were managing.

An L.A. Superior Court judge removed Ortiz and Martinez from the lawsuit in April, after deciding that they are not liable based on the evidence presented. The case has remained active and a hearing is scheduled in October to determine if they will remain in the lawsuit.

Where is the district?

Downtown and historic South-Central Los Angeles are part of Assembly District 57, as is the Florence-Graham area. The Democratic-leaning district includes historically Black and Latino neighborhoods. More than 70% of the population is Latino.

What they say are the district’s top concerns

Elhawary said that one of the biggest concerns expressed by residents in South Los Angeles is the issue of unhoused people. “As people are building their encampments, they’re blocking streets and sidewalks, and there’s a general sense of a lot of trash and dumping in the community,” she said.

Martinez said his top concerns are housing, education, jobs and public safety. “We have a broken education system,” he said, emphasizing the importance of investing in trade schools.

Housing and homelessness

Elhawary said she would work to increase “street outreach” to deliver resources to the unhoused. She said she would also aim to develop adaptive reuse zoning and subsidized housing.

Martinez has vowed to create legislation that allocates “substantial and accountable” funding for affordable housing in Los Angeles and beyond, according to his campaign website. He supports tax incentives for developers who build affordable housing projects and expanding tenant protection laws and mental health services to curb homelessness.

“We all deserve a place called home,” he said on his website.

Proposition 36

Proposition 36 would create stiffer penalties for some drug and theft crimes, revising parts of Proposition 47, a decade-old ballot measure.

Elhawary does not support the measure. She called smash-and-grab burglaries a “very visceral” issue, but said she “ultimately [doesn’t] know if Proposition 36 is the answer.”

“Crime is overall down, but we don’t feel that, so how do we translate the type of legislation we need?” Elhawary said. “I don’t know if rolling back Proposition 47 is the right way to go. I think our justice system, locking more people up, is not the answer. We have to prosecute crime, but how we go about that process is important.”

Martinez supports Proposition 36.

“It’s a very complex situation we are going through,” he said. “I don’t believe we want to criminalize our low-income communities, or individuals going through housing challenges, but ... I do believe there has to be consequences for things.”