LA City Council District 5 election guide: Challenge for Yaroslavsky

Yaroslavsky, 45, was named chair of the council’s budget committee early last year, a job that wields enormous influence over city spending and requires him to balance lofty political expectations with fiscal reality.

Yaroslavsky began her career as a land use attorney and lobbyist and later worked as a top aide to former Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for more than six years. She is the daughter-in-law of former Fifth District City Council member Zev Yaroslavsky, who later served on the county Board of Supervisors.

Yaroslavsky said, “We need people in office who are interested in problem solving, not focused on gotcha politics. Who aren’t super ideological, but are actually there to solve problems. And that’s what I’m there for.”

Henry Mantel is running for LA City Council District 5.

(Handout from Matt Mantel)

mental, 33, has worked on a handful of political campaigns, according to his campaign website, including Caroline Ramsay’s unsuccessful campaign for the 4th District Council seat in 2015. Mantle graduated from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in 2020. As a lawyer, he says he has represented tenants in disputes with landlords, including contesting evictions.

Mantel said, “The severity of the crisis really weighed on me and it was unbearable to see the City Council refuse to do anything.”

Morgan Oyler is running for LA City Council District 5.

(Corey Aycock)

oiler, 42, is a longtime accountant for Haus of Portrait, a fine art portrait studio in Santa Monica. He was born and raised in L.A., attended high school in Santa Monica, and returned to live in Westwood about a decade ago. He ran for the Washington State House in 2010 and 2012, running as a Republican and losing both times. He says he became a Democrat a decade ago after becoming uncomfortable with President Trump’s influence on the GOP.

Oyler is forced to flee because he sees Yaroslavsky’s policies as hindering sustainable housing development.