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CD9 — A historic primary election is less than two weeks away in South Los Angeles’ Council District 9, where longtime Councilmember Curren Price is set to end a 13-year run while continuing to face corruption charges.
The race comes at a pivotal moment for CD9, the poorest district in Los Angeles, where residents say rapid development projects championed during Price’s tenure have accelerated tenant displacement, neighborhood instability, and fears of gentrification tied to major upcoming events such as the 2028 Olympics and FIFA World Cup.
Tenant organizers now say the next councilmember will face a defining question:
Who will stand with tenants facing displacement?
“Homes, Not Plaques”
One of the most contentious projects sits along the 3800 block of Flower Drive and Figueroa Street, directly across from the LA Memorial Coliseum and BMO Stadium.
City Planning is reviewing a proposal that would demolish more than half of the block’s 15 historic multifamily buildings to make way for luxury high-rise student housing. The same developers previously displaced 32 families from an adjacent block to construct another student housing project.
According to tenant advocates, several investors tied to the proposed development made maximum contributions to Price’s campaign.
The city’s recently released Draft Environmental Impact Report evaluates issues such as traffic and air quality, but tenants argue it largely ignores the social consequences of displacement on longtime Black and immigrant residents.
What has especially angered tenants is one suggested mitigation measure: installing a commemorative plaque to acknowledge the loss of up to nine buildings within the state-recognized Flower Drive Historic District.
For residents, the proposal symbolizes what they describe as City Hall’s indifference.
“Memorials are for the dead. The plaque means you are already gone,” said one member of the Flower Drive Tenant Association. “We want to live in our homes, not remember them because we have been displaced.”
The Flower Drive Tenant Association, along with allied community organizations, plans to submit formal objections to City Planning before the June 1 public comment deadline.
Candidates Under Scrutiny
With Curren Price leaving office, tenants say they are carefully watching the crowded CD9 race.
Members of the Flower Drive Tenant Association attended a recent candidate forum hosted by local nonprofit The Big House, founded by CD9 candidate Jorge Nuño. Tenants said they were disappointed participants were not allowed to ask submitted questions directly.
Tenant organizers have also met privately with several candidates, including Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed Estuardo Mazariegos and Elmer Roldan, who is backed by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mayor Karen Bass.
They have not met with Jose Ugarte, a former Price staffer widely viewed as the outgoing councilmember’s political protégé.
Tenant advocates say Curren Price himself repeatedly declined requests to meet with Flower Drive residents over the years.
While some candidates have pledged support for anti-displacement efforts, tenants say promises alone are not enough.
“Whoever replaces Curren Price,” one tenant organizer said, “we will hold them accountable to defend South Central against displacement.”
Development Pressure Intensifies
The debate unfolding in CD9 reflects a broader conflict across Los Angeles, where housing development, rising rents, and increasing Ellis Act evictions are colliding with preparations for global mega-events expected to reshape large sections of the city.
For many South Los Angeles tenants, the CD9 election is about more than politics.
It is about whether longtime residents will still have a place in the neighborhoods they helped build.
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