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THE VIEW FROM HERE - This article will include not only current city councilmembers but also the mayor and candidates running in the June 2, 2026 primary who believe in Decommodification of Housing (DOH). That’s a fancy term meaning that human beings should not own their own housing. Some apply Decommodification to only multi-unit housing for the poor, but others include single-family homes. Often, they use misleading terms like “social housing,” e.g. AB 309, AB 11. More descriptive terms are “public housing,” “de-privatizing” or on the federal level, “Nationalization.”
The Nose of the Camel
Presently, Los Angeles is at “The Nose of the Camel is under the Tent” stage. That means the de-privatization of all home ownership is a goal towards which many officials work, but their objective remains unstated until the public is accustomed to the government’s owning projects for the poor, e.g. Affordable Housing. Prior examples were tried in the 1950's and 1960's. The most infamous were probably Pruitt-Igoe and the Joseph Darst Apartments in St. Louis and Cabrini-Greene Complex in Chicago.
The justification for the government ownership is that housing is a public asset, like fire stations, and should not be bought and sold like automobiles or Campbell’s soup. DSA-LA and other chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) believe that all housing including single family homes should be government owned.
City Councilmembers and Candidates Who Support Decommodification of Housing
Nithya Raman
(District 4 councilmember): DSA-LA endorsed her in the 2020 and 2024 city council race. The fact that other DSA members are running for mayor is most likely the reason DSA has not endorsed anyone for mayor. A former urban planner and current 2026 mayoral candidate. She has co-authored motions to establish a large-scale social housing program in LA and supports using Measure ULA ("Mansion Tax") funds for community-controlled, permanently affordable housing.
Eunisses Hernandez
(District 1 Councilmember): Hernandez is a DSA-endorsed council member. She has partnered with Raman and Soto-Martínez to advocate for decommodifying housing to benefit working people rather than developers.
Hugo Soto-Martínez
(District 13 councilmember): Soto-Martinez is a DSA-LA member who has vocally supported taking the "profit motive" out of housing. He frequently introduces or supports motions related to social housing frameworks. Currently many older, stately single family residences in CD 13 are being torn down to Affordable Housing.
Ysabel Jurado
(District 14 councilmember): Jurado is a DSA-endorsed councilmember who has recently touted the rollout of over $300 million in housing funds from Measure ULA to support affordable housing initiatives.
Measure ULA is a half-way step to 100% government owned housing where Non-profit organizations and tenant groups may own a share of a complex but the property may not be sold like private property. That means no individual can gain equity and his rent payments never accumulate in his favor to create inter-generational wealth.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson
(District 8 councilmember): While not a DSA member, he has partnered with the progressive bloc on motions to scale up social housing and identify financing for community-controlled models. “Community controlled” is another term, meaning no private ownership.
Candidates in June 2 Primary Who Favor Decommodification
Rae Huang: (Mayoral candidate):
A community organizer and DSA member whose platform challenges the private ownership status quo of housing.
Nithya Raman (Mayor candidate):
She is a prominent mayoral candidate emphasizing housing affordability through social housing models. Many believe that she chose to run for Mayor when Adam Miller and Spencer Pratt appeared to have enough support to be the #2 vote recipient in June 2 and thereby force DSA sympathizer Bass into a run-off election in November 2026. Their calculations were that Raman would be so popular that Raman would be the #2 voter getter. Polls suggest that Pratt and not Raman will be the #2 vote getter on June 2nd.
Estuardo Mazariegos (District 9 candidate):
A DSA-endorsed candidate whose platform explicitly includes decommodifying housing and full implementation of Measure ULA to fund social housing. CD 9 is about 80% Hispanic which means Mazariegos opposes homeownership as a way for Mexicans and other Hispanics to build equity and inter-generational wealth. Mazariegos talks about keeping rents low and building more affordable housing without informing voters that he opposes private ownership of homes.
Faizah Malik (District 11 candidate):
A community lawyer endorsed by DSA-LA who has spent her career fighting to build more housing and strengthen tenant protections. More housing and strengthening tenant protections sound good, but she fails to mention that she opposes private ownership of homes, which is the first step up the ladder of creating inter-generational wealth.
Supporters of decommodification neglect to mention, their approach precludes poor minorities of home ownership and the opportunity to build intergenerational wealth. Studies have proved that the best way for the poor to climb out of poverty is to have a car. Living near rapid mass transit does nothing to help poor people get jobs; it is time consuming and thereby squanders precious time on their long commutes. Car ownership allows a poor person to reach every job in the county. In fact, subsidized housing, which is necessary, also harms the poor. If poor people make a little bit more money, they can lose their Section 8 status, their CalFresh and their Medicaid. Unless that extra money is significant and will be continuous, people soon find that they cannot afford housing, food, or medical care. Has any candidate addressed this situation so that the poor are not trapped at the bottom?
Spencer Pratt (non-DSA Mayoral candidate):
Pratt shows no record of decommodification of housing but takes the punitive approach that mental illness causes homelessness and people should be locked up until they get well. If they don’t get their act together, they can get out. One could ask, “who is more responsible for having no home" (1) an educated, financially stable TV personality who with no record of political involvement or of fire-proofing his neighborhood before the Palisades fire, or (2) a person whose chronic depression has no cure, a widowed mother with three toddlers, a disabled person on Social Security?
None provide any idea how to stop LA’s slide into Doom. Worse yet, none admit the problem. Rather, they offer three choices: (1) more the same, e.g., Wall Street monetization housing, (2) the opposite extreme, the decommodification of housing so that the poor can never create inter-generational wealth, or (3) blame the poor.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at RickLeeAbrams@Gmail.com)
