“My mom always saw me as someone who would eventually stand up and fight for what was right, just from a different position. She saw me as an instrument of change.”
(Note: We use “South Central” to reflect how José Ugarte describes the community he grew up in and now seeks to represent.) While CD9 encompasses a broader area of South Los Angeles, “South Central” carries the personal and cultural meaning central to his story. We use “South Los Angeles” when geographic precision is needed.)
At first glance, José Ugarte is calm, measured, almost deliberate in the way he speaks and carries himself. But beneath that composure is a deep sense of urgency, a conviction that has shaped much of his life: the belief that civil rights, human rights, justice, and the opportunity for a better life are worth fighting for. And then there are the things that make him genuinely angry, the injustices he has witnessed, the people he believes have been treated unfairly, and the failures he says can no longer be ignored. That anger, tempered by years of political experience, is part of what drives his decision to seek a seat on the Los Angeles City Council.
“Yes, a lot of things really piss me off. During the intense period of raids in South Central, I saw immigration agents come after working Latinos. I knew who these people were; good people, hardworking people who contribute to this country. They did not deserve that treatment. On the other hand, I saw how the mayor of San Francisco called (Donald) Trump and asked him not to interfere with his city. Trump, in exchange, asked him to clean the homeless people off the streets. They did it, and ICE did not go in there. I asked myself, why can’t we negotiate before these people are affected? All of that motivates my fight,” says Ugarte, a candidate for City Council District 9 in the city’s November 3 general election.
In the primary election, Ugarte finished in first place with 39.76% of the vote. His November opponent, Estuardo Mazariegos, received 25.59%, a difference of approximately 14.2 percentage points. The other six candidates divided the remaining votes.
“Some of them have already reached out to me. They will support me,” Ugarte says. He has also raised nearly twice as much money in contributions, putting him in a comfortable position. But that is not the only thing keeping him relatively calm. His history in CD9 is another factor. Ugarte has worked in this community for many years, he is part of it, and he is a recognizable figure on its streets.
“I won’t say that I won’t be absent from the community when I become a councilmember. Usually, the people who say that are the first ones to disappear. I live in this area. I am part of the community, my family is part of it, I go to the local gym, I play basketball with its residents… I don’t need to say it. The community knows where I live. They can knock on my door, send me a text message, find me at the supermarket… It is very easy and comfortable to be represented by someone like them,” Ugarte says.
The Road to City Hall
Recently, Ugarte was watching television with his wife, Vanessa. Trump was delivering one of his typical anti-immigrant speeches. He was saying, in one way or another, that immigrants were a burden on the country, that they did not contribute to the country and were a burden.
His wife, jokingly, turned to José and said, “Look, he’s talking about you.”
That triggered an immediate reaction. He could not sit on the sidelines. He decided he had to do something, and that running for City Council and fighting to transform South Central into a crime-free, clean, healthy community that shows its true face could no longer wait.
“I have to do something or I’ll look like a coward,” he says he told himself.
Ugarte immigrated to California at the age of four. His parents crossed the border like many immigrants and experienced the hardships that so many live through every day. His mother, Martha Ugarte, is a recognized pro-immigrant activist, an advocate for the community’s causes and a familiar presence at social movements. His father supported the family in every way, above all through his hard work as a construction worker.
“I had to make sure that all of my parents’ efforts were not in vain. They brought us to this country to have a better life, to work and contribute to this country. I had to make sure I demonstrated that. Many immigrants have lives similar to mine, some worse, others better, but many don’t talk about it, they don’t express it. I connect with them because I share my life with them, the difficulties and the struggles we have gone through,” he adds.
He was six or seven years old when his mother took him to a demonstration against Proposition 187, which sought to deny public services to immigrants and was championed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson.
“I have never been seen as an activist. My mom was the rebel. I remember that when we went to the march, the people around me were shouting, ‘Stop Proposition 187,’ and I looked at them in amazement. My mom had us holding tightly onto her hands. At one point she told me, ‘You stay calm. You are meant for other things.’ She kept me well dressed and my hair neatly combed.”
“My mom always saw me as someone who would eventually stand up and fight for what was right from a different position. She saw me as an instrument of change,” he recalls.
His mother, Martha Ugarte, has participated in immigrant-rights movements and organizations serving the Mexican and Oaxacan communities. In 2007, for example, she appeared as a coordinator with Mujeres Unidas y Activas during the national boycott of Western Union organized by immigrant-rights groups.
She has also been involved in defending immigrant families and in campaigns for immigration reform. In 2016, she was a spokesperson for Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional and participated in initiatives involving families separated by deportations.
José knows that the challenge before him is a daunting one. His dream is to transform South Central.
Between Two Communities
José Ugarte’s political story is deeply connected to the history of South Los Angeles and, particularly, to the relationship between the Latino and Black communities. District 9 has been represented by Black politicians for more than six decades, a tradition that Ugarte knows not only through politics, but from his own childhood. The son of Oaxacan immigrants, he grew up in South Los Angeles surrounded by Black families and remembers being welcomed by his neighbors and schoolmates as part of a diverse community that learned to live together and fight for common goals.
His entry into politics also began alongside Black leadership. After graduating from college, Ugarte was looking for his first opportunity in politics. The Latino Caucus did not offer him a position, but the African American Caucus did. He accepted the opportunity, beginning his political career as an intern and gaining an early introduction to the Black political leadership that had long shaped South Los Angeles. For Ugarte, that experience was more than a first job: it was an opportunity to learn from a political and community-organizing tradition that had played a central role in transforming South Los Angeles.
Years later, that relationship deepened with Curren Price, who has represented District 9 since 2013 and is the latest in a long line of Black councilmembers who have held the seat. Ugarte worked alongside Price for years and eventually served as his chief deputy, becoming one of his principal aides. That experience allowed him to understand the district’s needs from the inside while also building relationships with leaders in the Black community.
For that reason, Ugarte does not present his candidacy as a break with South Los Angeles’ Black political tradition. Rather, his argument is that he can continue that tradition from a new generation and through a Latino and Oaxacan identity. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, he put it particularly bluntly: he aspires to be “the most pro-Black Latino council member that the city really has.”
The historical dimension of his candidacy is significant. If elected, Ugarte would be the first councilmember who is not Black to represent District 9 since 1963. Although roughly 80% of the district’s residents are currently Latino, South Los Angeles retains a significant Black community and a political identity built over decades around Black leadership.
Ugarte is thus attempting to present himself as a bridge between two communities that for generations have shared neighborhoods, struggles and aspirations. His candidacy seeks to tell the Latino community that the time has come for it to have representation of its own, while also telling the Black community that this change does not have to mean the end of a historic alliance.
That idea is also reflected in the endorsements he has received. Among those supporting his candidacy are prominent Black figures with long political careers in Los Angeles, including Curren Price himself and former Congresswoman Diane Watson. For Ugarte, those endorsements represent more than electoral support: they are a sign that his project can become a continuation, and not necessarily a replacement, of the political tradition that defined District 9 for more than half a century.
For Ugarte, Latino and Black communities share a similar history of fighting for civil rights.
“South Central represented the place where both communities came looking for jobs. Now it is more Latino, and the Black community has understood that. But we all agree that we have to clean up the city, lower crime, improve the schools… and more. We have the same dreams.”
Ugarte has been a longtime member of the NAACP.
“I received a lifetime appointment. I think I’m the only Latino who has it.”
“I want young people to see someone like themselves—an immigrant who speaks Spanish and English and found a path into politics. I want them to know they can do it too.”
“When People Here Do Well, They Leave. I Want to Give Them Enough Reasons to Stay.”
For Ugarte, a positive narrative must be built around results so that residents whose lives improve and who might otherwise want to leave the district decide to stay. He believes there is a great deal of cultural, social and economic segregation. He knows that resources must be brought into the district, existing cultural barriers must be broken, and transportation systems and economic opportunities must be improved.
“I wanted my daughter to start folkloric ballet classes. There are none in this area, so I had to drive outside the district to find those classes. If a child wants to learn mariachi music, they have to look elsewhere. That cannot remain this way. We have to break down that cultural barrier; it is economic segregation.
“Another important thing is that I will work to bring a train line through here that connects with other parts of the city and takes residents to Venice Beach and beyond. We only have two options, the Expo Line and the Blue Line. We are an island, and I will need the support of the Council to get that money. But if we want to transform South Central, we have to transform ourselves.
“Another thing: we need to clean up this area, have more parks, clean spaces, surveillance cameras, more police,” he says enthusiastically. “The difference between me and other politicians is that I actually listen. I am someone who hears people.”
South Central: One-Third Young People Searching for Hope
One-third of the district’s 300,000 residents are young people. They are a population Ugarte is particularly interested in serving.
“They will see someone like many of them. An immigrant, with a similar story, who crossed the border, who was undocumented, who speaks Spanish and English. They will not see a representative of their district who does not have a similar story. I tell them, ‘Hey, we have the same background. I had Pete Wilson at your age; you have Donald Trump.’ And they get excited. They know there are possibilities to achieve other things, to enter politics.
“You don’t know how many young volunteers I have in my campaign. There are so many. I also mentor young people. My wife is the same way. She teaches in this city, and she has not wanted to move to another area because she has that same philosophy: ‘I want these children to have the teacher I would have wanted to have when I was a child,’” Ugarte says.
“One thing I have learned from my parents and mentors is to always be humble, not to believe I am better than others.”
The Challenge: Working Together with the City Council
Ugarte does not foresee any problem working with the members of the City Council. Most have already shown him their support, and with the others, he is willing to work with them and support initiatives that benefit the community.
“We will have different perspectives on how to solve the problems in our districts. Some proposals will be similar to mine, others will not. But we have to respect each other. In my district, there are around 100,000 registered voters, but 300,000 people live there. We work for everyone, regardless of whether they vote or not.”
Another one of his challenges is his mother, Martha Ugarte. Experienced in social struggles, she continues to follow her son’s path and legacy with pride.
“I tell her, jokingly, ‘Mom, everything I have done, you taught me. So if I do something wrong, it’s your fault,’” he says with a smile.
