Voting in LA is basically a part-time job. You get that thick booklet in the mail, look at the "judicial seat 39" or "Measure G" and think, Who actually knows what this is? Most of us just want to vote for people who won't sell the city to real estate developers or keep the status quo of a $13 billion budget that never seems to fix the potholes. That’s why the los angeles progressive voter guide 2024 became such a survival tool for the November election.
Honestly, the 2024 cycle was a weird one. You had a presidential race sucking up all the oxygen, while local races were where the actual "progressive" soul of the city was being fought over. We saw a massive split between what people said they wanted (safety) and how they voted on the ground (often for very different things).
Why Everyone Was Obsessed with the Los Angeles Progressive Voter Guide 2024
If you live here, you know the drill. There isn't just one "progressive" voice. You’ve got LA Forward, Knock LA, and Courage California, and they don’t always agree.
Knock LA is usually the most "radical" of the bunch, often refusing to recommend anyone if the candidates aren't pure enough on abolition or housing rights. LA Forward is more of the "let's build a coalition" vibe. In 2024, they were trying to navigate a city that felt increasingly cranky about crime and homelessness.
People used these guides because the ballot was a minefield. Take the District Attorney race. George Gascón was the poster child for progressive reform. But by November, the "tough on crime" narrative had shifted the ground under his feet. The guides were trying to explain why his policies weren't the disaster the local news made them out to be, but it was a tough sell.
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The Big Names on the Ballot
- Ysabel Jurado (CD 14): This was the big one. Kevin de León refused to quit after the leaked tape scandal, and Jurado became the progressive hope to finally oust him. The guides loved her because she’s a tenant lawyer and a daughter of Highland Park.
- Nithya Raman (CD 4): She already survived a recall and a redistricting attempt. Her 2024 run was about proving that a progressive incumbent could actually govern without getting swallowed by the "City Hall machine."
- Jillian Burgos (CD 2): A North Hollywood neighborhood council member who didn't take corporate PAC money. She was the underdog against Adrin Nazarian, who had over $1 million in his war chest.
The Ballot Measures That Secretly Ran the City
Everyone talks about candidates, but the measures are where the money moves. In 2024, the los angeles progressive voter guide 2024 focused heavily on Measure A and Measure G.
Measure A was the "Homelessness Services and Affordable Housing" tax. It basically aimed to replace the old Measure H with a permanent half-cent sales tax. Progressives were all-in because it mandated that 20% of the money go toward actual housing, not just "sweeping" people from one sidewalk to another.
Then there was Measure G. This one was technical and, frankly, a bit boring to read, but it was a massive power shift. It proposed expanding the Board of Supervisors from five people to nine and creating an elected "County Executive." Progressives were split. Some saw it as more representation; others saw it as a way for corporate interests to buy another seat at the table.
Prop 36: The Progressive Nightmare
Statewide, Prop 36 was the elephant in the room. It was designed to roll back the 2014 reforms that made certain drug and theft crimes misdemeanors. Every progressive guide screamed "NO" on this. They argued it would just lead to more mass incarceration without fixing the root causes of retail theft.
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But here’s the thing: even in "progressive" LA, it passed. That tells you a lot about where the city’s head was at in 2024. People were feeling "vibes-based" anxiety about safety, and the "tough-on-crime" lobby capitalized on it perfectly.
The Results: A Mixed Bag for the Movement
If you look at the 2024 results through a progressive lens, it wasn't a total washout, but it hurt.
- The Gascón Loss: Gascón getting beaten by Nathan Hochman was a massive blow. Hochman won with roughly 60% of the vote. It wasn't even close. This felt like a rejection of the "DA as a reformer" model that progressives had fought years to build.
- The City Council Bright Spots: Ysabel Jurado’s victory in CD 14 was a genuine celebration. It showed that grass-roots organizing—the kind where people actually knock on doors in Boyle Heights—still works.
- Santa Monica and Culver City: While the big county races went more moderate, smaller cities nearby actually moved further left. Santa Monica ended up with a progressive supermajority on its council.
Progressives were basically playing defense on the macro level while winning small, crucial battles on the micro level.
How to Actually Use These Guides for the Next Round
You shouldn't just follow a guide blindly. That’s what the special interest groups want.
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Start by looking at the "Endorsements" page. If a candidate is endorsed by the LA County Federation of Labor AND LA Forward, they’re probably a solid bet for a working-class-focused voter. If they’re only endorsed by "The Association of [Industry] Owners," you know who they’re going to be answering to.
Also, check the "Funding" section. The los angeles progressive voter guide 2024 often pointed out when a candidate was funded by the California Apartment Association. If you're a renter, that’s a red flag.
Actionable Next Steps for LA Voters
- Sign up for LA Forward’s newsletter. They do the deep dives into the budget that the rest of us don't have time for.
- Watch the City Council meetings. You can find them on YouTube or the city website. It's the only way to see if your "progressive" candidate is actually voting the way they promised.
- Don't wait for the general election. The primaries in March are where most of the real decisions happen in this city. If you wait until November, your choices have already been narrowed down by the big spenders.
- Track your ballot. Use the "Where’s My Ballot?" tool from the Secretary of State. It sounds simple, but thousands of ballots get rejected every year because of signature issues.
The reality is that Los Angeles is a city of contradictions. We want rent control, but we also want property values to go up. We want to help the unhoused, but we don't want a shelter on our block. The los angeles progressive voter guide 2024 didn't solve those contradictions, but it gave us a map to navigate them. Whether you agreed with every recommendation or not, having a guide that looks at the city from the bottom up—rather than from the developer's office down—is the only way to keep City Hall even remotely honest.