How YIMBY-Endorsed Candidates Are Poised to Shape LA’s Next Power Structure
June 22, 2026
Endorsed candidates advance in high-profile mayoral, city attorney, and Council District 9 to November runoffs, directly challenging City Hall’s housing delays and the shape of charter reform.
The day after the June 2 primary, the LA City Council voted to delay SB 79 implementation citywide until 2030. SB 79 is the state law that requires cities to allow more housing near transit corridors, and its local implementation is one of the most consequential land use decisions LA will make this decade. That vote, passed the morning after polls closed, is the political environment YIMBY-endorsed candidates ran in and the one the November general election will now decide.
A majority of YIMBY LA-endorsed candidates in contested races are advancing to the general in November. Ballots are still being counted and final certification is July 10. November is where the housing policy direction of this city will be set.
How We Approached Endorsements
YIMBY LA built a comprehensive process around this cycle: a 13-question questionnaire sent to candidates across more than 130 races spanning LA City, Glendale, the LA County Board of Supervisors, and state legislative seats covering the region. Responses were tracked at three stages and supplemented with YIMBY LA-led interviews. For candidates with established records (e.g., Chelsea Byers in WeHo, Nithya Raman in CD4, and State Assembly incumbents), their record was the primary input. For open seats and lesser-known challengers, the questionnaire and interviews were the instruments used for separating genuine housing advocates from candidates using the right language without the substance behind it.
Not every race produced an endorsement. Our goal is for a YIMBY LA endorsement to hold weight, so that means taking a clear position when we can and withholding one when the field does not meet the standard. The scale of this cycle reflects the depth of electoral work needed to seriously consider contests across our region.
The Races That Mattered Most
California’s top-two primary system in safe Democratic districts produced predictable results, with the expected Assembly incumbents advancing. An even more meaningful signal came from the races where YIMBY LA’s endorsement was a genuine differentiating factor.
The mayoral race carries the clearest policy consequence. YIMBY LA-endorsed Nithya Raman advanced to the general against Karen Bass, moving from third on election night into second place as mail ballots were counted. Bass finished at 34.3% with Raman at 29.0%. Whoever wins that race in November inherits the SB 79 implementation fight, ULA (‘mansion tax’) reform, LA charter reform, and the permitting trajectory of the city over the next four years.
YIMBY LA-endorsed Marissa Roy led the field for city attorney at 43.1%, upending incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto and advancing to a November runoff against prosecutor John McKinney at 28.6%. The city attorney’s office shapes how land use law gets interpreted, how state housing mandates get defended or deflected, ordinance construction, legal advice to the City Council, operational guidance for City departments, and how City contracts and service agreements get structured. We believe Roy’s lead should get attention well beyond housing circles.
