Eunisses Hernandez (born 1990) is an American activist and politician, currently serving as a member of the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...

for the 1st district since 2022. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

, Hernandez defeated incumbent councilmember

Gil Cedillo Gilbert Anthony Cedillo (born March 25, 1954) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Cedillo was previously a member of both the ...

in an upset in the 2022 election. A self-described

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

and

prison abolitionist The prison abolition movement is a network of groups and activists that seek to reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with systems of rehabilitation that do not place a focus on punishment and government institutiona ...

, Hernandez was endorsed by progressive groups and leaders like City Councilman Mike Bonin and

Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organiz ...

, and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. Hernandez declared victory on June 18, 2022, before the final vote tally, which was certified on July 1, 2022. Cedillo conceded the same day.

Early life and career

Hernandez was born in 1990 to Juan and Leticia Hernandez and grew up in

Highland Park, Los Angeles Highland Park is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located in the city's Northeast region. It was one of the first subdivisions of Los Angeles and is inhabited by a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups. History The area was set ...

. Early in her life, Hernandez thought about becoming a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

. She attended Franklin High School and later

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

for one year in 2009, where she majored in civil engineering. During her employment at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies w ...

, she graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2013. It was during her time at CSU Long Beach where she "experienced ..a revelation" after she took a class for criminology and the

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 1 ...

Career

Hernandez started her career in 2014 as a policy coordinator for the

Drug Policy Alliance The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization that seeks to advance policies that “reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and b ...

where she helped with the passing of Senate Bill 180 and California Proposition 64. In 2018, she moved to JustLeadershipUSA as a campaign coordinator for JusticeLA where she helped with stopping the county's $3.5 billion jail plan. In 2019, she was appointed by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to be a community stakeholder for an Alternatives to Incarceration working group. In 2020, she co-founded La Defensa with Ivette Alé, a women-led organization that supports reducing the number of incarcerated people in Los Angeles County. That same year she co-chaired Measure J, a ballot initiative that would allocate at least 10% of Los Angeles County's funding for community reinvestment and incarceration alternatives. The ballot, which she co-chaired with future Assemblymember

Isaac Bryan Isaac G. Bryan (born January 16, 1992) is an American politician serving as the Majority Leader of the California State Assembly. He represents the 55th district, which includes much of South Central Los Angeles. Bryan was previously the executiv ...

and future councilmember

Hugo Soto-Martinez Hugo Soto-Martinez is an American labor organizer and politician, currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 13th district since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Soto-Mar ...

, passed with 57.12% of the vote. In June 2021, though, the measure was blocked by Judge Mary Strobel as being unconstitutional and the implementation of the measure has been slow.

Los Angeles City Council

On October 8, 2021, Hernandez announced that she would be running for

Los Angeles City Council District 1 Los Angeles City Council District 1 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, representing sections of Northeast Los Angeles and Northwest Los Angeles. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez is the current representative for CD 1; she ...

in the 2022 elections. After three other candidates were disqualified, she was the only opponent against incumbent

. Hernandez was endorsed by multiple progressive groups and leaders, with Council-member Mike Bonin and

endorsing her in the primary. Hernandez ultimately unseated Cedillo with 53.9% of the vote, avoiding the need for a runoff.

Electoral history

2022 Los Angeles City Council District 1 election results map by precinct

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Eunisses Living people 1990 births Activists from Los Angeles Los Angeles City Council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Hispanic and Latino American politicians Hispanic and Latino American women in politics California Democrats California socialists Police abolitionists Prison abolitionists Democratic Socialists of America politicians from California Women city councillors in California