by Abel Salas LA County Supervisor Hilda Solís at her swearing-in with political mentor Dolores Huerta. On a warm sunlit January morning this year, beloved East Side advocate for homeless youth and human rights activist Father Richard Estrada waited patiently to be recognized with an official edict issued by the LA County Board of Supervisors. He wasn’t the only one. Also waiting in the wings with supporters and well-wishers was widely heralded labor leader Maria Elena Durazo, a legendary advocate for the working class who, until recently, headed up the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, an umbrella entity representing 600,000 workers, making her one of the most powerful union representatives in the nation. Both Estrada and Durazo were at the downtown Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration to accept recognition from the County Board of Supervisors at the behest of newly installed Supervisor for the 1st District, Hilda Lucia Solís. Sworn in at the beginning of last D...

by Ulisses Sánchez Above l. to r.: State Senator Ricardo Lara, Ulisses Sánchez, State Senator Kevin de León and LA Councilmember-elect José Huizar. A six-month journey ended with a flash flood of text messages shortly after the absentee ballot count was announced by the Los Angeles City Clerk’s Office. The reported tally showed Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar with an insurmountable 64%-24% lead over former Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina.  The election was over.  The rest of the results were only a formality in declaring Huizar the winner by a 42-point margin, a margin of victory which has been the subject of many news headlines, online forums and tweets since Election Day. At its foundation, the electoral victory was based on carefully strategized and executive efforts by the campaign team to engage the voters, mobilize its supporters and present a message of positive reinforcement to all community members, all while never leaving no st...