Jillian Burgos for City Council District 2
Jillian Burgos (center) is running for City Council with the support of DSA LA
DSA-LA is proud to announce our endorsement of CD-2 City Council candidate Jillian Burgos. Jillian is a bold leader and proud socialist whose dedication to co-creating a thriving San Fernando Valley for all is infectious. If elected, Jillian will be the first Afro-Latina in history to serve on LA City Council, and if joined by fellow DSA-endorsed candidate Ysabel Jurado (CD-14), she will be one of five socialists to hold seats on the council. Yet for DSA-LA and Jillian alike, this campaign isn’t just about winning an election. It’s about the journey—connecting our community in meaningful ways, amplifying the voices of the working class, and developing strong leaders who will continue to fight for a socialist government long after November 5th.
Jillian is an artist, an essential healthcare worker, and a leader on housing and homelessness issues. She currently serves on North Hollywood Neighborhood Council as Chair of the Housing and Services Committee, where she partnered with The City of Los Angeles, SAJE, and Abundant Housing LA to create a Tenants Rights and a Housing Crisis Workshop; she’s helped to secure several Neighborhood Access Grants that provide food and services to our unhoused neighbors, as well as mental health care and mentorship for school children. A true grassroots candidate, Jillian has worked closely with LA Forward as an outspoken advocate for unarmed crisis response, picketed with WGA, SAG, and IATSE, and stood up for LGBTQIA+ children and families at Saticoy Elementary.
Powerful position
With just 15 City Council members to represent roughly 3.8 million constituents, Los Angeles City Council is among the most powerful elected positions in the nation, and its electoral races are among the most cutthroat. In Los Angeles, even “progressive” candidates like Jillian’s opponent Adrin Nazarian are often backed by corporate interests, police unions, fossil fuel giants, and landlords. For Jillian Burgos, a people-powered woman of color, it’s no secret that this system is stacked against her, but she doesn’t back down from a challenge. Instead, Jillian shook the political establishment to its core in the March Primary, running her hope-centered campaign on small-dollar donations and active support from her community. Against all odds, she garnered nearly 8,500 votes, securing her place in the General election by a significant margin.
Jillian helped us launch our first canvass out of NoHo Park on August 11th, and in the weeks since, we’ve braved the Valley heat to knock doors and talk to our neighbors on a weekly basis. In September, DSA-LA’s San Fernando Valley Branch officially stepped out of Hot Socialist Summer and into our GOTV era, and we’re taking it up a notch. DSA for Jillian is committed to developing our Valley comrades into capable and confident organizers, nourishing our roots by giving branch members opportunities to lead, and the support they need to pull them off.
For example, working group member P.M. Aréchiga has spearheaded outreach for bilingual canvassers both within DSA-LA and in the broader community. “CD-2 is made up of approximately seven neighborhoods, with four of those having a Latine population at or above 50%. I’ve lived in CD-2 for eleven years and it’s abundantly clear that gentrification has made its way over the hill and into the Valley. I’m confident that once in office, Jillian will work to make sure that families who’ve lived in the Valley for generations will not be displaced in the name of ‘progress’ and will fight to make sure community is preserved,” the longtime Valley Glen resident affirmed at a recent working group meeting.
Deepening the connections
One of the most exciting parts about our endorsement is deepening the connection between Jillian and DSA-LA, through collaboration with our priority campaigns. We’ve been able to facilitate valuable conversations between Jillian and her campaign team, and working group co-chairs. Between now and November 5th, we’ll host joint canvasses with Power to the Tenants, Power Mass Transit, Palestine Solidarity and Hollywood Labor. Creating pathways of communication and supporting Jillian’s campaign with passionate volunteers sets the tone for the DSA-SiO relationship to come. “Jillian's candidacy is an opportunity to re-engage our membership in the Valley, and once we win, we hope that it will continue to engage our membership civically since we will have a socialist voice representing us in council,” explains Lorena, our SFV Branch Socialists in Office Liaison.
“Historically, the Valley is a part of the city that has been an afterthought for progressive groups, thereby ceding a huge part of the city to the interests of landowners and corporations,” said David Abud, co-chair of the Jillian Working Group. “With Jillian, we are building a progressive coalition that can expand our working class power bloc into this crucial part of the city. Now is the time for us to invest resources, pound the pavement and knock doors to make this vision a reality,” he stated. In addition to canvassing, DSA-LA is activating lapsed members and bringing new members in with fun socials and fundraisers like weekly post-carding on Wednesdays at Lawless Brewery in North Hollywood, a post-phonebanking pool party at Hansen Dam Aquatic Center in the Northeast SFV, and an upcoming Lotería fundraiser hosted in Valley Glen. Locals, now is the time to join us in support of Jillian Burgos for CD-2, because when we fight–WE WIN!
Visit https://www.jillianforthevalley.com/ to find out more about Jillian Burgos.
With love from the Valley,
DSA-LA for Jillian