[dropcap size=big]K[/dropcap]evin de León is running for Jose Huizar’s City Council seat in 2020, the former state senator announced Monday. Huizar, who is being investigated by the FBI for money laundering and other alleged crimes, is termed out and cannot run again to represent the Eastside district that stretches through Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, and prominent parts of downtown L.A.
“This election isn’t about Jose Huizar,” de León told the L.A. Times. Instead, he said, it’s about continuing a “path of public service.”
The announcement had been widely expected after de León’s failed bid at the U.S. Senate in the 2018 midterm election.
De León previously served in the state legislature for 12 years with stints in the California Assembly (2006-2010) and Senate (2010-2018). This past November, he lost in his bid to upset long-time U.S. Senator, Dianne Feinstein, by attempting to paint the 85-year-old Democrat as an out-of-touch centrist and himself – at 52 years old – as a young progressive.
De Leon has championed progressive issues – he organized for California teachers and worked as an immigration advocate in Pico Rivera – but some see the move as the next logical step in making a run at the L.A. mayor’s office in 2022, when Eric Garcetti’s term is up.
The race to replace Huizar has already taken some turns thanks in large part to an FBI probe that has also reached Garcetti’s aides, City Council President Herb Wesson, and Councilman Curren Price. Price has already endorsed de León for the vacant council seat.
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