Eunisses Hernandez
American activist and politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eunisses Hernandez (born 1990)[1][2] is an American activist and politician, currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district since 2022.[3] A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Hernandez defeated incumbent councilmember Gil Cedillo during the primary in an upset in the 2022 election.[4][5]
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California State University, Long Beach (BA)
Eunisses Hernandez | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 1st district | |
| Assumed office December 12, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Gil Cedillo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1990 (age 35–36) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | California State University, Los Angeles (attended) California State University, Long Beach (BA) |
A self-described police and prison abolitionist, Hernandez was endorsed by progressive groups and leaders like City Councilman Mike Bonin and Dolores Huerta, as well as the Los Angeles Times.[1][6][7] Following the June 2022 election, news outlets including the Los Angeles Daily News, ABC7, and the Los Angeles Times reported that Hernandez had effectively defeated incumbent Gil Cedillo.[8][9][10] The election results were certified on July 1, 2022, and Cedillo conceded the same day.[11]
Early life and career
Hernandez was born in 1990 to Mexican immigrants, Juan and Leticia Hernandez, and grew up in Highland Park, Los Angeles.[6] Early in her life, Hernandez thought about becoming a police officer. She attended Franklin High School and later earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from California State University, Long Beach in 2013. While attending CSU Long Beach, Hernandez's views on policing and criminal justice were heavily influenced by her coursework on criminology and the war on drugs.[12][13]
Career
Hernandez started her career in 2014 as a policy coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance where she advocated for the passing of Senate Bill 180 and California Proposition 64.[14] In 2018, she moved to JustLeadershipUSA as a campaign coordinator for JusticeLA where she pushed for a halt to a plan to build a new $3.5 million women's jail at the county's Mira Loma facility in Lancaster.[13] In 2019, she was appointed by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to be a community stakeholder for an Alternatives to Incarceration working group.[12]
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.[12] 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.[15] She co-chaired the ballot initiative campaign with future Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and future councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez; the initiative passed with 57.12% of the vote.[16] In 2021, the measure was temporarily blocked by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel, who ruled that Measure J violated California law by infringing on the County Board of Supervisors' authority to set budgets;[17] in 2023, however, the California Court of Appeals reversed this ruling, allowing the measure to take effect.[18]
Los Angeles City Council
On October 8, 2021, Hernandez announced her campaign for Los Angeles City Council District 1 in the 2022 elections.[19] After three other candidates were disqualified, she was the only opponent against incumbent Gil Cedillo.[6] Hernandez was endorsed by multiple progressive groups and leaders, with Council-member Mike Bonin and Dolores Huerta endorsing her in the primary.[1] Hernandez ultimately unseated Cedillo with 53.9% of the vote, avoiding the need for a runoff.[8]
In May 2023, Hernandez was the only member of the Los Angeles City Council to vote against Mayor Karen Bass's first budget. Hernandez cited the $3.2 billion allocated to the LAPD as the motivation for her vote, giving a speech in which she said that "we are celebrating moving pennies around, while we put a quarter of our entire budget into just one department."[20]
In May 2023, Hernandez spoke at a press event to reveal “La Sombrita", a piece of grated metal on a pole intended to provide shade and lighting for bus riders at a bus stop. The bus stop structure was criticized for failing to provide any meaningful shade.[21][22]
In August 2023, Hernandez along with Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted against a four-year package of raises and bonuses for rank-and-file police officers. They argued that it would pull money away from mental health clinicians, homeless outreach workers and many other city needs. They warned of the financial consequences for other agencies, particularly if the city is confronted with a major economic downturn. Hernandez and Raman reeled off a list of services that they said are in need of more money — streetlights, sidewalk repairs, building inspections, alley resurfacing and other city operations.[23]
In 2024, Hernandez introduced motions seeking to suspend city actions related to the proposed Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) gondola project between Union Station and Dodger Stadium and to fund an independent traffic analysis related to the proposal.[24] The privately funded project, backed by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, drew opposition from community groups and several city officials over concerns about environmental impacts, public parkland, and surrounding neighborhoods.[25] In 2025, the Los Angeles City Council voted to formally oppose the project through a resolution introduced by Hernandez following a court ruling that set aside portions of the project's environmental review.[26]
In 2024, there was a major push in the L.A. City Council to implement ethics reform in the aftermath of a number of corruption and harassment scandals. The final proposal established a guaranteed annual budget for the commission and increased penalties for ethics violations. During negotiations, some amendments supported by Hernandez and other councilmembers drew criticism from watchdog groups, who argued the final reforms were less expansive than originally proposed.[27][28]
Hernandez co-introduced a 2023 motion directing the city attorney to draft a sanctuary city ordinance for Los Angeles. The ordinance, which prohibits the use of city resources for federal immigration enforcement, was approved by the City Council in 2024.[29]
Hernandez has supported expanding unarmed crisis response programs in Los Angeles. She co-chairs the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Unarmed Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Community Services, which oversees the city's Unarmed Model of Crisis Response program for mental health and nonviolent emergency calls. In 2026, the City Council voted unanimously on her motion to make the program permanent after city reports found that most calls handled by the program were resolved without police involvement.[30]
Positions on housing
During her campaign and first term on the City Council, Hernandez prioritized renter protections and affordable housing initiatives. During the campaign, she criticized luxury and market-rate housing development and supported expanding community land trusts.[31]
In office, Hernandez supported expanded renter protections and social housing initiatives in Los Angeles.[32][33] In 2024, she co-sponsored amendments strengthening the city's tenant anti-harassment ordinance, including increased penalties against landlords found liable for harassment.[34] Following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, Hernandez co-authored a motion calling for a temporary moratorium on evictions and rent increases for affected households.[35]
Hernandez has taken mixed positions on housing development and zoning policy while in office. In 2023, she reversed an effort by her predecessor to remove housing height limits in part of Chinatown.[36] In 2024, Hernandez supported an amendment by Councilmember Nithya Raman to allow buildings of up to 16 units in areas previously zoned for single-family housing, saying that preserving wealthy single-family neighborhoods represented a continuation of segregationist housing policies.[37] In 2025, Hernandez voted against a City Council resolution opposing Senate Bill 79, a state proposal that would allow denser housing near public transit stops.[38]
Electoral history
| Primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Eunisses Hernandez | 16,108 | 53.9 | |
| Gil Cedillo (incumbent) | 13,700 | 45.8 | |
| Elaine Alaniz (write-in) | 80 | 0.3 | |
| Total votes | 29,888 | 100.00 | |