Meet Elmer Roldan, Candidate For Los Angeles City Council District 9

LOS ANGELES, CA — Elmer Roldan, 46, is vying to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council, representing District 9.

The June 2 primary is wide open, as incumbent Councilman Curren Price is not seeking reelection due to term limits.

Six candidates are vying to replace him, including Roldan.

Learn more about Roldan's goals for Los Angeles:

What is your educational background?

I am a proud graduate of LA’s public education system. I have a bachelor’s in public administration from CSU Dominguez Hills. I attended Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, John Adams Middle School and Fairfax High School.

My experience and education in fighting for change is rooted in 30 years of experience of fighting for my city. I’ve worked across systems to deliver results, built coalitions to enact policy, and delivered equity in funding for schools and neighborhoods.

What is your professional background?

I am the executive director of Communities In Schools of LA, a nonprofit that connects them to resources, mentors, and college & career opportunities.

I have also worked at Community Coalition, as an organizer and fundraiser.

I later served as community affairs deputy at LAUSD, director of education programs at United Way LA, and led Brothers, Sons, Selves to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. I have 30 years of fighting to fix social & economic conditions in LA.

Have you ever held public office, whether appointive or elective?

I was a member of the LA City Traffic Enforcement Alternatives Advisory Task Force and president of the Los Angeles Commission on Community & Family Services.

What are the top three issues facing Los Angeles right now?

South LA is my home. For decades, we’ve lived with neglect and broken promises. Residents tired of being ignored, tired of dirty streets, and waiting months or years for basic services like fixing streetlights, clearing illegal dumping, and addressing encampments.

Our councilmember is facing corruption charges and we deserve a councilmember who answers your calls, listens, and delivers. I’m running for Los Angeles City Council because South Los Angeles has faced historic underinvestment, and I’ve lived those consequences personally.

The top issues we face are affordability, limited economic opportunity, and unreliable city services. Families are being priced out, locked out of good-paying jobs, and left behind when it comes to safe, clean neighborhoods. South LA sits at the intersection of deserts — housing, jobs, healthcare, and greenspace — and it’s time the city invests so our communities can thrive, not just survive.

What is one specific policy you would advocate for or introduce as a City Council member in your first year?

Make South LA vibrant and implement a “Block by Block” response plan to deliver faster city services, accountability and results.

This policy will prioritize neighborhood revitalization by using data to identify service gaps and direct resources where they’re needed most. I will partner with trusted community-based organizations to strengthen local organizing and ensure residents have a direct voice in shaping solutions. Together, we will track patterns in illegal dumping, delayed repairs, homeless services, and public safety concerns to drive faster, more effective responses from City Hall.

South LA has been treated like the city’s dumping ground for far too long. I will invest in community cleanup efforts, support small businesses and nonprofits to supplement city services, and ensure we prevent dumping before it starts. This approach will restore dignity, improve safety, and rebuild trust between residents and their government.

Responsiveness should never depend on your zip code. When I am on the City Council, District 9 will have a council office that shows up, listens, and delivers for every block, every family, and every neighborhood.

What specific actions should the City Council take to address homelessness, and how would you evaluate whether those efforts are working?

My nonprofit serves thousands of low-income students. I see firsthand how housing insecurity impacts families. We’ve provided over $1 million in direct aid and basic needs to prevent homelessness. That’s why the city must take both urgent and long-term action.

First, we must strengthen programs like Inside Safe to move people into supportive housing, while increasing accountability and tracking of how many are temporarily housed, transition to permanent housing, costs, and where/to whom the funding allocations are going.

We need deeper affordability, stronger tenant protections, and full implementation of Measure ULA to fund rental assistance, eviction defense, and housing construction.

We also have to align funding across systems and scale solutions — city, county, and state — including LACAHSA, Measure A, and state and federal programs.

We must activate SB79 and other state measures to build more deeply affordable and supportive housing, especially near jobs, schools, and transit, using public land and mixed-use development.

LA generates billions from developments, venues, and major events. Each increases housing demand. We must reinvest a portion of these revenues into housing stability.

We must also expand mandatory mental health & substance use services through city–county partnerships so people can stabilize and stay housed. When done humanely and without punishing disease, this will ensure people get help faster before they further harm themselves and others.

What is one specific change you would support through the City Council to improve public safety in your district or citywide?

People want to feel safe in their neighborhoods. I believe public safety and criminal justice reform go hand in hand. Growing up in South LA, I saw how violence, over policing, and underinvestment existed at the same time — and how communities were too often punished instead of protected. I also know that safety means delivering faster city services and repairs — lights, side walks, and transform empty lots — paired with jobs that pay higher wages.

One specific change I will champion is expanding community-based violence intervention and crisis response programs as a core part of our public safety system. That means investing in trained outreach workers, unarmed response teams for mental health crises, and youth programs that prevent harm before it happens.

Through my work with Community Coalition and Brothers, Sons, Selves, I helped advance policies that reduced suspensions and disrupted the school-to-prison pipeline. I’ve seen that when we invest in prevention, we reduce violence and create safer neighborhoods.

We must also strengthen accountability and transparency while reducing reliance on armed responses where they aren’t appropriate. Real safety means addressing root causes —poverty, trauma, and lack of opportunity — while ensuring accountability in ways that reduce repeat harm.

South LA deserves a public safety system rooted in dignity, prevention, and trust.

How should the City Council balance housing development, neighborhood concerns, and state housing mandates in Los Angeles?

Los Angeles must balance housing development, neighborhood concerns, and state mandates by being honest about the root problem: we haven’t built enough housing that working families can afford, especially in communities like South LA that have faced decades of historic underinvestment and neglect.

First, we must meet state housing mandates by building more housing. This requires a blend of affordable and mixed-use developments near jobs, schools, and transit. That means modernizing zoning, streamlining approvals, and using public land responsibly so projects that serve working families don't get delayed or canceled.

Second, we must protect residents from displacement. Too often, development has meant luxury housing that pushes families out. We need strong tenant protections, rent stabilization, legal aid, and requirements that new developments include deeply affordable units so current residents can stay and benefit.

Third, we must actually bring the community into the process early. People want safe, stable neighborhoods, and their input should shape better projects rather than being ignored or used as a reason to block all housing. Development must come with real benefits like local hiring, green space, and support for small businesses.

We can build more housing, protect the people who are already here, and make sure development actually improves our neighborhoods instead of pushing people out.

Why are you a better choice than your opponents?

Two of my opponents moved to my district to run for this seat. One of them is part of the same establishment that has ignored South LA for decades and works for the sitting current Councilmember who is facing corruption charges and jail time. The candidate was also fined $35,000 for violating multiple city ethics rules. Our district deserves ethical leadership.

What sets me apart is that I’ve spent my life delivering real solutions for South LA; where I grew up, raised my sons, and continue to call my home. I know what it’s like to grow up with limited resources, but I also know what’s possible when people organize for change.

At 13, I joined the Community Coalition and won over $100 million for school improvements like clean drinking water and air conditioning, and expanding college access for all students. Since then, I’ve dedicated my career to bringing resources directly into our neighborhoods. My jobs included leadership roles at LA Unified and United Way where I fought to improve public education and get people out of poverty. Today, I am the executive director of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles, where we help thousands of students succeed and graduate.

I’ve worked across systems to deliver results, built coalitions to enact policy, and delivered equity in funding for schools and neighborhoods.

South LA deserves leadership rooted in integrity, accountability, and a track record of getting things done. That’s the difference I bring.