L.A. city controller voter guide: Paul Koretz vs. Kenneth Mejia

Koretz got his start in politics at UCLA, where he co-founded the Bruin Democratic Club in 1973. He worked for then-Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky and the California League of Conservation Voters. He also won a seat on the West Hollywood City Council in 1988. A dozen years later, he joined the state Assembly. And in 2009, he was elected to the L.A. City Council, representing parts of the Westside and San Fernando Valley.

In his first bid for citywide office, Koretz has touted his focus on renters’ rights, his advocacy for animal anti-cruelty laws and his environmental policies.

Throughout his career, Koretz has been a vocal advocate for organized labor, particularly unions that represent public employees. But unions have not been heavily involved in the controller’s race. Among the few to step in is Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 300, which provided funding for the Committee for a Sane L.A., a group opposed to Mejia’s campaign.

Mejia, for his part, has held jobs over the past decade with Ernst & Young, Canyon Capital Advisors, Activision and other companies. He is a three-time political candidate, having run for a congressional seat in L.A. in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In his first bid for city office, Mejia has used his campaign to produce charts and graphics that illustrate city spending decisions and illuminate the working of city government. Those graphics, on social media and old-school billboards, have shown the amount of money provided to the LAPD, the cost of city legal payouts, the locations of park facilities and other information.

For L.A.’s political left, a Mejia victory would be a huge coup, possibly setting him up for a run for mayor in 2026.

An activist with the Los Angeles Tenants Union, Mejia protested last year outside the San Fernando Valley home of Councilmember Paul Krekorian, demanding that the city purchase a Chinatown apartment building where tenants are facing huge rent hikes. He repeatedly attended demonstrations outside the home of Mayor Eric Garcetti, where Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles denounced the idea of Garcetti securing a post in the Biden administration.