{"id":81506,"date":"2025-12-16T10:18:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=81506"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:18:09","slug":"this-single-mom-is-squeezed-by-las-cost-of-living-now-shes-running-for-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/this-single-mom-is-squeezed-by-las-cost-of-living-now-shes-running-for-mayor\/","title":{"rendered":"This Single Mom is Squeezed by LA\u2019s Cost of Living. Now She\u2019s Running For Mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n.header-content time, div.author-meta {\ndisplay: none !important;\n}\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/19thnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/rae-la01.jpg?w=683\" alt=\"Portrait of Rae Huang\" style=\"width:805px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rae Huang is a newcomer to LA politics seeking to oust incumbent Mayor Karen Bass from the left with her populist policies. \n <cite>(Bryan Bernart)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>This story was reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/19thnews.org\/\">The 19th<\/a> in partnership with <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lapublicpress.org\/2025\/12\/single-mom-running-for-mayor\/\"><em>LA Public Press<\/em><\/a><em>, an independent nonprofit newsroom advocating for a better Los Angeles through journalism that interrogates systems of power.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DRKncq7geBy\/\">video introducing Rae Huang\u2019s candidacy<\/a> for mayor of <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/on-the-road-back-to-los-angelesand-feeling-grateful\/\">Los Angeles<\/a> evokes arthouse cinema in dry tungsten hues. It opens with jump cuts between frustrated Angelenos honking their cars, caught in the gridlock of rush hour traffic. Huang, a bespectacled Asian-American woman, steps out of her car, onto the sidewalk and turns to the camera. \u201cLA is stuck,\u201d the 43-year-old declares. \u201cI\u2019m running to make Los Angeles affordable and healthy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hollywood-esque trailer is how Huang, a single mother of two and affordable housing advocate, announced her campaign online November 15. If elected, she would be the city&#8217;s first <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/seasoned-women-culinary-pioneers-cecilia-chiang\/\">Asian-American<\/a> woman mayor \u2014 a progressive challenging Karen Bass, Los Angeles&#8217; first woman mayor, from the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huang is an ordained minister with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one of the few Protestant denominations that ordains women and LGBTQ+ clergy and includes performing marriage for same-sex couples. Religious faith is a deep part of Huang\u2019s pursuit of social justice and her campaign beliefs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI became a minister to advocate for the vulnerable and to fight for social change,\u201d Huang said, citing Martin Luther King Jr. as one of her role models. \u201cWe need to fight poverty, not the poor,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huang, who grew up on the East Coast, is the daughter of Taiwanese American immigrants. Asian Americans make up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.censusdots.com\/race\/los-angeles-ca-demographics\">11.7 percent of LA\u2019s population<\/a>, the third largest racial group after Latino and White residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having never held elected office, Huang would chart a less conventional path to the mayor\u2019s office. Bass served in the House and California Assembly before she was elected mayor, and her predecessor, Eric Garcetti, was a former member of the Los Angeles City Council.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_74a687123e174cadbfc45b279d4c977c\" class=\"wp-block related-post alignwide\">\n      <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"section-title\">\n      <h4>Related<\/h4>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"post-wrap\">\n              <div class=\"thumbnail\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/she-doesnt-go-looking-for-fights-but-i-will-never-back-down-from-one\/\" class=\"post-image-link\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ruwa-Romman-Georgia-Governor-Election-Woman-Candidate-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Rep. Ruwa Romman Georgia Governor Election Woman Candidate\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ruwa-Romman-Georgia-Governor-Election-Woman-Candidate-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ruwa-Romman-Georgia-Governor-Election-Woman-Candidate-45x45.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"entry-text\">\n          <h3 class=\"post-title\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/she-doesnt-go-looking-for-fights-but-i-will-never-back-down-from-one\/\">\n              She Doesn\u2019t Go Looking For Fights \u2013 \u2018But I Will Never Back Down From One\u2019\n            <\/a>\n          <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-huang-s-policies\"><strong>What Are Huang\u2019s Policies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of Huang\u2019s policies are based on her experience as a single mom in LA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I became a single mother, I couldn\u2019t afford my mortgage. I was extremely fortunate to have family support that allowed me to stay housed while I got back on my feet,\u201d Huang said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She purchased her Sawtelle apartment a decade ago, but still felt squeezed by living costs. She credits her &#8220;village&#8221; of neighbors with helping her juggle work and child-rearing as a single parent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her platform calls for free public transit, more government-owned affordable housing, the creation of the city\u2019s first nonprofit public bank and community intervention models over policing. She did not specify whether she would cut funding for the LAPD overseeing the city\u2019s budget as mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sha also wants to make child care more accessible. That would include, \u201cpolicies that lead to healthier families, including paid family leave, reproductive rights, and programs to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI could talk your ear off for hours about policy,\u201d she said, grinning, in an interview with LA Public Press. \u201cI&#8217;m a little bit nerdy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the core tenets of Huang\u2019s campaign promises sound familiar, it\u2019s because they echo Zohran Mamdani\u2019s platform. Mamdani, a Democratic socialist state assemblyman, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cly4kr8gzr2o\">New York City&#8217;s first Muslim mayor<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/socialists.nyc\/zohran-mayor-nyc-dsa\/\">Unlike Mamdani<\/a>, however, Huang is not endorsed by the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. The mayor position here is also much weaker than the city of New York\u2019s, and it\u2019s unclear whether Huang could practically execute on the policies she\u2019s championing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe main reason I&#8217;m running is because LA is completely unaffordable and unattainable for myself and my kids,\u201d Huang said. She promised that her campaign won\u2019t take corporate donations and that she\u2019s building a grassroots coalition led by Angelenos.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the past six years, Huang has worked as the deputy director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.housingnowca.org\/\">Housing Now California<\/a>, a coalition of affordable housing activists, where she helped pass state legislation expanding tenant protections. She was a leading organizer behind the passing of Senate Bill 567, which bars landlords from evicting tenants without just cause, and Senate Bill 555, which directed the state housing department to study social housing solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_3b99cae991cc6f19c495bc755b22c95e\" class=\"wp-block related-post alignwide\">\n      <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"section-title\">\n      <h4>Related<\/h4>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"post-wrap\">\n              <div class=\"thumbnail\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/how-reproductive-restrictions-impact-single-mothers-by-choice\/\" class=\"post-image-link\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SMC_Featured_Image-e1721246124803-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SMC_Featured_Image-e1721246124803-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SMC_Featured_Image-e1721246124803-96x96.jpg 96w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SMC_Featured_Image-e1721246124803-84x84.jpg 84w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SMC_Featured_Image-e1721246124803-45x45.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"entry-text\">\n          <h3 class=\"post-title\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/how-reproductive-restrictions-impact-single-mothers-by-choice\/\">\n              How Reproductive Restrictions Impact Single Mothers By Choice\n            <\/a>\n          <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>During the pandemic, Huang was also part of the Healthy LA coalition that pushed through rent relief for tenants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huang, who sits on the board of the Skid Row nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.creatingjustice.la\/\">Creating Justice LA<\/a>, said she\u2019s also looking to stop the criminalization of homelessness in LA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need to be able to come up with a strategy that is not just sweeping our unhoused residents from street to street,\u201d Huang said. \u201cWe need to create a long-term solution, and that is creating permanent supportive housing for our communities, which provides the mental health support that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huang criticized Bass\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/mayor.lacity.gov\/InsideSafe\">Inside Safe program<\/a>, an initiative to help people living on the street to move into temporary and motel housing, saying unhoused residents were slipping through the cracks and losing touch with their social workers. \u201cWe do need to implement a better system that tracks where folks are going,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside Safe has faced scrutiny over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbclosangeles.com\/investigations\/la-mayor-inside-safe-homeless-housing-program\/3281201\/\">low permanent housing placement rates<\/a> and reports of residents being <a href=\"https:\/\/dailybruin.com\/2023\/04\/30\/mayor-karen-bass-proposes-1-3-billion-to-address-homelessness-in-los-angeles\">transferred between motels<\/a> without adequate case management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doug Herman, a spokesperson for the Bass campaign, rejected those critiques.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor the first time, homelessness has declined for two consecutive years,\u201d he said. Herman called Inside Safe a \u201csolution to an emergency problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-would-huang-s-policies-solve-la-s-affordability-crisis\"><strong>Would Huang\u2019s Policies Solve LA\u2019s Affordability Crisis?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mamdani, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/11\/13\/zohran-mamdani-free-bus-plan-governor-hochul\/87258107007\/\">who ran on the promise of free and faster buses,<\/a> is now hitting some road blocks to eliminating fares for the Metro Transit Agency as it is Gov. Kathy Hochul who nominates and appoints MTA leadership. Likewise, Huang would not be able to control fares for Metro, a countywide agency. As mayor, Huang would appoint <a href=\"https:\/\/www.laforward.org\/who-represents-me\">three members and chair<\/a> the 13-person LA County Metropolitan Transportation Agency, having significant sway. The mayor also appoints <a href=\"https:\/\/mayor.lacity.gov\/news\/mayor-bass-announces-appointment-la-department-transportation-general-manager\">the general manager<\/a> that directs the city\u2019s transportation department, which includes DASH and the commuter express. The LA City Council has the final say on the <a href=\"https:\/\/ladot.lacity.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/press-releases\/lacityp_031417.pdf\">fare structure<\/a> of the LA Department of Transportation based on recommendations from the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/19thnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/rae-la02.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"People in a group holding signs.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rae Huang and protesters demonstrate for Measure ULA in front of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2025.\n <cite>(Courtsey of Rae for LA)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year through the GoPass Program, Bass made ridership free for over 1.15 million eligible K-12 and college students in LA County that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.movela.org\/metro_board_makes_permanent_the_largest_fareless_student_transit_pass_program_in_united_states\">transportation advocates have praised as reducing absenteeism and addressing poverty<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mayor, Huang could <a href=\"https:\/\/mayor.lacity.gov\/news\/mayor-bass-signs-executive-directive-dramatically-accelerate-and-lower-cost-affordable-housing\">streamline housing approvals<\/a> and appoint affordable housing commissioners, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.la101.guide\/mayor\">city council controls budgets<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/laist.com\/news\/housing-homelessness\/los-angeles-city-mayor-bass-budget-affordable-housing-ula-mansion-tax-hhh\">most affordable housing funding<\/a> comes from the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huang\u2019s statewide advocacy for public housing has not yet resulted in commitments to build new social housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea of social housing that Huang is championing is not new, said Jessica Bremner, a professor of urban geography at Cal State LA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under social housing, the government operates housing at below-market rates for low- to moderate-income renters. Unlike affordable units in private buildings \u2014 which eventually convert to market rates \u2014 social housing remains &#8220;affordable in perpetuity,&#8221; Bremner said. The success of mixed-income public housing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy\/2024\/2\/10\/24065342\/social-housing-public-housing-affordable-crisis\">Montgomery County, Maryland<\/a> has inspired other locales to pursue similar investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s not so easy to tackle the issue of homelessness and affordability by aggressively building new social housing, Bremner said. As mayor, Bass has pushed to build temporary housing for her Inside Safe program in the form of tiny homes made of shipping containers. She has also streamlined approvals for more than <a href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/housing\/2024\/02\/affordable-housing-los-angeles\/\">13,700 affordable housing units<\/a>\u2014many privately funded \u2014 by issuing executive orders that cut red tape. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority cited by Bass, street homelessness <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7.com\/post\/los-angeles-mayor-karen-bass-lifts-emergency-declaration-homelessness\/18113900\/\">declined 17 percent over two years<\/a>, though encampments remain persistent across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLong-term, permanent housing solutions, those are multi-year projects,&#8221; Bremner said. She said Huang\u2019s promise to invest in government-owned buildings won\u2019t materialize overnight. \u201cIt takes a long time to build housing, even if you have the money for it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huang supports <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.lacity.gov\/faq\/measure-ula\">Measure ULA<\/a>, the so-called mansion tax on high-end property sales worth more than $5.3 million, that could help fund her social housing plans. Bass faced criticism from affordable housing advocates for trying to weaken the measure but ultimately withdrew the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Herman said Bass is fully committing to protecting Measure ULA\u2019s core mission as a \u201cvital tool for building affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shane Phillips, an affordable housing researcher at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, said Huang would face barriers if she were to try to push through her progressive housing policies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLos Angeles, despite its reputation, is not an extremely liberal city. It has long had conservative tendencies, and I think the urban design of it contributes to that,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cIf you bought your home decades ago, you&#8217;re very insulated from the challenges that younger people and renters are facing today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mayor, Huang would also have to find a way to balance the disparate interests of stakeholders in the private housing market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Huang\u2019s critics is Daniel Yukelson, the executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, a lobbying organization that represents over 10,000 landlords and property owners. His concerns reflect opposition Huang is likely to face from the real estate industry.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_c64246d48d88c7f8fe0be656ba9b1ac5\" class=\"wp-block related-post alignwide\">\n      <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"section-title\">\n      <h4>Related<\/h4>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"post-wrap\">\n              <div class=\"thumbnail\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/more-single-black-women-are-buying-homes-heres-why\/\" class=\"post-image-link\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Teairra-Jones-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Teairra-Jones-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Teairra-Jones-96x96.jpg 96w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Teairra-Jones-84x84.jpg 84w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Teairra-Jones-45x45.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"entry-text\">\n          <h3 class=\"post-title\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/more-single-black-women-are-buying-homes-heres-why\/\">\n              More Single Black Women Are Buying Homes. Here\u2019s Why\n            <\/a>\n          <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>Yukelson said certain laws designed to protect renters can put further pressure on the mom-and-pop owners of residential buildings who have to navigate the complex web of regulations with less legal support than larger corporate landlords.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOwners today are really struggling to understand how they&#8217;re being impacted by these regulations,\u201d Yukelson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As those pressures prompt mom-and-pop landlords to sell, they\u2019re often replaced by corporate owners, he added, which concentrates power and wealth to a smaller number of companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-does-huang-have-what-it-takes-to-win-and-govern\"><strong>Does Huang Have What It Takes to Win and Govern?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Michael Kazin, a professor of history at Georgetown University who studies American social movements, said economic concerns are fueling populism in the Democratic and Republican parties. He said Mamdani&#8217;s win in New York City has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/05\/mamdani-effect-young-progressives-run-for-office\">spurred a wave of progressive candidates <\/a>to run for other offices across the country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a perpetual rule in politics, that success breeds imitators, and failure drives them away,\u201d Kazin said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/19thnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/rae-la04.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"An illustration of Rae Huang in front of Los Angeles\u00d5 city hall with people behind her, carrying signs that say Rae for LA.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rae Huang is running for mayor of Los Angeles on a progressive platform to \u201cfight poverty, not the poor,\u201d she says.  \n <cite>(Alyson Yee\/LA Public Press)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So far, part of Huang\u2019s left-wing populist appeal seems to be gaining some traction online. Her glossy campaign video has been viewed more than 109,000 times on Instagram, but her Instagram page has just over 5,000 followers \u2014 only a fraction of the 500,000 voters that elected Bass to office in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A week after announcing her candidacy, Huang said support has been flooding in. \u201cOver 200 volunteers have already signed up to begin supporting my campaign,\u201d Huang said when she spoke to <em>LA Public Press<\/em> last month. \u201cI&#8217;m getting messages from literally all over the world.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Huang faces a long road to victory ahead of the June primaries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bass, an established Democrat with a long tenure in statewide politics and local grassroots organizing, has her fair share of critics from her handling of the LA wildfires and homelessness, but she isn\u2019t embroiled in scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe&#8217;s had a tough year politically, it doesn&#8217;t remotely compare to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cly3gz35dgro\">the kind of year that Eric Adams had in New York<\/a> before Mamdami&#8217;s race,\u201d said Raphael Sonenshein, a scholar on Los Angeles politics and executive director of the public policy research institution the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation. \u201cIncumbents usually win re-election for mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America\u2019s LA chapter, Huang was unable to secure the 50 signatures needed to put a vote to the general body on whether to endorse her campaign, according to Claire Palmer, the communications director of DSA-LA.&nbsp;Since announcing her candidacy, Huang has yet to receive a major endorsement from any unions or political organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kazin, a DSA member himself, said an endorsement from the local chapter \u201cis only really important at all if it turns out people [volunteer] for the candidate DSA endorses.\u201d DSA\u2019s work this election has gone to city council races, with members phone banking for Faizah Malik in District 11 and Estuardo Mazariegos in District 9. Palmer said the organization views city council members as the <a href=\"https:\/\/thelandmag.com\/voter-guide\/why-do-city-council-members-have-so-much-power-los-angeles\/\">real powerbrokers<\/a> in Los Angeles, making those races a higher priority than the mayoral contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Palmer said the lack of DSA\u2019s endorsement doesn\u2019t mean Huang is out of the running yet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s very exciting to see a leftist candidate challenging a status quo Democrat,\u201d Palmer said. She said Huang\u2019s campaign will elevate the cost-of-living issues in this mayoral race that concern so many people in LA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese are really perilous times for incumbents everywhere in the country,\u201d Sonenshein said of the state of the economy and the general unhappiness people have with the government.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When constituents are unsatisfied by their elected officials, he said it opens up an opportunity for a political upset. Sonenshein tries to not hedge any bets before all the ballots are cast.&nbsp; \u201cAfter all these years of studying this, you never know who\u2019s going to emerge, who\u2019s going to fade and why,\u201d Sonenshein said.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_c0edfcfd2a52c488d15e3acadcb9fec6\" class=\"wp-block related-post alignwide\">\n      <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"section-title\">\n      <h4>Related<\/h4>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"post-wrap\">\n              <div class=\"thumbnail\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/4-historic-wins-for-women-on-election-day-2025\/\" class=\"post-image-link\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Abigail-Spanberger-Election-Day-2025-Wins-Women-Candidates-History-150x150.jpg?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Abigail Spanberger Election Day 2025 Wins Women Candidates History\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Abigail-Spanberger-Election-Day-2025-Wins-Women-Candidates-History-150x150.jpg?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2 150w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Abigail-Spanberger-Election-Day-2025-Wins-Women-Candidates-History-45x45.jpg?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"entry-text\">\n          <h3 class=\"post-title\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/4-historic-wins-for-women-on-election-day-2025\/\">\n              4 Historic Wins for Women on Election Day 2025\n            <\/a>\n          <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>Huang\u2019s nonprofit colleagues said they believe she has what it takes to lead and carve a path from nonrecognition forward to city hall. Shanti Singh, the legislative and communications director at Tenants Together, has worked closely with Huang in statewide advocacy efforts on housing affordability and joked that Huang has been her \u201cwork wife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNobody understands the failures, flaws and things that need improvement in government and governance [better] than a tenant advocate,\u201d Singh said. She described Huang as a \u201creal diplomat\u201d able to build momentum and support across the aisle in their lobbying efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Yi, a Koreatown-based housing activist, said he believes Huang has what it takes to win and push through her policies in the behemoth of LA\u2019s bureaucracy.&nbsp; Yi, who ran unsuccessfully for state assembly office to represent the 54th district last year, credited Huang for influencing his own housing policies during his campaign.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m confident that if and when we win, it&#8217;s not going to be just Rae, but she&#8217;s going to bring in smart people with experience,\u201d Yi said. \u201cThis is about her building a movement and bringing people together into city hall.\u201d &#x25fc;&#xfe0f;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pixel.19thnews.org\/2025\/12\/rae-huang-la-mayor-campaign\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Progressive housing advocate Rae Huang is challenging Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor, promising free transit and social housing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":81514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[20307,20308,20186],"class_list":["post-81506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-affordable-housing","tag-political-advocacy","tag-social-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This Single Mom is Squeezed by LA\u2019s Cost of Living. Now She\u2019s Running For Mayor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Progressive housing advocate Rae Huang is challenging Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor, promising free transit and social housing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/this-single-mom-is-squeezed-by-las-cost-of-living-now-shes-running-for-mayor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Single Mom is Squeezed by LA\u2019s Cost of Living. 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