Quick Facts
Biography
Hugo Soto-Martinez is an American labor organizer and politician, currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 13th district since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Soto-Martinez defeated incumbent Mitch O'Farrell in the 2022 general election.
Early life and career
Soto-Martinez was born and raised in South Los Angeles to two Mexican immigrant parents who worked as street vendors. When Soto-Martinez was 14, his father suffered from a back injury that made him disabled and unable to work. He consequently dropped out of high school and started working at a hotel at the age of 16 to help his family.
During that time, Soto-Martinez's older brother was arrested after placing a call from a phone booth, and after, Soto-Martinez received a ticket for littering which noted his perceived resistance to an officer which was upheld by the presiding judge. Soon after, he and his friend were caught in an entrapment operation, with Soto-Martinez ending up in probation.
He later returned to high school and then studied political science and criminology at University of California, Irvine in 2001 while still working at the hotel. In 2006, his last year of college, a co-worker asked if he would join a trade union they were organizing which he did, winning fair wages and free family healthcare.
After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, he opted not to go to law school as planned, and instead became an organizer for UNITE HERE Local 11. Later he also became involved with the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He traveled and canvassed for politicians like Barack Obama, against Joe Arpaio, and helped flip the two Georgia Senate seats with Stacey Abrams.
Before being elected to City Council, Soto-Martinez also organized against the criminalization of Los Angeles' immigrant street vendors, and worked against the proliferation of deputy gangs inside the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
In 2020, he was designated by his union to be the labor liaison on Measure J, a ballot initiative to allocate at least 10% of Los Angeles County's funding for community reinvestment and incarceration alternatives. In June 2021, the measure was blocked by Judge Mary Strobel as unconstitutional.
Political career
Los Angeles City Council
In June of 2021, Soto-Martinez announced that he was running in the 2022 Los Angeles elections in District 13 against incumbent Mitch O'Farrell. Soto-Martinez criticized O'Farrell's handling of Echo Park's homeless population as well as his policies towards police budget and housing development within the district. In the primary, Soto-Martinez led O'Farrell by nine points, with the pair going into a runoff. In the general election, Soto-Martinez ousted O'Farrell with 57.24% of the vote. He was sworn into office on December 12, 2022.
As the only renter on City Council, Soto-Martinez pushed to expand tenant protections ahead of the expiration of Los Angeles' eviction moratorium that was instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the City Council passed universal just cause for evictions, a monetary threshold for nonpayment evictions, and relocation assistance for those displaced by rising rents. The instituted protections were described as a "monumental win" for renters, who make up over 60% of Los Angeles' population. Soto-Martinez later joined other councilmembers in introducing a proposal that would give tenants the right to a lawyer when facing eviction by implementing a similar program that has limited wrongful evictions in New York and San Francisco.
In early February 2023, news leaked that a staffer of Soto-Martinez had requested extra overnight patrol for his Lexus. LAPD launched an investigation into the leak of confidential information. In February 2023, Soto-Martinez introduced a motion with Councilmember Tim McOsker to reform the LAPD disciplinary system by making it easier to suspend or fire officers accused of severe misconduct.
On February 2, 2023, Soto-Martinez announced plans to remove the fence surrounding Echo Park Lake, which was erected following the 2021 police sweep of homeless encampments in the park where numerous protestors and observers were arrested or detained, including 16 journalists. The fence had long divided the community, with some residents expressing safety concerns and advocating for a permanent fence, while others remained eager for the park to be more accessible.Soto-Martinez held town halls to hear from residents about the issue, where he noted that there would be outreach workers in the park seven days a week, and a team of unarmed responders would be available at night. In March 2023, he announced that the fencing would be removed by March 31, 2023.
In March 2023, Soto-Martinez introduced a motion with Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman to make Los Angeles a sanctuary city. The motion would codify existing policies, including a 2017 executive directive issued by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti that prohibits all city employees from using public facilities or resources to assist or cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement.
In June 2023, during a protest led by UNITE HERE Local 11, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Soto-Martinez after he refused to disperse.
In August 2023, Soto-Martinez along with Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez 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.
