NEWS
LA Times
Southeast L.A. County cities enact rent control to keep residents housed
Elizabeth Alcantar, who championed rent stabilization in Cudahy, notes that many of the city’s residents fell behind on rent during the pandemic, and that not everyone received assistance.
“We saw increases that were beyond what we would recognize as legal and fair,” Alcantar said. “A [one-bedroom unit] in Cudahy will run you about $2,000. That’s $24,000 a year when our median income is around $40,000. So it’s just not feasible. That’s 50% percent of your income going just to rent.”
More Perfect Union
How Tenants Are Organizing For — and Winning — Rent Control
Elizabeth Alcantar, a Cudahy city councilmember who has championed rent control, is one of those tenants. Alcantar told More Perfect Union rent control was part of the reason she ran for office in the first place.
"I've been a renter my whole life. Since I was a little kid, I knew this was something I wanted to see in the community,” Alcantar said. Last fall, Alcantar shared a letter from her landlord on Twitter informing her that her rent would be increased a full 10 percent to more than $1,500 per month.
LAist
Cudahy Joins Growing List Of Cities Enacting Rent Control And Tenant Protections
As the eldest daughter of immigrants from the Mexican state of Jalisco, Alcantar translated rent increase notices for her parents when she was a child and still recalls the worried look on their faces when the news sank in.
“I vividly remember ... how that made my parents feel, how that made me feel, going to school worried sick because I knew that that was going to be harder on my parents to pay,” she said.
LA Public Press
Cudahy passes rent control ordinance & renter protections, at special council meeting
“We don’t want things to stay the same,” said Alcantar. “We want things to improve for the people that have invested time and effort.”
A new Starbucks recently opened in the city on Atlantic Avenue and a Sprouts Farmers Market is scheduled to open early next year. Alcantar points out that these projects could have huge effects on the neighborhood, such as increasing real estate values. Strong rent control and renter protections are crucial to ensure long-time community members are not displaced by these new projects and can benefit from them.
Los Angeles Times
Endorsement: Elizabeth Alcantar for Assembly
“Bold, compassionate leadership like this will make Alcantar a strong representative in the state Capitol...We believe Alcantar is the best choice for voters because of her leadership advocating for environmental justice. The 64th Assembly District is an industry-heavy region where people live with the burdens of freeway pollution and other environmental hazards."
LAist
Family Of Cudahy Man With Autism Who Was Shot By Deputy Demands Sheriff Release Video
Cudahy’s city council passed a resolution this week calling on the Sheriff’s Department to release the body cam footage and the names of the deputies who were at the scene of the shooting, Vice Mayor Elizabeth Alcantar said in an appearance with the family and disability activists Thursday.
“Today we stand with the family, we stand with advocates behind us in ... demanding that there is a full investigation,” Alcantar said.
Spectrum News
Southeast Los Angeles City Leaders Form SELA United to Fight for Resources
Elizabeth Alcantar, who is the Vice Mayor of Cudahy, said air quality and the Metro are two other significant issues that need attention in this region.
"Our residents ride the Metro, they walk, they utilize that system, but they don’t yet have a seat at the table that really advocates for them to have better service, to have new improvements and to have projects coming to our area," Alcantar said.
Long Beach Business Journal
Former Cudahy mayor who led her city through a turbulent 2020 discusses her life and future plans as a politician
One driving force behind Alcantar’s political career is affordable housing. She said despite the overwhelming majority of city residents being renters, Cudahy has no renter protections. Recently, Alcantar introduced multiple housing-related items to the council, including an eviction data collection ordinance.
“One of the reasons I focus so much on housing issues is a big part of my life was translating rent increase notices from our landlord to my parents,” she said. “There was a lot of housing insecurity growing up.”
KCRW
Listen: Reimagining the LA River with residents’ input
"The 51-mile LA River meanders from Canoga Park, through the San Fernando Valley and downtown LA, and out to sea in Long Beach.
After devastating floods in the 1800s and early 1900s, the Army Corps of Engineers turned most of it into a concrete channel. In some northern sections, it’s barely more than a trickle most of the year, but it picks up water as it moves south. Efforts have been growing to revitalize stretches of it by reintroducing rocks, trees, river banks, and living organisms."
LA Taco
After a jet dumped fuel all over her city, Cudahy's mayor is running for powerful air regulation governing board
“I lived a block and a half away from the 710 for most of my life,” Mayor Alcantar told L.A. Taco.
Which makes the case to have Alcantar, who hails from a heavily impacted community by environmental injustices, a compelling pick for a board member, especially during a pandemic that threatens lung health.
Mayor Alcantar would be the first from SELA to sit on the AQMD governing board.
Univision
Elizabeth Alcantar, la mujer que a sus 26 años se convirtió en la alcaldesa de Cudahy, en el sur de California
Asegura que lleva años trabajando por representar y ayudar a toda su comunidad, principalmente a los latinos. Además, cuenta cómo afrontó en su cargo la emergencia por una aeronave que estaba derramando combustible sobre la ciudad y entrega detalles de los esfuerzos que se adelantan por asistir a los inmigrantes.