José Luis Huizar (born September 10, 1968) is a Mexican-American politician and a former member of the Los Angeles City Council.
Huizar was elected on November 8, 2005, in a special election to fill the seat vacated by the then-mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa. He was re-elected to a full four-year term in 2007 and again in 2011. In 2015, he was re-elected but to an extended term due to new city laws.
Huizar was arrested and indicted on June 23, 2020, on federal corruption charges, leading to his suspension from council. In 2023 he pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering and tax evasion.
Early life and education
Huizar was born in a village called Los Morales in the municipality of Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico, the son of Simón Huizar, a migrant farm worker and later machinist. His mother, Isidra Serrano, was a meatpacking plant worker.
He immigrated with his parents to the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles at the age of 3, and attended Salesian High School before attending University of California, Berkeley as an undergraduate. He received a master's degree in Public Affairs and Urban Planning from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law. In 2004, he became the first Latino to serve on the Princeton Board of Trustees.
Career
Los Angeles Unified School Board
José Huizar won a seat on the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District on April 10, 2001, as a candidate supported by Mayor Richard Riordan, defeating Ralph Cole with 75% of the vote. He served as member and president of the board until 2005.
Los Angeles City Council (2005–2020)
In November 2005 Huizar ran against Nick Pacheco for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council vacated by Antonio Villaraigosa and won. He was reelected to a full four-year term in 2007 and again in 2011. On March 3, 2015, he defeated former Supervisor Gloria Molina, along with three other candidates, to be re-elected to the Los Angeles City Council for a fourth time. He is the first Mexican immigrant elected to the L.A. City Council.
On November 7, 2018, the FBI served search warrants on Huizar's City Hall office and his residence. They removed computers and boxes of files, but did not disclose the purpose of the search.
On November 15, 2018, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson removed Huizar from all of his committee assignments.
On May 28, 2020, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council President Nury Martinez called on Huizar to resign. On June 23 he was arrested by federal agents, and the City Council suspended him from office.
Committees
Planning & Land Use Management (previous) Rules, Elections & Intergovernmental Relations (previous vice chair) Energy & Environment (chair 2012–13) Economic Development (previous)
Environmental issues
Huizar chaired the Los Angeles City Council's Energy & Environment Committee in 2012 and 2013. Under his leadership, the committee pushed forward the single-use plastic bag ban, and worked to expand recycling efforts in commercial and apartment buildings. Huizar also oversaw two of the largest solar projects in the country, advocated for a coal-free Los Angeles by 2025, and ensured that the council adopted a $120 million annual budget for energy conservation. In 2013, Huizar received the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters Environmental Champion Award and the Sierra Club's Political Leadership award. He has also worked to preserve open space and improve parks, especially in park-poor areas of the City of Los Angeles.
Complete Streets
Huizar has advocated for the complete streets model of city planning, where streets are safe for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and public transportation users. In 2012, Huizar and then-Councilmember Jan Perry wrote a City Council motion that created a parklet program for the City of Los Angeles. According to the motion, parklets would encourage "pedestrian and ground-floor activity [and provide] much-needed open space." In 2013, the city's first parklets were installed in the Highland Park, El Sereno, and Downtown Los Angeles. Huizar has also worked to grow bike infrastructure in the City of Los Angeles, including a green bike lane Downtown. The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition recognized Huizar in late 2013 for his complete streets efforts and forging a compromise to ensure Downtown's Spring Streets bicycle lanes remained in place. In 2010 and 2011, Huizar worked to install the city's first bike corral on York Boulevard in Highland Park.