Continuing to build momentum on the heels of his strong performance in the primary, the John Choi for City Council campaign has secured the coveted backing of Mayor Antonio Villarigosa.

“I am so truly humbled to have the support of Mayor Villarigosa,” Choi said on March 28. “He has been a true leader for Los Angeles. He has built a legacy on improving public transit, reducing crime to historic levels and making sure Los Angeles is the cleanest, greenest big city in America. I am honored to have his support and look forward to working with him to move Los Angeles forward.”

“John Choi is a true leader, able to stand up for what our city and neighborhoods need,” said Villaraigosa. “As an economic development director and public works commissioner, John has proven to me and those who have worked with him that he will deliver in the fight for better schools, safer communities, and a cleaner, more sustainable environment. John Choi is the candidate I trust to continue to move Council District 13 forward into a better, more secure future.”

Villaraigosa joins the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, State Controller John Chiang, Rep. Judy Chu, State Sens. Kevin De Leon and Ricardo Lara, Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE), and scores of other community organizations, local leaders and citizen endorsers already supporting Choi.

The primary election for the seat was held on March 5, with Choi finishing second to Mitch O’Farrell, former field deputy to City Councilmember Eric Garcetti, 16.7 percent to 18.8 percent, among 12 candidates. The runoff election will be held on May 21.

The 13th district is currently represented by mayoral candidate Garcetti, who is leaving office due to term limits, and is composed of Hollywood, East Hollywood, Thai Town, Little Armenia, Los Feliz, Virgil Village, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Temple-Beverly, Koreatown, Historic Filipinotown, Westlake, Wilshire Center, Melrose Hill, Echo Park, Elysian Valley, Atwater Village, and Glassell Park.

If elected, Choi will be the second Asian American to serve on the City Council, and the first Korean American.

Los Angeles City Council candidate John Choi (at podium) with some of his endorsers from the Asian Pacific Islander community: (from left) Johng Ho Song, executive director, Korean Youth and Community Center; Armando Lapus, executive director, Rosewood Revitalization Group; Grace Yoo, executive director, Korean American Coalition; Joel Jacinto, executive director, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans; Bill Watanabe, former interim executive director, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. Other endorsers include Dean Matsubayashi, executive director, Little Tokyo Service Center; Debbie Ching, former interim chief operating officer, JACCC; DJ Yoon, executive director, Korean Resource Center; William Min, Korean American immigration attorney; and Shinae Yoon, executive director, Visual Communications. (Affiliations are for identification purposes only.)

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  1. John Choi, please stop calling me! This is harassment! Calling someone 10 times a day for 6 months straight is harassment! You are a desperate pest! Please go away!

  2. Every single day john choi shows how desperate he is. 5 dirty attack mailers, non stop phone calls and robo calls, telling Latinos that Mitch O’Farrell is Republican (ahahaha), staged press conferences, and desperately scrounging for money anywhere he can get it. Fact is, he is a sleazy sell out that’s only lived in the 13th District 1 year, has never done anything here, and 95% of the $600,000 that bought him a ticket to the run off came from outside the 13th District. It comes from Orange County, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Hawaii, Colorado, Illinois, etc. My uncle is a Teamster, and it’s sad that his hard earned union dues are being used in such a sleazy way. Sad and disgusting. And you defend and support this?! john choi wouldn’t even be in the conversation of it wasn’t for that $600,000 dollars. Want proof? It’s all on the City of LA Ethics website. Where every penny is reported and is clear as the light of day!

  3. Why would anybody vote for this scumbag John Choi? His money comes from companies that have been convicted of labor violations, and church leaders that supported Yes on Prop H8, and now he’s having a fund raiser in New York with another douche bag that has been convicted on money laundering for political purposes. The John Choi campaign is sleazy and disgusting. And the people that support him have no integrity because they don’t care, and are only looking to advance their own political ambitions.

  5. Is that how desperate the Asian community is to have one of their own on the city council that they would back this carpetbagger and special interest whore John Choi? What a disgrace! He’s only lived in the 13th District for 14 months, virtually all of the money behind him comes from outside the District and he has NO history of service in OUR District! This is the man that wants to represent us? Breaking news! John Choi is NOT wanted here and on May 21st we are throwing him out, along with all the selfish political hacks that are selling out the working families and business owners of the 13th District out for their own self serving and dysfunctional political ambitions!