LOS ANGELES — On any given day, Ingrid Ramos Figueroa is cutting hair inside her barbershop.

She’s a business owner and a voter in Los Angeles City Council District 6.

In front of her barbershop, there’s a sign in support of Marisa Alcaraz.

“I went through Google and I tried to read about her because I liked her,” Figueroa said.

She felt a connection to Alcaraz because her father immigrated to the United States from Mexico. She also likes that Alacaraz has worked in City Hall.

“We need people with experience like her because she has a lot of experience. She’s already been working with the community,” she said.

It’s one of the reasons why she feels Alacaraz is the best choice.

Candidate Imelda Padilla also has support from locals.

Mischa Martin, a retired teacher and voter from City Council District 6, has been working nonstop to help build support for Padilla, whom she met more than 20 years ago when she taught high school in Sun Valley.

Martin said Padilla walked into her sophomore classroom “and within a very short period of time we all knew who Imelda was. She was fabulous. She educated us about corporate pollution, about the issues in the community,” Martin said. 

Martin and Padilla have kept in touch. In fact, when Padilla first decided to run, she went to Martin for advice.

“She looked at me and said, what do you think, Ms. Martin? And I said, ‘You were made for this,’ and she said, ‘I think so too.” 

Martin has lived in the 6th District her whole life and said she’ll never leave.

She’s confident Padilla will fight to find solutions. And said Padilla “never saw a problem where she was looking to fix the blame, she’s always trying to fix the problem.”

While supporters may differ about who they want to represent the 6th District, the ultimate goal is to find someone who can not only represent the district but make it a better place.