LOS ANGELES — Visiting the Panorama mall is something Lucy Martinez likes to do with her two daughters. She’s lived in Panorama City her whole life.

And now, Lucy Martinez is getting ready to decide who will represent her community in Los Angeles City Council District 6.

“I am going to vote, but honestly, I haven’t gone through any of my paperwork,” she said. “I’ve gotten my paperwork, but honestly, nobody has approached me. I don’t know any of the candidates.”

City Council District 6 was left vacant when Nury Martinez resigned after she was recorded making racist comments during a meeting with fellow City Council members.

Lucy Martinez says the comments were devastating. She had supported Nury Martinez during past elections but says that “we need a candidate that supports us that doesn’t have any type of discrimination against any type of race — Latino, Black, African American or white people.” 

Lucy Martinez is hoping to vote for someone who understands her community and someone who will fight for the district to get them much needed resources. It’s similar to what business owners want.

Alonso Arellano owns Chiguacle Sabor Ancestral de Mexico, a restaurant in Sun Valley. He also supported Nury Martinez in past elections and says the fact that she stepped down immediately is important for the community to move on.

“I believe that she did the right thing in stepping down right away,” he said.

Seven candidates are on the ballot to fill the vacant seat. If no candidate wins, the top two will participate in a runoff. There are 118,455 registered voters in City Council District 6. Latinos comprise 71.8% of the population, about 15% are white, more than 9% are Asian and just over 3% are Black.

Lucy Martinez says since none of the candidates have reached out to her personally, she has a lot of researching to do.

“That’s what I’m going to be working on,” she said. “I’m going to look for the best candidate to see who’s actually going to represent us.”