Reverend Rae Huang Announces Campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles
Huang will officially launch her campaign at a November 16 press event in front of Los Angeles City Hall
LOS ANGELES—Rev. Rae Huang, a seasoned community organizer and ordained Presbyterian minister, has officially announced her candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles. A respected policy expert with more than two decades of experience advocating for social change, Rae enters the race on a platform grounded in four governing commitments: Housing for All, Fast and Free Buses, An Economy for the People, and Real Safety.
“Los Angeles can be a city where people stay, not a city they are priced out of. We can build a Los Angeles where families can put down roots, where we protect workers and small businesses, where buses are fast and free, and where public safety means care and prevention.”– Reverend Rae Huang
Rae launches her campaign at a moment when the cost-of-living crisis is pushing more and more Angelenos to the edge. This year alone, ballooning city liabilities have strained Los Angeles’s budget, while the city’s botched response to the devastating Palisades Fire exposed deep failures in emergency preparedness and coordination. At the same time, efforts to block or weaken affordable-housing initiatives—including attempts to gut Measure ULA through the state legislature—have undermined the will of voters. Luxury development, rent gouging, and speculative finance continue to shape policy more than the needs of working families. The result is a city where trust in government has eroded, and too many residents feel like their leaders have stopped fighting for them.
As mayor, Rae will move quickly to deliver on her four governing commitments. Her Housing for All commitment centers on social housing: publicly owned or community-controlled, mixed-income homes that remain permanently affordable, along with strengthening renter protections, and treating housing as a human right, not an investment vehicle. Fast and Free Buses will expand fare-free programs and speed up buses, linking housing, jobs, schools, and daily life. An Economy for the People means increasing the minimum wage across sectors, strengthening workers’ rights to organize, and keeping neighborhood-serving businesses alive through solutions like public banking. Pupuserías, taquerías, small shops, street vendors, K-BBQ restaurants, and corner stores give LA its character and city government has a role to play in stopping corporate displacement of local entrepreneurs. Real Safety means “fighting poverty, not the poor”—investing in truly “homeless to housing” initiatives, unarmed crisis response, youth development, neighborhood health infrastructure, and accountability because public safety grows from care, stability, and prevention.
“We have the resources but what we’ve lacked is the political will. This campaign is about proving that democracy can still work for regular people, and about building the Los Angeles our kids and neighbors deserve.” – Reverend Rae Huang
At a time when local progressive movements are rebuilding faith in democracy from the ground up, Rae’s campaign is rooted in the belief that Los Angeles should work for the people who make it run: renters, workers, families, and small business owners.
Rae Huang will officially launch her campaign at a press event in front of Los Angeles City Hall this Sunday, November 16, at 1:15 p.m.
ABOUT RAE HUANG:
A seasoned community organizer and ordained Presbyterian minister, Reverend Rae Huang has spent two decades bringing people together across faiths, neighborhoods, and movements to fight for dignity, fairness, and a city where everyone has a place to call home. As Deputy Director at Housing NOW! California, Rae directed statewide campaigns to make housing affordable and end the displacement of working-class communities of color. She led efforts behind major legislative and budget wins, like expanding tenant protections under SB 567, and supporting the passage and implementation of California’s groundbreaking social housing study bill, SB 555. She also played a critical role in organizing fire recovery efforts in Los Angeles. As mayor, Rae will strengthen and expand community-driven solutions to make our city more affordable, sustainable, and safe for every neighbor.
