Monica Rodriguez

Why Thrive LA endorses Monica

Monica Rodriguez is the incumbent City Councilmember for District 7, representing the working-class communities of the Northeast San Fernando Valley since 2017. She is running unopposed for a third term in June 2026, and she has consistently demonstrated the kind of pragmatic, results-driven governance that District 7 residents deserve. In a council chamber that too often drifts toward ideological posturing, Rodriguez has built a reputation for independence, a willingness to walk alone on issues and take positions that "rub people the wrong way." That is not a flaw. That is exactly the quality we look for in a public servant. As chair of the City's Public Safety Committee, Rodriguez has prioritized strengthening community safety and restoring public confidence in law enforcement. She has the backing of the Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014, a signal that the people who protect this city trust her judgment. On homelessness, Rodriguez has rejected the passive, services-only approach that has failed Los Angeles for a decade. She launched a district-level program to move homeless individuals out of RVs and into housing, a practical model she wants to take citywide. That is the kind of accountability-based strategy that produces measurable outcomes rather than perpetual encampments. Before joining the Council, Rodriguez served on the Board of Public Works and cut her teeth in city government working for former Mayor Richard Riordan and former Councilmember Mike Hernandez. She created the City's first Youth Development Department with a $1.4 million budget allocation, a targeted investment in prevention rather than another sprawling bureaucracy. Monica Rodriguez has earned a third term by doing the work: keeping District 7 safe, holding the homelessness bureaucracy accountable, and standing with the housing providers and businesses that keep the Northeast Valley's economy alive.