Your guide to the L.A. City Council District 3 race: Who will replace Bob Blumenfield?

It’s not often that the southwest San Fernando Valley has a City Council seat that’s completely up for grabs.

The last time the 3rd District had no incumbent was 2013, when former Democratic state Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield ran for the seat and won, replacing Councilmember Dennis Zine, who was term-limited after 12 years in office.

Blumenfield is now facing term limits himself, and three Woodland Hills residents are running to replace him. The winner will confront a number of thorny issues, including high rents, a stubborn homelessness crisis and street lights stripped of copper wire.

California

Voter guide to the 2026 California primary election

California’s primary election takes place on June 2. Learn about L.A.’s city and county races and others for state offices.

May 1, 2026

Tim Gaspar is running for L.A. City Council District 3.

(Tim Sullens)

Tim Gaspar: A longtime business owner, he founded Gaspar Insurance in 2008, growing it into one of the Valley’s largest independent insurance firms. He sold that company in 2021 and is running for office with Blumenfield’s backing.

Gaspar also landed endorsements from Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, former Democratic state Assemblymember Bob Hertzberg, real estate developer Rick Caruso and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file police officers.

Barri Worth Girvan is running for L.A. City Council District 3.

(Yauma Olstead)

Barri Worth Girvan: She has been the district director for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath for the last three years, overseeing constituent services in the Valley and on the Westside.

Before that, she spent eight years as an aide to Hertzberg, who ran for county supervisor in 2022, losing to Horvath. As a candidate, Worth Girvan has secured support from Horvath and a number of high-powered groups, including the county’s Democratic Party and Federation of Labor.

Christopher “C.R.” Celona is running for L.A. City Council District 3.

(Stephanie Lorens)

Christopher “C.R.” Celona: A self-described investor and “compassionate capitalist,” Celona has been working in technology, media and entertainment. His website touts his experience early in his career building one of the first car part review websites. More recently, he worked on the animated web series “Little Luis,” which follows a “dysfunctional but loving family and their adopted 6-year-old Latino son, Luis.” On the campaign trail, he’s promising to resuscitate the city’s entertainment industry by fast-tracking film permits and cutting red tape.

The district takes in all or part of Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka and Tarzana, as well as the rapidly growing Warner Center district.

The candidates are largely in sync on big-picture public safety issues. All three support Mayor Karen Bass’ long-term goal of restoring the Los Angeles Police Department to 9,500 officers. (Last month, it had 8,640.)

Gaspar, 44, thinks that goal doesn’t go far enough. He wants the department to have 10,000 officers, which it last had in 2020. He points to his own experience from a few years ago when his family’s home was burglarized.

“When I called 911, this is no exaggeration, I was on hold for 30 minutes before I got a person. Thirty full minutes,” he said. “That is something that points to the city being broken.”

Worth Girvan, 42, said she too wants the LAPD to return to 10,000 officers, a goal first accomplished in 2013 by former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was her boss for several years.

Celona, 46, was less specific about the number of officers needed but voiced general support for the mayor’s hiring goal.

All three also spoke in favor of the pay increases Bass negotiated with the city’s police union, which critics have derided as too expensive. Supporters say the pay hikes will keep officers, particularly new hires, from being lured away by other law enforcement agencies.

“I have met with many LAPD officers, and what they they tell me consistently is that they train here, but then we lose them,” Worth Girvan said.

All three candidates spoke in favor of Municipal Code section 41.18, which bars homeless encampments from going up within 500 feet of schools and day care centers. The law also bars encampments in “sensitive” areas, such as designated libraries or freeway overpasses.

“If you have a situation where folks are allowed to sleep wherever they want, without any sort of rules in place, you’re going to end up with people all over the place, like what we’ve seen,” Gaspar said.

Worth Girvan and Gaspar have differing takes on Inside Safe, the mayor’s program to move people out of encampments and into interim housing, such as hotel and motel rooms.

Gaspar called the program “well intentioned” but said it is ultimately a failure. Worth Girvan voiced support for Inside Safe but said the city should be delivering more “wraparound services,” such as mental health counseling and addiction treatment.

Celona isn’t ready to commit more money to Inside Safe and would want to perform a “hard pulse check” on the program to better understand its accomplishments.

“We’re pouring dollars into it and it doesn’t seem to have any kind of an outcome,” he said.

The candidates are somewhat split over Senate Bill 79, last year’s state law allowing taller, denser apartments buildings within a half-mile of transit stops. The council recently took the first step toward implementing the bill, voting to legalize four-story buildings in single-family neighborhoods that sit near the G Line busway, formerly known as the Orange Line.

Gaspar supports efforts to add density in Warner Center, on portions of Ventura Boulevard and elsewhere. But he criticized SB 79, saying state lawmakers shouldn’t dictate where development is permitted.

Worth Girvan supports SB 79 but worries that it eventually will allow much taller buildings in high-risk fire areas, particularly hillsides. She would work with state lawmakers to seek amendments.

“We can’t just be building the housing if we don’t have the fire department resources or the road capacity to handle it,” she said.

Celona supports SB 79 without hesitation.

“Metro is investing billions in improving our public transit in L.A.,” he wrote in an email. “We should allow people to live near it.”

Worth Girvan plans to vote for Bass, who is seeking a second four-year term. That might come as a surprise, given that Horvath, the county supervisor who is also Worth Girvan’s boss, has issued lacerating critiques of the mayor’s handling of homelessness and other issues.

Celona hasn’t decided for whom he will vote. Gaspar, through a campaign staffer, declined to answer.

“Tim is staying focused on his own race,” campaign spokesperson Haley Townes said.