Socialist LA official claims she won’t accept billionaire bucks — but she’s already cashing their checks
Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez has built her political brand on opposition to billionaires and large corporations, publicly urging wealthy donors to stay out of local politics. However, campaign finance records show her own campaign has accepted donations connected to two billionaire families.
In a recent Instagram video, the Democratic Socialists of America–backed councilmember tells billionaires to “keep scrolling” while framing her reelection campaign as a fight against wealthy interests she says are harming working families. At the same time, records indicate her campaign has benefited from donors tied to some of the Democratic Party’s most prominent mega-donors.
Hernandez has also faced criticism over her leadership at home. She has been accused by opponents and community members of skipping political meetings while conditions at MacArthur Park, located in her district, have deteriorated significantly. Once a popular neighborhood gathering spot, the park is now widely described by residents as a center of open drug use, encampments, and crime, with fentanyl overdoses a growing concern.
“While Hernandez was taking money from billionaires, LAPD officers were being defunded and left saying they don’t feel safe in MacArthur Park,” said John Alle, a local businessman who owns multiple properties near the park. “She’s ignored human trafficking, approved repeated needle and drug-pipe distributions, and put more than 40,000 nearby families at risk.”
In her campaign video, Hernandez also criticized her challengers for what she described as “standing with” the New York Post. The newspaper said it has contacted Hernandez more than a dozen times for comment, including again this week, without receiving a response.
Despite her anti-wealth rhetoric, Hernandez’s donor list includes Patty Quillin, the wife of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings. Quillin is a longtime Democratic donor who has made multiple six-figure contributions to Democratic super PACs over several election cycles, including two $500,000 donations to the Senate Majority PAC in 2018 and a $50,000 contribution during the 2016 cycle, according to campaign finance records.
Hernandez has also received support linked to Elizabeth Simons, daughter of late hedge fund founder Jim Simons and heir to a family fortune estimated at roughly $32.5 billion. Simons is a well-known Democratic megadonor who supports progressive candidates and causes through independent political spending. In August, she donated $250,000 to New Yorkers for Lower Costs, a group that backed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, according to Forbes.
Even with support tied to wealthy donors, Hernandez’s fundraising remains modest. She has raised $74,609 so far this election cycle, only slightly more than challenger Sylvia Robledo, who has brought in $48,242.
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