THE BUZZ: TURF WAR — A long-simmering debate over giving East Los Angeles independent control is bubbling up again: this time, in Sacramento. A bill by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo to study the feasibility of creating a special district in the area has reignited tensions between the community and county leaders, who, for decades, have gone back and forth over whether the unincorporated chunk of Los Angeles County should have its own leadership. On one side are the residents and business owners who feel ignored, and are looking for more power over things like economic development, housing and parking congestion. On the other side are those like LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, the sole local representative for the area, who says the residents can’t afford incorporating and has taken to social media to accuse Carrillo of misleading the public — and state lawmakers — about the bill. "I just think she's misinforming people," Solis told Playbook about Carrillo. "It's more about economics: Do we have the money to pay for it? Do people really understand what this means?" Currently, East Los Angeles is a seven-square-mile island of unincorporated territory surrounded by municipalities, including the cities of Los Angeles, Commerce and Montebello. The area has one of the highest concentrations of Latino/Hispanic Americans in the nation, and was the site of an historic display of Mexican American opposition to the Vietnam war known as the Chicano Moratorium. Over the years, East LA has lost valuable areas — like East Los Angeles College and a strip of retail shops along Whittier Boulevard — to surrounding cities, but it still has a greater population than many of those around it. "East LA has 120,000 people and doesn't have any local representation," Carrillo said. "What I think residents would like to see is to be a part of some of the decision-making that is done on behalf of East LA." None of the four attempts to incorporate East LA in the last 63 years have been successful. The most recent one, in 2012, was struck down by the county’s local agency formation commission, or LAFCO. As the area’s only local elected leader, Solis also represents a wider district of 2 million people that stretches from Silverlake to the San Bernardino County line. Underlying all the public sparring is a looming game of musical chairs in LA politics. Solis, a former member of Congress and former U.S. labor secretary, is in her final term as a county supervisor. Carrillo, after losing her bid for Los Angeles City Council in March, is leaving her legislative office at the end of this year. As Playbook reported last month, state Sen. María Elena Durazo, who represents the region in the Legislature, is considering a run for Solis’ vacant seat in 2026. Carrillo, meanwhile, just recently opened a state Senate campaign committee. Carrillo’s bill, while contentious, doesn’t actually change anything. The legislation would require LAFCO to establish an East LA task force, solicit input, and by the end of 2026, send a report to the Legislature detailing the potential impacts of creating a city or special district, as well as the potential advantages and disadvantages that go along with it. LAFCO has raised concerns that the county would have to foot the $750,000 bill to complete the study. But the mere mention of incorporation has politicians feeling territorial. The county board of supervisors, led by Solis, last week voted unanimously to oppose Carrillo’s bill — declaring that the county provides numerous public services to the community, regardless of how much revenue it generates, and that, “incorporation is unlikely to prove beneficial for East LA residents and businesses.” That didn’t stop it from passing through the Assembly’s local government committee, however. It now heads to the Appropriations committee. Carrillo expressed disappointment at Solis’ public campaigning against the bill, and said she hopes to have more conversations in the future. “I would not be doing my job if I wasn't responding to my community members and my constituents who want to see a better East LA,” she said. “So, it's unfortunate that she's taken that route.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. | 
