Council candidate living out of RV in crime-ridden MacArthur Park to expose city failures

Los Angeles City Council candidate Raul Claros is taking his campaign head-on in what many residents call the city’s biggest embarrassment: MacArthur Park.

District 1 challenger Eunisses Hernandez rolled a 30-foot RV into a park Friday and announced he plans to spend the weekend there.

“This is how I volunteered,” Claros told the California Post. “I’m determined to stay here in MacArthur Park if that’s what it takes for people to take this seriously.”

The move comes on the same day that state authorities made other arrests related to ongoing crackdowns in and around the park.

The FBI, DEA and LAPD spent months targeting what prosecutors described as an open drug market.

But Claros says the raid has not changed what residents see when they pass by the area.

“The next day after these types of operations, things are still the same and the same,” said Claros. “Problems don’t just disappear.”

For years, frustrated residents and business owners have complained about drug use, violent crime, gang activity, illegal sales, homelessness and deteriorating conditions surrounding the once-website park.

MacArthur Park has become a hot spot in the District 1 race, with incumbent Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez facing intense scrutiny over conditions critics say are spreading under her watch.

Claros insists that the RV is not a campaign.

“If the community suffers, leadership must emerge,” he said.

The candidate said he chose MacArthur Park because it has become a clear symbol of what many residents believe is broken within City Hall.

“I’ve talked to residents and business owners who feel completely forgotten,” Claros said. “Many people have lost hope that something will change.”

If elected, Claros says restoring MacArthur Park would be one of his top priorities.

He says his plan calls for a command center to be established within the park and coordinated with city departments, law enforcement, communications and recreation workers in a strong effort to restore the park and surrounding streets.

“We have to start with MacArthur Park,” said Claros. “Then we move on to nearby areas. It has to be completely reorganized.”

The RV stop marks the launch of a five-day campaign tour by District 1 Council.

“The people here are frustrated. They are tired. They are fed up,” said Claros. “I want them to know that there is someone willing to fight for this community.”

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