Times and a digital ad man from Carlsbad ad help Nika Soon-Shiong deliver L.A. parting gift

Though the future of the L.A. Times and its sister San Diego Union-Tribune remains clouded by the announced closing of its longtime printing plant, the Times and owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, along with his daughter Nika, can now boast a big political win with the election of Kenneth Mejia to the office of L.A. controller.

"Ricci Sergienko, a co-founder of the People’s City Council, a left-wing activist group that has supported Mejia, said it has high hopes for him," notes a lengthy November 11 Times account of Meijia's lopsided victory.

"The group has gained a following for its progressive outlook, and it also routinely attacks City Hall politicians and the Los Angeles Police Department on Twitter.

“'The expectation is that Kenneth is going to go in and audit LAPD and continue to do the role of educating the public,' Sergienko said. 'If there’s any veering away from what our expectations are, we are not going to be afraid to call it out.'"

Mejia beat L.A. councilman Paul Koretz by 61%-to-39%, the account says, adding: "His victory is the latest win for L.A. leftist activists, a powerful force in local elections who have pushed for big changes to City Hall’s approach to policing and homelessness."

"Some, including [Paul] Koretz, have drawn attention to Mejia’s past inflammatory remarks and actions — such as holding an oversized, photoshopped image of Hillary Clinton behind bars wearing an orange prison jumpsuit — and called Mejia’s views on issues such as policing extreme."

Though the Times story didn't mention it, Democrat Koretz, who was Mejia's opponent, accused the paper during the race of acting “as if it were run by the Mejia campaign itself," per a quote that appeared in a September 18 dispatch by Politico highlighting Nika Soon-Shiong's alleged influence over Times news and editorial stances.

“People are just scratching their heads about their editorial board and how they can come to these decisions,” Koretz went on to tell Politico. “I have never seen an election where the newspaper is the story.”

"Though Nika Soon-Shiong in recent weeks publicly announced plans to leave Los Angeles to pursue a doctorate at Oxford University," the story continued, "questions persist over where the line should be drawn—if at all—between the Soon-Shiong family’s interests and the editorial product of the Times.

Per the Times story, Mejia's election is "especially a big milestone for Filipino Americans, the city’s largest Asian American community, who are also celebrating Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s election. Bonta was appointed in 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom and ran for his first full term in office this year."

A few San Diego County residents contributed to Mejia's campaign, notably Adriel Hampton of Carlsbad, with $500 on October 27. Hampton runs a digital advertising agency "dedicated to supporting progressive causes," according to his Wikipedia profile.

"Adriel (he/him) has the skills of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the heart of a Berkeley activist," says Hampton's profile on the company's website.

"He’s been a popular speaker and podcaster on 'Gov 2.0, a pizza delivery man, a roofer, and still considers himself first a writer. Adriel has helped hundreds of campaigns with their technology needs, co-founded one of the left’s most popular Facebook pages, and has written more than a hundred thousand tweets. Adriel is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and an unofficial write-in candidate for Carlsbad Mayor."