The DA Is Now Pulling the Campaign Books on Huntington Park Candidates. Two of Them Had Their Homes Raided in “Operation Dirty Pond.”Prosecutors want certified copies of the finance filings of three council hopefuls, and residents who were promised a pool are still looking at a dirt lot.

HUNTINGTON PARK — The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division is now looking at the money behind this year’s Huntington Park City Council race.

In two letters dated September 22, 2026, Deputy District Attorney Stefan C. Mrakich of the Bureau of Fraud and Corruption Prosecutions asked the City Clerk’s office for certified copies of campaign filings. The letters went to the clerk at City Hall, 6550 Miles Avenue. That is the same building investigators searched in February 2025 under a warrant tied to a corruption probe.

The first letter covers three committees:

• Karina Macias for Huntington Park City Council 2026 (ID #1379451)
• Ortiz for Council 2026 (ID #1493882)
• Rivas 4 HP Council 2026 (ID #1494199)

For each, the DA wants every Form 410 Statement of Organization and every Form 460 campaign filing. It also wants the Form 497s, the 24-hour reports that disclose large contributions close to an election. The same day, the DA sent a separate request for the filings of Women Leading Change Democratic Club (ID #1466987). The letters do not say why the DA wants any of these records.  Read the letters here: 9-23-2026 HP PRA Request (Macias Ortiz Rivas) (2)9-22-2026 RRCC Request (Women Leading Change)

Two candidates, one cloud

Karina Macias and Graciela Ortiz are not strangers to prosecutors. On February 26, 2025, District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that investigators had executed search warrants at 11 locations in “Operation Dirty Pond,” a public corruption probe launched in November 2022. The probe targets the potential misuse of millions of dollars in public funds for an aquatic center at Salt Lake Park. District Attorney’s Office Executes Search Warrants in Corruption Probe of Huntington Park Aquatic Center Project +2

Among the homes searched were those of Mayor Karina Macias, and former councilmember Graciela Ortiz. Investigators also searched the home of former city commissioner and lobbyist Efren Martinez, a Glendale construction company, and a Huntington Park consulting firm. They seized public records, financial paperwork, computers, tablets and cellphones. laistlaist

Now two of the people whose homes were searched are asking voters for council seats again. Prosecutors have not charged either of them, and both are presumed innocent. Voters are still entitled to ask why the DA wants their campaign books.

“Not the first time”

The Times noted that this is not the first time prosecutors have looked at Macias’s finances. In 2017, the DA opened an inquiry into her work as a political consultant. She helped raise money for Efren Martinez’s 2016 Assembly campaign and was paid nearly $6,800 in commission. Another report said most of that money came from companies seeking to do business with the city, and businesses connected to the donors received city contracts. yahoocaliforniacitynews

The paper trail at City Hall

A District Attorney property receipt from the City Hall search, dated February 26, 2025, lists the case as Efren Martinez. It records that investigators took documents from a city clerk’s work computer, including forty-two documents tied to “JT Construction.” JT Construction Group is the Glendale firm whose owners’ home was also searched. See the document here:

What residents should ask

Why now? The letters give no reason. Voters deserve to know whether this is routine diligence or a sign the investigation is moving toward charges.

What does the DA see in the money? Contributions, contractors and consultants will all be visible in the filings.

Who is Women Leading Change Democratic Club, and why is it on the list? The DA requested its records the same day, and the letters do not explain the connection. Nothing in the documents ties the club to any candidate, so that question is still open.

Campaign finance records are public. Anyone can request them from the Huntington Park City Clerk.

A District Attorney property receipt from the City Hall search, dated February 26, 2025, lists the case as Efren Martinez: