Kenneth Mejia, the incumbent Los Angeles city controller, is seeking the city auditor/controller seat in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The nonpartisan race covers all of Los Angeles, including Bel Air and Holmby Hills.

Mejia, a certified public accountant, said on his campaign website that he is the only CPA running for the office and has 15 years of accounting and auditing experience. He was first elected controller in November 2022 with 513,288 votes, according to the controller's office website, and oversees a team of more than 160 employees.

Candidate information

  • Name: Kenneth Mejia
  • Date of birth: Nov. 7, 1990, in Los Angeles
  • Party: Nonpartisan race
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting, Woodbury University, 2010
  • Ballot status: Certified for the ballot

According to Wikipedia, Mejia is the first Filipino American elected official in the city of Los Angeles, the first Asian American elected to a citywide office and the first nonwhite person to hold the position of city controller in over a century.

Experience and public service

Mejia worked as an accountant at Ernst & Young and later at EVgo in 2021, according to Wikipedia and BallotReady profile data. He co-founded We Can Make a Difference in 2016 and has served as a community organizer with the LA Tenants' Union and as a board member on a neighborhood council, according to BallotReady.

He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 34th Congressional District as a Green Party candidate in 2018, according to Wikipedia.

On the issues

Government transparency: Mejia said on his campaign website that as the city's independent financial watchdog, it is his job to tell taxpayers where their tax dollars are going and to call out financial decisions that hurt them, "even when it makes City Hall uncomfortable."

Government reform: Mejia's campaign said he has the financial literacy and experience to understand the city's finances, discover waste and enact changes, according to his BallotReady questionnaire response.

Housing: Mejia's campaign said he believes housing is a human right and is not afraid to take on special interests to address what he called the root of the problem: the city's housing shortage, according to his BallotReady questionnaire response.

Endorsements

Mejia has received endorsements from the following, according to his campaign website and BallotReady profile data:

  • Los Angeles Daily News
  • United Teachers Los Angeles
  • Working Families Party
  • Sunrise Movement LA
  • Ground Game LA

Candidate positions and biography details are drawn from Mejia's campaign website, the controller's office website, BallotReady questionnaire responses and public records. Voters can learn more at mejiaforcontroller.com.