Katy Young Yaroslavsky

Katharine Elizabeth Young Yaroslavsky (born May 30, 1980) is an American attorney and politician who is currently a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 5th district. A member of the Democratic Party, Yaroslavsky placed first in the 2022 election to replace Paul Koretz, before winning in the general election against attorney Sam Yebri.

The daughter-in-law of influential Los Angeles politician Zev Yaroslavsky, she worked in the office of Sheila Kuehl, whom her mother previously worked for. During her tenure on the L.A. City Council, Young Yaroslavsky spearheaded a legislative effort to block the fast-tracking of affordable housing in historic districts.

Early life and career

Young Yaroslavsky was born Katharine Elizabeth Young on May 30, 1980. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor's degree from University of California, Berkeley and received her Juris Doctor degree from University of California, Los Angeles.

Young Yaroslavsky got into politics as a deputy for Sheila Kuehl when Kuehl was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; Yaroslavsky's mother Laura Plotkin served on Kuehl's staff when she was in the California State Legislature. While a deputy, she helped with the creation of the Office of Sustainability and the creation and passing of Measure W in 2018. Before being named in Kuehl's staff, she was the general counsel and director of government affairs at the nonprofit Climate Action Reserve.

Political career

Los Angeles City Council

In September 2021, Young Yaroslavsky announced that she would be running to replace Paul Koretz on the Los Angeles City Council for the 5th district. In the primary election, Young Yaroslavsky and Sam Yebri advanced to the general runoff election, with Young Yaroslavsky taking a majority of the votes. In the general election, Young Yaroslavsky won against Yebri in a landslide.

In 2023, she was named to be on the Transportation Committee, the first all-female committee, alongside Traci Park, Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman, and Heather Hutt.

In 2024, Young Yaroslavsky introduced a motion to stop the fast-tracking of affordable housing in any areas of Los Angeles designated as part of the 8.5 square-mile Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. Prior to 2000, there were only historic zones in L.A., but by 2024, they were 36. Housing advocates have criticized the historic designation process as being hijacked by NIMBY homeowners to block housing in their neighborhoods. Young Yaroslavsky's chief of staff justified the need to block affordable housing by pointing to the construction of a 70-unit affordable apartment building on a vacant lot in the affluent neighborhood Windsor Village. The chief of staff described the building as "egregious" and a "refrigerator box".

Personal life

Young Yaroslavsky is married to David Yaroslavsky, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, with the two having three children. She is the daughter-in-law to Zev Yaroslavsky, a former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who held the same seat in the City Council from 1975 to 1994.

Electoral history

References