Struggling back to school through the summer heat in the city can be one of the most exhausting feelings, especially if there aren’t enough hours in the day to get on the healthy living track. Work schedules and traffic flow can take up too many hours in the day leaving you exhausted. If you do more stay at home type of work then you might have the best platform for putting together your family’s healthy agenda. What you might not know is that making efforts towards reorganizing your lifestyles to be more health conscious can actually help you feel invigorated. People hear the word, “effort” and they often get intimidated by the difficulty of this effort. Start small and gradually work your way up to bigger changes, you can’t expect to see miracles overnight.

Four candidates vying to be Los Angeles’ next mayor participated in a mayoral candidate forum in Boyle Heights on Aug. 16. The event, presented by Ya Basta and the East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, included the participation of City Hall veteran Councilwoman Jan Perry, radio broadcaster and lawyer Kevin James, former Villaraigosa aide Emanuel Pleitez and activist Deacon Alexander.

Lea esta nota EN ESPAÑOL: Candidatos a la Alcaldía de Los Ángeles Abordan Temas en un Foro en Boyle Heights

About 100 people attended the forum that took place early in the campaign/election cycle, the filing period for which is still some time away, and the primary race not until March 5, 2013.

First of two parts 

Because the race to succeed termed-out Antonio Villaraigosa as the next Mayor of Los Angeles is in its embryonic stages, three of the four candidates on deck last evening in Boyle Heights, deep in the barrio, are longshots from here to Saudi Arabia. 

More than half a year out from the March primary, nine months before the likely runoff and 11 months before the new His Honor or Her Honor takes office, the lineup at the historic La Casa del Mexicano on Calle Pedro Infante scarcely would have been recognized beyond family reunions. 

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry was the only one of the three top-tier contenders at the event sponsored by Ya Basta and the East L.A. Chamber of Commerce. 

Kevin James, a Huck Finn lookalike who is a former radio talk show host and a former federal prosecutor, strapping Emanuel Pleitez, who grew up nearby and resembles a latter-day Superman, and S. Deacon Alexander, owner of the evening’s most unusual resumé, including Skid Row as his home address, rounded out the field for one transitory occasion. 

The 2013 mayoral elections are still a few months ahead but it’s never too early to get a head start on learning about the candidates. Emanuel A. Pleitez in particular is a Los Angeles native who is dedicated to uniting, serving, and inspiring his community through progressive action. He has done a lot of work in the non-profit sector and currently serves as the Chair of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund. In addition, he advises LA CAUSA, New Leaders Council, No Labels, and the Woodrow Wilson High School Alumni Foundation in Los Angeles. Through grassroots efforts his campaign team is reaching out to voters so that his vision for a better LA can be illuminated. With full time field organizers, interns and volunteers, Pleitez is determined to make positive impacts on the local neighborhoods by talking to the local people to truly understand what Los Angeles wants and needs.

Chances are we won't hear a whole lot from or about Emanuel Pleitez as the mayoral race evolves into the big-bucks contest that everybody expects. [I'll be happy to be proved wrong on that, and Pleitez has shown the knack to get attention before.] But he was savvy enough to be only the second of the candidates to answer the blog L.A. Taco's call to come forward with a rundown of his favorite tacos. His faves are heavy with Eastside flavor, given his roots. Eric Garcetti has been the only other mayoral hopeful to answer the call, back in March: he liked the Cochinita Pibil at Yuca’s above all, but also recommended preferred tacos at Baja Ensenada, Tacos Delta, Villa Corona and Ariza.

In our quest to get every L.A. Mayoral candidate on the record about their favorite taco (Eric Garcetti’s answerhere), we turn to Emanual Pleitez, who describes himself as a progressive Los Angeles native who is running an unconventional campaign. Get more info on the candidate here. So, Emanuel, what’s your favorite taco?

“1. Mojica Tacos in evenings/late nights off Alhambra Ave and Hollister Ave
2. Carnitas Michoacan off Soto St and Whittier  to sit down late night
3. Hecho en Mexico on Huntington Dr if you’d like to get served
4. Tacos El Gavilan on Washington and Central
5. El Sombrero on Main St just north of Washington
6. And, when I want to accompany tacos with a tamal or torta, then it’s all about Tamale Man and King Torta in El Sereno, respectively

El salvadoreño Emanuel Pleitez se encuentra entre los candidatos con grandes posibilidades para lograr la alcaldía de LA.

Los Ángeles (EFE).- Emanuel Pleitez, exasistente del alcalde de Los Ángeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, y quien ha sido llamado dos veces por el presidente Barack Obama como asesor económico, aspira a ser el primer burgomaestre angelino de origen salvadoreño.

Emanuel Pleitez, former assistant to incumbent Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a veteran of Goldman Sachs and the Obama administration's Treasury Department transition team, hopes to become the first Los Angeles mayor of Salvadoran descent.

"The city of Los Angeles needs a mayor who knows how to talk to its different communities and feel what they feel," Pleitez, who grew up in low-income neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, told Efe.

"I'm probably the only candidate who can talk to bankers and tell them what's best for our communities with the same confidence that I can talk to some gangbanger and tell him that what he is doing makes our people suffer," he said.

Emanuel Pleitez, exasistente del alcalde de Los Ángeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, y quien ha sido llamado dos veces por el presidente Barack Obama como asesor económico, aspira a ser el primer burgomaestre angelino de origen salvadoreño.

"La ciudad de Los Ángeles necesita un alcalde que sepa conversar con las diferentes comunidades en la urbe y sentir lo que ellos sienten", dijo a Efe Pleitez, quien creció en vecindarios de bajos recursos del sur de Los Ángeles y asesora a grandes compañías financieras.

"Probablemente soy el único candidato que con la misma confianza con que puedo conversar con los banqueros y decirles lo que no está bien para nuestras comunidades, de la misma manera puedo hablar con algún pandillero y decirle que lo que está haciendo hace sufrir a nuestra gente", aseguró.

A onetime personal assistant to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday that he is jumping into next year's mayoral campaign.

While Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and businessman Rick Caruso continue to stay mum on their own plans, 29-year-old Emanuel Pleitez filed papers with the Ethics Commission this week seeking the office held by Villaraigosa, who must step down next year due to term limits.

Pleitez worked from 2003 to 2005 for Villaraigosa -- both before and during his time as a city councilman. He credited the mayor with helping to put city government on a more solid financial footing but said more needs to be done in such areas as public schools and unemployment.

“This city could have been bankrupt already and [Villaraigosa] has done a lot of things to make sure it’s not,” he said. “But is it doing great? No, it is not.”