At a time of record antisemitism, the only Jewish candidate in the City Council race has already spent two decades fighting for LA’s Jewish community
Proper Jewish representation in Los Angeles County is difficult to find, despite Los Angeles being home to the second-most Jews in the United States and third most in the world. In the upcoming Los Angeles City Council race, lifelong Jewish activist and civil servant Barri Worth Girvan is the only Jewish candidate, with a record to show for it.
Barri Worth Girvan has always been the Jewish voice in the room—not when it was convenient or politically opportune. In fact, Girvan seems to find herself there when it is not.
She has spent her career in a dogged fight against antisemitism, championing Los Angeles’ Jewish community in her synagogue, at the Jewish Federation, alongside the Mayor, lobbying State Senators, and funding county initiatives—all for the community that raised her.
Girvan is campaigning to represent the West Valley, where she has lived her entire life. She grew up at Temple Judea in Tarzana, where she was active in youth programs. Now, as a mother of three children at Temple Judea, she has served on the Ethics Committee and was the youngest member ever elected to the Board of Trustees.
Salt Lake City Rabbi Samuel L. Spector began his career at Temple Judea, where he worked alongside Girvan.
“Barri Worth Girvan is one of the people that rabbis dream of having in their community; she is a millennial with over a decade involved in synagogue and Jewish communal leadership, and has a deep love and pride for her Jewish faith and heritage, and her commitment to speaking up against antisemitism whether it is local or global,” he said.
After graduating from UC San Diego, she worked for the Shalom Institute, becoming the administrative director when it first separated from the Jewish Federation.
“She leads with thoughtfulness, compassion, and a strong sense of purpose. At a time when trusted leadership matters more than ever, voices like Barri’s are important in helping communities feel heard and represented,” Rabbi Bill Kaplan, CEO of the Shalom Institute, said.
For five years, she worked in LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office as the Mayor’s Jewish Liaison, overseeing the city’s relationship with the Jewish community.
During her tenure, she led several “firsts” for Los Angeles, including raising the Israeli flag on Wilshire for Israel’s 60th anniversary, starting citywide Hanukkah and Passover celebrations, condemning the 2010 flotilla incident and hosting Israeli dignitaries.
In 2013, Girvan began leading political initiatives of her own. She led the first non-Jewish delegation of California elected officials to Israel through the Jewish Federation and lobbied on behalf of the federation as an executive board member of the Jewish Political Action Committee (JPAC).
“Her Jewish identity is not separate from her service; it is the foundation of her commitment to serve,” Rabbi Sarah Hronsky of Temple Beth Hillel and former President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California said.
She later worked with the State Senate, earning funding for Jewish Family Service LA’s food pantry program and for Jewish summer camps destroyed in the 2018 fires. She lobbied with the California Jewish Caucus to fund the Museum of Tolerance, Holocaust Museum LA, and nonprofit security grants, and fought against policies tied to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“Barri is smart, effective and deeply committed to our community. I am confident she will be an engaged and effective advocate for our community, and I am proud to endorse Barri for LA City Council,” Assemblymember and CA Legislative Jewish Caucus Chair Jesse Gabriel said.
Most recently, Girvan worked at the county level, leading Jewish public safety initiatives before October 7, securing $123,000 for the Federation’s Community Security Initiative and writing “bubble zone” motions to protect houses of worship. After the Palisades Fire, she led Federation leadership into the burn area to assess synagogue damage and community needs.
In a cultural space muddled with virtue signaling and political buzzwords, Barri Worth Girvan has unequivocally supported Los Angeles’ Jews and Israel. She lives by “tikkun olam” — “repairing the world” — a Jewish value that is, at its core, simply a human one. She is not solely the “Jewish candidate for City Council,” but the one most equipped to represent the Valley community she has served since childhood.
“For more than twenty years, I have worked in public service to connect our community and ensure we have a voice,” Girvan said. “I am deeply concerned that antisemitism and hate have reached record highs, and I am standing up to continue my work to elevate our voice. Representation matters.”
