While the Los Angeles mayoral race is a marquee race and has produced plenty of drama, with surprises coming in the run-up to last Saturday’s deadline, many other seats will be up for grabs in the June 2 primary.
Dozens of candidates came to the City Clerk’s Office last week to file for city attorney, city administrator, eight City Council seats and two LA Unified school board seats.
Others may not get on the ballot — each person must collect 500 valid voter signatures by March 4, which is relatively easy in citywide races but more difficult in council and board districts. In each race, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in June, the top two finishers will compete for the November runner-up.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto faces three challenges – deputy attorney general Marissa Roy, human rights attorney Aida Ashuri and Deputy Dist. He said. John McKinney.
City Controller Kenneth Mejia has one challenger — Zach Sokoloff, senior vice president of asset management at studio owner Hackman Capital Partners, after former State Sen. Isadore Hall left the school.
In District 3, which covers the southwest San Fernando Valley including Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Reseda, City Council Member Bob Blumenfield is dropping out, leaving the field open.
The five who will replace him are Jon Rawlings, a member of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council; Timothy Gaspar, founder of Gaspar Insurance; Lehi White, small business owner; Barri Worth Girvan, former public affairs director for LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath; and press officer Christopher Robert “CR” Celona.
City Council member Curren Price for the city and the South LA district will also be recruited. 12 candidates, including Price’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Jose Ugarte, entered the race to represent District 9 after withdrawing.
Price is facing corruption charges and was ordered to stand trial last month.
Besides Ugarte, the candidates are Estuardo Mazariegos, director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment; Jo Uraizee, social worker; Adriana Cabrera, president of the Central Alameda Neighborhood Council; Jorge Nuño, social entrepreneur; Martha Sánchez, professor at Los Angeles Mission College and therapist; Elmer Roldan, executive director of Communities in Los Angeles Schools; Michelle Washington, social worker; Jorge Hernandez Rosas, teacher and therapist; Chris Martin, human rights lawyer; Enrique Hernandez-Garcia, college student; and Nathan Juarez, cashier.
In five other City Council races, challengers will try to unseat incumbents.
Eight people are seeking to unseat Council Member Euniss Hernandez to represent District 1, which stretches from Glassell Park and Highland Park to Chinatown and Pico Union.
The District 1 challengers who filed last week are Maria Lou Calanche, a former member of the Los Angeles Police Commission and founder of the nonprofit Legacy LA; Raul Claros, founder of the CD1 Coalition, which organizes community clean-up days; Jesse Rosas, tax preparer and entrepreneur; Joseph Lucy, businessman; Nelson Grande, senior advisor and former president of Avenida Entertainment Group; Sylvia Robledo, small business owner and former council assistant; Rosa Requeno, social activist; and Annalee Harr.
In District 5, Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky is defending her seat against six Angelenos who filed last week hoping to represent the West LA district that includes Bel-Air, Westwood and Hancock Park.
Opponents include spokeswoman Dory Frank; Ashkan “Alex” Nazarian, founder of AAA Diamond and Jewelry; city employee Peter Gerard Kearns; real estate expert Eddie Ha; tenant rights attorney Henry Mantel; and small business accountant Morgan Oyler.
In the northeast San Fernando Valley, four contenders are looking to replace Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez and represent the 7th District – district hiring manager Tony Rodriguez (no relation), hospitality worker Michael Daniel Ebenkamp, worker advocate Ernesto Ayala and business owner Daniel Lerma.
In District 11, Councilwoman Traci Park faces Faizah Malik, a civil rights attorney, and Jeremy Wineberg, a businessman and Pacific Palisades resident, in a race to represent Westside communities including Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Venice.
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez in the 13th District, which includes Hollywood and East Hollywood and parts of Silver Lake, Echo Park and Westlake, has seven opponents – military veteran Gilbert Vitala Jr.; Rich Sarian, urban community planner and vice president of strategic plans for Community District; Dylan Kendall, entrepreneur and founder of Grow Hollywood; Colter Carlisle, vice president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council; public safety attorney Sebastian Davis; creative director Kristen Suszek; and county development attorney Gregory Downer.
In the 15th district, which includes San Pedro and other port communities and Watts, Council Member Tim McOsker is running against two challengers – community organizer Jordan Rivers and homeless shelter director Phillip Crouch Jr.
Three Los Angeles Unified school board members will defend their seats in the June 2 primary.
In District 2, Rocío Rivas faces challenges from public school teacher Raquel Zamora and senior and education attorney Joseph Quintana.
District 4 incumbent Nick Melvoin will compete against Ankur Patel, an educator and outreach director, and Benjamin-Shalom “Bo” Rodriguez, an educator, artist and professor.
School Board Member Kelly Gonez is facing one challenger for her District 6 seat — retired aerospace engineer John “JP” Perron.
City News Service contributed to this report.
