Politics

March races take shape

Noon on Saturday was the deadline for candidates to file their declarations of intent to run in the March 3, 2009 primary election in the city of Los Angeles. No major surprises snuck in on the last day, so here's a quick look at the races pending dropouts. Whole list.

Mayor

  • Antonio Villaraigosa
  • Walter Moore
  • 20 others, including Zuma Dogg (aka David Saltsburg) and self-described entertainers, whistleblowers, comedians and an "exorcist of presidents."

Let's call it an almost free ride for the mayor.

City Attorney

  • Jack Weiss
  • Carmen Trutanich
  • Gregory W. Smith
  • Michael Richard Amerian
  • Noel Weiss
  • David Berger

Yeah, Weiss is the front runner.

Controller

  • Wendy Greuel
  • Nick Patsaouras
  • Two others.

This could get interesting, the mayor's anointed successor to Laura Chick and the longtime city commissioner and former candidate for mayor.

Council district #5

  • Paul Koretz
  • Ron Galperin
  • Robyn Ritter Simon
  • Adeena Bleich
  • Five others.

Lots of choosing up sides in this one.


City Council incumbents Eric Garcetti, Ed Reyes, Dennis Zine, Richard Alarcon, Jan Perry, Bill Rosendahl and Janice Hahn all have opponents but no serious challenges. Same with Board of Education member Monica Garcia. The open seats on the board drew some interesting names.


Board of Education district #4

  • Ben Austin, political operative and Green Dot affiliate
  • Bill Ring, parent activist
  • Mike Stryer, teacher
  • Steve Zimmer, teacher
  • Three others

Austin worked for Mayor Richard Riordan and runs Green Dot's Parents Union. Stryer is UTLA chapter chair at Fairfax High.

Board of Education district #6

  • Nury Martinez, mayor of San Fernando
  • Maribel de la Torre, San Fernando city council member
  • Three others

Will tiny San Fernando's feisty politics spill over into the LAUSD?

There are incumbents running for the three Los Angeles Community College District board seats. Check out the whole list.

LAT story, DN story


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