Angelenos woke up Thursday with a better view of who may be leading them after the March 7 city election, as the deadline for candidates to file their nominating petitions and supplemental petitions with the City Clerk’s Office was Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The final list of candidates revealed that Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer will be running for re-election unopposed, Mayor Eric Garcetti has one less major challenger yet still may face up to 11 opponents and no less than 21 people have signed up to compete for the open Council District Seven seat.
Candidates who had declared an intent to run had to either pay a fee of $300 and get 500 signatures from registered voters within their applicable jurisdictions by the deadline, or waive the filing fee and submit 1,000 signatures. The list of final candidates may change as the City Clerk’s Office has 10 days to certify the petitions.
The big news in the mayor’s race is that Steve Barr, the founder of Green Dot Public Schools, announced on Wednesday that he is dropping plans to run against Garcetti. Barr was among 19 people filing declarations of intention by the Nov. 11 deadline. Garcetti may still face up to 11 challengers. They are YJ J Draiman, Matthew “Matt” Giaba, David Hernandez, Eric Preven, Paul E. Amori, Diane “Pinky” Harman, Jonathan Kirkland, Frantz Pierre, Yuval Kremer, Dennis Richter and David “Zuma Dogg” Saltsburg.
Feuer’s path to re-election was cleared, as potential challenger Oscar R. Winslow withdrew from the race.
“From revitalizing our neighborhood prosecutor program and preventing gang and gun violence to protecting consumers from fraud, I’m proud of our many accomplishments and honored once again to have the opportunity to serve the people of Los Angeles as their city attorney,” Feuer said.
Incumbent City Controller Ron Galperin faces one potential challenger, Adolfo Espinoza.
In the 1st Council District, incumbent Gil Cedillo faces up to four challengers. They are Jesse Rosas, Miguel Amaya, Giovany Hernandez and Luca Barton.
In the 3rd Council District, incumbent Bob Blumenfield faces one potential challenger, Angel Orellana.
In the 5th Council District, incumbent Paul Koretz faces two potential challengers in Jesse Max Creed and Mark Matthew Herd.
The seat for the 7th Council District is open due to former Councilman Felipe Fuentes stepping down in September to go work for a Sacramento lobbying firm. Twenty-one people filed petitions to run for the seat. They are Bonnie D. Corwin, Jose G. Castillo, Monica Rodriguez, Terrence “Terry” Gomes, Franki Marie Becerra, Benny “Benito” Bernal, Mike Schaefer, Carlos Lara, Dale Gibson, Olga Ayala, Ricardo Benitez, Karo Torossian, Monica Ratliff, Venessa Martinez, Nicole Chase, Mark Reed, Krystee Clark, John T. Higginson, Art Miner, David Jesse Barron and Fred A. Flores.
In the 9th Council District, incumbent Curren Price may face three challengers in Felipe Velazquez, Jorge Nuno and Adriana Cabrera.
In the 11th Council District, incumbent Mike Bonin may have three challengers in Mark Ryavec, Brian Paul and Robin Rudisill.
In the 13th Council District, incumbent Mitch O`Farrell may face three challengers in Doug Haines, David de la Torre and Bill Zide.
In the 15th Council District, incumbent Joe Buscaino may face four challengers in Caney Arnold, Cheyenne Bryant, James Preston Allen and Noel Gould.
