While Los Angeles mayor is the marquee race and has already generated plenty of drama, with surprises at the last minute of last Saturday's filing deadline, many other seats will also be up for grabs in the June 2 primary.
A slew of candidates arrived at the City Clerk's Office last week to file paperwork to run for city attorney, city comptroller, eight City Council seats and two Los Angeles Unified school board seats.
Some may not appear on the ballot: Each candidate must gather 500 signatures from legitimate voters by March 4, which is relatively easy in citywide elections, but more difficult in council and school board districts. In each race, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in June, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff in November.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto faces three challengers: Deputy Attorney General Marissa Roy, human rights attorney Aida Ashouri and Deputy District Attorney. Lawyer. John McKinney.
City Comptroller Kenneth Mejia has an opponent: Zach Sokoloff, senior vice president of asset management at studio owner Hackman Capital Partners, after former state Sen. Isadore Hall retired.
In District 3, which covers the southwest San Fernando Valley, including Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Reseda, Councilman Bob Blumenfield is ending his term, leaving the field open.
The five candidates hoping to replace him are Tarzana Neighborhood Council member Jon Rawlings; Timothy Gaspar, founder of Gaspar Insurance; Lehi White, small business owner; Barri Worth Girvan, former community affairs director for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath; and media executive Christopher Robert “CR” Celona.
Councilman Curren Price's Central and South Los Angeles district is also in play. Twelve candidates, including Price's deputy chief of staff, José Ugarte, have entered the race to represent District 9 after his resignation.
Price faces charges of public corruption and was ordered to stand trial last month.
In addition to Ugarte, the candidates are Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment; Jo Uraizee, social worker; Adriana Cabrera, president of the Alameda Central Neighborhood Council; Jorge Nuño, social entrepreneur; Martha Sánchez, professor at Los Angeles Mission College and therapist; Elmer Roldán, executive director of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles; Michelle Washington, social worker; Jorge Hernández Rosas, educator and therapist; Chris Martin, civil rights attorney; Enrique Hernández-García, university student; and Nathan Juarez, cashier.
In the other five City Council races, rivals will try to unseat incumbents.
Eight people are seeking to unseat Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez to represent District 1, which stretches from Glassell Park and Highland Park to Chinatown and Pico Union.
District 1 challengers who filed last week are Maria Lou Calanche, former member of the Los Angeles Police Commission and founder of the nonprofit Legacy LA; Raúl Claros, founder of the CD1 Coalition, which organizes community cleaning days; Jesse Rosas, tax preparer and businessman; Joseph Lucey, a businessman; Nelson Grande, executive consultant and former president of Avenida Entertainment Group; Sylvia Robledo, small business owner and former council assistant; Rosa Requeno, community activist; and Annalee Harr.
In District 5, Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky is defending her seat against six Angelenos who filed paperwork last week hoping to represent a west Los Angeles district that includes Bel-Air, Westwood and Hancock Park.
Her rivals are publicist Dory Frank; Ashkan “Alex'' Nazarian, co-founder of AAA Diamond and Jewelry; city employee Peter Gerard Kearns; real estate professional Eddie Ha; tenant rights attorney Henry Mantel; and small business accountant Morgan Oyler.
In the northeast San Fernando Valley, four contenders are looking to take the reins from Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez and represent District 7: regional recruiting 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 the race to represent west side communities, including Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Venice.
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez in District 13, which includes Hollywood and East Hollywood as well as parts of Silver Lake, Echo Park and Westlake, has seven challengers: military veteran Gilbert Vitela Jr.; Rich Sarian, urban community planner and vice president of strategic initiatives for the Social District; Dylan Kendall, entrepreneur and founder of Grow Hollywood; Colter Carlisle, vice president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council; community safety advocate Sebastian Davis; creative director Kristen Suszek; and district improvement advocate Gregory Downer.
In District 15, which includes San Pedro and other port-area communities as well as Watts, Councilman 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 education executive and advocate Joseph Quintana.
District 4 incumbent Nick Melvoin will run against Ankur Patel, teacher and outreach director, and Benjamin-Shalom “Bo” Rodriguez, educator, artist and professor.
School Board member Kelly Gonez faces only one challenger for her District 6 seat: retired aerospace engineer John “JP” Perron.
City News Service contributed to this report.
