Recently in local government Category

Government pensions are a hot topic these days, with Gov. Jerry Brown last week proposing his own set of reforms and two more conservative plans submitted this week as potential ballot initiatives. The latter may spur passage of the former, some believe.

We're still waiting for the Los Angeles City Clerk to verify petition signatures on four remaining candidates (the Clerk's Office has until Sept. 22, but everyone's hoping they'll be able to wrap it up by the end of the day Friday). 

We still have a little bit of news for you, though.

City officials today conducted the random drawing that determines the order in which candidates will appear on the Nov. 8 special election ballot. (The order is determined by holding a random drawing of the letters of the alphabet.)

So here it is (the four candidates still awaiting verification are in parentheses):

1. (James T. Law)
2. Frank Pereyda
3. Jayme Wilson
4. Gordon Teuber
5. Justin I. Brimmer
6. Joe Buscaino
7. Rebecca Chambliss
8. Pat McOsker
9. (Kambiz "Mostofi" Mostofizadeh)
10. (Robert Farrell)
11. Warren Furutani
12. (M. "Candice" Graham)
13. Rudy Svorinich Jr.
14. John M. Delgado Jr.
    

The latest candidates to qualify for the Nov. 8 special election in Los Angeles City Council District 15 are Justin Brimmer and Frank Pereyda.

Already qualifying are Joe Buscaino, Rebecca Chambliss, John Delgado Jr., Assemblyman Warren Furutani, Pat McOsker, Gordon Teuber, Rudy Svorinich Jr. and Jayme Wilson.

Still awaiting signature verifications are Robert Farrell, M. "Candice" Graham, James Law and Kambiz "Mostofi" Mostofizadeh.

****8 p.m.: Ok, so this is where it stands:

That was fast.

Of the 20 candidates who have filed to run for the vacant 15th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council, Joe Buscaino has become the first to officially qualify for the ballot today.

He turned in his petition signatures on Saturday and getting word today that the signatures had been verified by the City Clerk's Office.

Candidates have until Sept. 12 to turn in their nominating petitions. If they pay a $300 filing fee, they must turn in 500 signatures (which is what Buscaino did).

If they want to skip paying the fee they must submit 1,000 voter signatures.

If you live in San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City or Harbor Gateway, you'll no doubt encounter a few of their volunteers with clipboards over the next couple weeks. Voters can sign petitions for more than one candidate. But they can only sign each candidate's petition once.

Another woman -- Candice Graham of Wilmington -- has announced her intent to run for the vacant 15th District City Council seat in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Ken Melendez is announcing today that he won't be running for the seat but will endorse one of the other contenders, with that announcement coming probably on Friday.

According to the city Ethics Commission, Graham filed her intent to raise funds on Tuesday, a day after Rebecca Chambliss, who became the first woman to declare for the race on Monday.

In other campaign news, Assemblyman Warren Furutani has become the third candidate -- following Pat McOsker and Joe Buscaino -- to report raising an initial $50,000 for the race.

Graham, who describes herself as a businesswoman, lists a number of past positions on her resume, including working as a secretary for the state of California and "collaborating" on "crime fighting efforts with the LAPD, Harbor and Rampart."

And clearly setting her apart from the rest of the field are these past roles listed in her email to the Daily Breeze:

• Former actress/model
• Child radio personality
• Former jet setter

So: That keeps the tentative field still at 17, based on the list of names on the city's Ethics Commission site as of mid-day today (candidates must file paperwork with that department in order to raise funds).

But candidates still need to go through the formal filing process, which includes collecting between 500 and 1,000 voter signatures on nominating petitions -- the number is dependent upon whether they want to also pony up a $300 filing fee -- by Sept. 12.

Candidates must file a Declaration of Intention to run with the city between Aug. 22-27.

Rebecca Chambliss today tweeted that she'll be joining the expanding field of candidates for the 15th Council District. She's the only woman announcing a run for the seat so far.

Meanwhile, Mark Contreras also has appeared on the city's Ethics list of candidates intending to raise money for the seat that was vacated by Janice Hahn when she was elected to Congress in July.

Bringing the total to .... 17.

While a few candidates can be expected to drop out by the time the Aug. 22-27 formal filing period arrives, this is shaping up to be a very crowded election. The top two vote getters in the Nov. 8 primary will face off in a January runoff.

The seat is nonpartisan.

Chambliss works in real estate -- you can follow her on Twitter and check out her bio on her website here.

Contreras has launched a website for his council run.

Two veteran Los Angeles city councilmen are among those vying for the 15th District's open seat to replace Janice Hahn:

They already had their turn at bat, but two veteran Los Ageles city councilmen are stepping up to the plate to take another swing at an old job.

While they are playing in a field of 15 candidates -- and counting -- Robert Farrell and Rudy Svorinich J. have a unique quality that the other contenders don't possess.

The ability to say, "Been there, done that."

Read the rest of the Daily Breeze story here.

Meanwhile, two of the candidates in the crowded field have announced they've already raised $50,000 in campaign funds: Joe Buscaino and, as we reported earlier, Tim McOsker.

Several of the candidates also are opening up campaign headquarters and already sending out robo-calls to voters.

The special election -- to complete the remaining two years left on Hahn's term -- will be Nov. 8.

Seven candidates (so far -- expect at least a few more before the end of the week) have signed up to raise campaign funds for Los Angeles' 15th City Council District, vacated earlier this month when Janice Hahn won a seat in Congress.

Two years remain on her existing city term and the city has set a special election for Nov. 8, with a runoff, if needed, on Jan. 17.

Candidates who have filed paperwork so far with the city Ethics Commission indicating they'll be raising funds for the race are: Justin Brimmer, Joe Buscaino, Mervin L. Evans, Warren Furutani, James T. Law, Pat McOsker and Rudy Svorinich Jr.

Meanwhile, we heard from another candidate who plans to run for the seat,  Kambiz Mostofi.

Others who are or may be seriously weighing a run include Robert Farrell, David Greene, John Mavar, Kenneth Melendez, Gordon Teuber and Jayme Wilson.

Doug Epperhart, who has long been active in the city's neighborhood council movement, has seriously thought about running for the seat but told me yesterday he's decided to opt out, saying he "couldn't get past the math."

With prominent -- read, well-connected with well-heeled backers -- political names jumping into this race early on, it will surely leave behind a big field of "also rans." He said he didn't want to be one of them.

Epperhart estimated a candidate will need to raise $1 million in order to wage a successful campaign in the city of Los Angeles. That may or may not be true. But either way, it'll cost a whole lot of money, you can be sure of that.

The formal filing period to declare candidacy for office runs from Aug. 22-27. 

Officials are blaming the "downturned" economy.

These signs are on the doors of the sports center at Wilson Park.