By Terry Miller
Like the late David Bowie’s song, Changes:
“Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange)/ (Ch-ch-changes) Don’t want to be a richer man/ Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange)/ (Ch-ch-changes) Just gonna have to be a different man/ Time may change me/ But I can’t trace time…”
Arcadia will be facing an exciting change in council direction this April after a very difficult and contentious year for council.
The abrupt departure of Councilmember John Wuo put a black eye on the city with his alleged involvement in the GemCoin Ponzi scheme. Combine than with the lawsuits and the mansionization issue and you have the perfect storm.
Now six candidate hope to fill the void, even though there are only two seats available, and change the old guard.
Peter Amundson, Bob Harbicht, Sheng Chang, Burton L. Brink, Paul Van Fleet and April Verlato are all hoping to get a chance at Arcadia City Council dais.
Chang was the city’s first Chinese-American elected to the council in 1994. He served the city for six years.
Mayor Gary Kovacic terms out this year and Councilman Mickey Segal not seeking re-election; the race is wide open.
Segal was appointed to the dais in October after former Councilman John Wuo resigned during a federal investigation into a local company he was affiliated with.
Harbicht and Amundson had a two-year break that began in 2014 when they maxed out on their eight-year term limit.
Brink is a Sergeant in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Van Fleet is an insurance agent.
Verlato is perhaps best known for her work with Save the Arcadia Highlands, which recently settled a lawsuit with the city over two residential development projects.
The city is holding an all-mail-in-ballot election. Ballots must be postmarked by April 12 and received no later than Friday, April 15.
