By Susan Motander
The Pasadena League of Women Voters (LWV) is holding a forum for the candidates running to replace Supervisor Mike Antonovich as Supervisor for the 5th District. Antonovich was elected in 1980, has held the office ever since, and is now being “termed out.”
The LWV has scheduled the forum in conjunction with Pasadena City College (PCC) and the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. It will be held on May 12 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Crevling Lounge at PCC. This is located in the Northwest corner of the campus at the corner of Hill and Colorado. Admission is free, but there is a charge for parking in the lots accessible from Hill Avenue at Cordova street entrance.
There are eight candidates running to replace Antonovich including Kathryn Barger, his chief aid, Elan Carr who lists himself on the ballot as a “criminal gang prosecutor.” L.A. City Councilman Michael Englander from the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, State Senator Bob Huff from the 29th District, real estate investor Raj Kahlon, Altadena Town Councilmember Billy Malone, Mayor Ara Najarian from Glendale, and Darell Park, whose ballot designation is “educator/budget supervisor.’
It is doubtful that any one of the eight will be able to gain a 50 percent plus-one of the votes cast, and so a run off will be held in conjunction with the presidential election in November. Only the top two vote recipients will appear on that ballot.
Marge Nichols, the president of the Pasadena LWV said of the election: “Many voters don’t realize the importance of this local election. Somehow it escapes them that public health, social services, child welfare, policing and courts, recreation and museums are handled by the board of supervisors. Homelessness and housing, jails as mental institutes, and economic development also are current county issues.”
The 5th District is the largest of the five supervisorial districts with an area larger than Delaware with a population twice that of the state of Alaska. It stretches from Ventura County on the west to San Bernardino County on the east and all the way to the Kern County Line on the north. It encompasses the Antelope, Crescenta, Santa Clarita, and San Fernando Valleys.
To put this in perspective the LWV noted that as a whole the supervisors oversee an annual budget of $28 billion. In addition, each supervisor also has a personal budget of approximately $3.5 million. From this fund, each supervisor pays for the staff members to run their offices. Any monies left over are considered “discretionary” and can be spent without the approval of the rest of the board.
The forum will be taped and broadcast by Pasadena Media/PCC-TV and available as Charter Channel 96 or ATT U-verse Channel 99/Pasadena.
Another candidate forum has been set for May 3 in the Burbank City Council Chambers, 275 East Olive Ave. Candidates for State Senate District 25 will speak at 7 p.m. with the candidates for Supervisor taking the stage at approximately 8:15 p.m. This event will be broadcast on Burbank cable TV and viewers can submit questions by calling (818) 925-4598. It also will be taped and made available to other local TV stations. The Burbank and Pasadena Area leagues are sponsoring the event. Further information is available by calling (626) 798-0965.
