27 people file paperwork to run for mayor of Los Angeles in June election

VENICE, Calif. — A provisional group of 27 candidates has filed paperwork to run for mayor of Los Angeles in the June 7 election.

Saturday was the deadline for candidates to file their statements of intent to run for mayor and other city offices, including the district attorney and city comptroller.

But not all candidates who filed on Saturday will automatically end up on the ballot. Over the next 25 days, candidates will collect signatures to officially put their names on the ballot. A minimum of 500 valid voter signatures is required, but candidates who receive at least 1,000 signatures will avoid a $300 filing fee.

In mid-March, signatures of nomination petitions will be reviewed and official lists of nominees will be finalized.

The most prominent candidates for mayor are Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, Councilmen Joe Buscaino and Kevin de León, City Attorney Mike Feuer and real estate developer Rick Caruso.

The other candidates who applied were:

— real estate agent and former Metro board member Mel Wilson;

— technology entrepreneur Ramit Varma;

— businessman Craig Greiwe.

— Alex Gruenenfelder Smith, social justice advocate and member of the Echo Park Neighborhood Council;

— Chuck Cho, who does not identify with a title;

— self-proclaimed business owner John “Jsamuel” Jackson;

— self-proclaimed housing advocate G. Juan Johnson;

— self-proclaimed entrepreneur Douglas Paul Nichols;

— William “Rodriguez” Morrison, who was the 2017 Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives for the 34th district and won about 3% of the vote;

— lawyer Andrew Kim;

— Jesse N. Forte, who identified himself in paperwork as an “astronaut” but whose LinkedIn account says he does seasonal simulation testing for a space architecture and engineering company;

— construction professional Sean Isaac Enright;

— Barry “Boenvilla” Boen, CEO of SilentRight;

— Army veteran and self-proclaimed education advocate, Austin Dragon;

— self-proclaimed businesswoman Juanita Lopez;

— self-proclaimed community activist Vincent “King Spider-D” Willis;

— Business Administration Advisor Jesseca Harvey;

— homeless lawyer Louis De Barraicua, whose website says he teaches film;

— chiropractor Jemiss Nazar;

— Alycia Tashaunna Lowery, who works in children’s social work; and

— Chris Gilmore, who identified himself as a business owner.

— Community activist Gina Viola.

Candidates for city attorney are Assistant City Attorney Richard Kim; California Democratic Party Treasurer Teddy Kapur; civil rights attorney Faisal M. Gill, who previously served as policy director for the Department of Homeland Security; former Republican radio host and former chairman of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works Kevin James; federal prosecutor Marina Torres; financial lawyer Hydee Feldstein Soto; and Assistant City Attorney Sherri Onica Valle Cole.

The controller candidates are Councilman Paul Koretz; Reid Lidow, former top executive of Mayor Eric Garcetti; Kenneth Mejia, Chartered Accountant and Housing Justice Advocate; J. Carolan O’Gabhann, self-proclaimed public school teacher; City Attorney’s Office spokesman Rob Wilcox; and self-proclaimed CFO David Vahedi; and Stephanie Clements, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works Street Services Office.

Eight city council seats also have elections this year – more than half of the council’s 15 members.

Councilor Gil Cedillo is seeking his third term to represent council’s District 1, which includes Glassell Park, Highland Park, Mount Washington, Westlake, Chinatown and Pico Union. The candidates seeking to oust him are public policy advocate Eunisses Hernandez, community organizer Ronald Duarte, businessman and former LAUSD employee Jesse Rosas and Westlake North Neighborhood Council member Elaine Alaniz, who s is identified as a filmmaker and crisis responder.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield is also running for a third term to represent the council’s District 3, which includes neighborhoods in the southwest San Fernando Valley. His potential opponents were lawyer and self-proclaimed victims’ rights advocate Alexander Tsao, businessman and Child Development Institute board member Scott Silverstein, businessman Mikhail Maniyan and businessman Chris Champion.

Council District 5 has no incumbent this year, as Councilman Paul Koretz is fired and running for comptroller. The candidates running to succeed Koretz for the district — which includes Bel Air, Brentwood, Westwood Pico-Robertson, Palms and parts of the Fairfax district — are Katy Young Yaroslavsky, former senior environmental policy assistant and arts for Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and a daughter-in-law of former Supervisor and Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represented the district from 1975 to 1994; Josh Nadel, Palms Neighborhood Council Business Representative; former Mid City West Neighborhood Council Chairman Scott Epstein; Jimmy Biblarz, professor at UCLA Law School; publicist and business consultant Dory Frank, real estate agent Kristina Irwin, self-proclaimed businessman Danny Bahr, lawyer and small business owner Sam Yebri and community organizer Molly Basler.

Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez is seeking a second term on city council to represent the 7th district in the northeast San Fernando Valley. His potential opponents are community lawyer Elisa Avalos, Pacoima ward council member Reuben Garcia, and Foothill Trails ward council president Kevin Davis.

Councilman Curren Price is seeking a third term to represent District 9 in South Los Angeles. His potential opponents were community attorney Adriana Cabrera, education attorney Dulce Vasquez, self-identified healthcare worker Miguel Isaias Lemus and former city councilor Nick Pacheco, who represented District 14 in northeast Los Angeles from 1999 to 2003.

Council District 11 – which includes Venice, Pacific Palisades, Mar Vista and other Westside neighborhoods – is without an incumbent, with Mike Bonin opting out of a third term. Thirteen candidates are vying to succeed him: photographer Gary Copeland, civil rights lawyer Erin Darling, barrister and former Public Works Board chairman Greg Good, former Venice Neighborhood Council member and specialist lawyer in land use Mike Newhouse, self-identified medical delivery driver Mat Smith, former advisor to education board member Allison Holdorff Polhill, current Venice Neighborhood Council chairman Jim Murez, self-identified property manager identified Cristian Orlando Letelier, security guard Vincent Sulaitis, community organizer Ronnie McCowan, attorney Traci Park, self-proclaimed international trade adviser Christopher Boulanger and professor Midsanon “Soni” Lloyd.

Councilman Mitch O’Farrell is seeking a third term to represent District 13, including the neighborhoods of Hollywood, Silver Lake, Echo Park and Atwater Village. Those seeking to fill O’Farrell’s seat were community organizer Al Corado; Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Stephen Johnson; union organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez; self-identified defense sales representative Carlos Flowers; Kate Pynoos, former homelessness policy advisor to Councilman Mike Bonin; self-identified referee Chad Michael Manuel; and Rachael Rose Luckey, housing rights advocate and president of the Rampart Village Neighborhood Council.

Council District 15, which includes San Pedro, Wilmington and Watts, had 10 candidates vying to replace Councilman Joe Buscaino – who is running for mayor. The estate consists of Danielle Sandoval, entrepreneur and former president of Harbor City Neighborhood Council; businessman and former Port of Los Angeles marketing director Anthony Santich; Tim McOsker, businessman and former chief of staff and assistant city attorney under former mayor James Hahn; self-proclaimed investment banker LaMar Lyons; educator and community organizer Bryant Odega; Andrew Bak-Boychuk, special educator and self-proclaimed real estate agent; Mark Anthony Contreras, self-proclaimed advocate for young and old; community activist Pati Lawrence; marketing consultant Rick Thomas.; and environmental artist/activist Robert Miller.

Three seats on the Board of Education are also up for election.

Eight candidates are running for Board District 2 in central and east Los Angeles. The candidates who entered the race are self-proclaimed small business owner J. Benjamin Johnson; education advocate and parent Maria Brenes; self-identified accountant and community activist Erica Vilardi-Espinosa, self-identified public school teacher Miguel Angel Segura; education policy advisor Rocio Rivas; self-proclaimed educator, activist and advocate Miho Murau, counselor and mom Raquel Zamora and mom Erika Viviana Ochoa.

District 4 board member Nick Melvoin is running for re-election to represent West Los Angeles and West San Fernando Valley. Her potential opponents are Gentille Barkhordarian, who calls herself an engineer and mother, Negar Nikgohar, a self-described parent and educator, and Tracey Schroeder, a teacher.

Kelly Gonez is running for re-election to represent District 6 on the board in the Eastern San Fernando Valley. His potential opponents are parent and teacher Marvin Rodriguez, Los Angeles Unified School District transportation supervisor Benito Benny Bernal, after-school program director, and Los Angeles School Police Sgt. Jess Arana, self-proclaimed teacher and self-proclaimed retired businesswoman and mother Jesie Balbuena.

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