Results tagged “election”

He can't run for Governor again, and his Austrian birth means the Presidency is out of the question, but Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters in Europe yesterday that he won't be vying for votes once his term is up in 2010, according to an Associated Press report. While traveling in Milan, the actor-turned-Governator said "I have never labeled myself as a politician, so I am not going to run for anything else."

While elections locally weren't exactly a topic around town, they were nationally and the outcomes are still relevant to Los Angeles and California. One year after Prop 8, which banned gay marriage in California, Maine faced a similar fate. After the state's assembly and governor approved gay marriage earlier this year, the voter-initiated Question 1 was placed on the ballot asking "Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?" Question 1 passed with XX% of the vote.

On December 8th, voters in L.A.'s Council District 2 (from Sherman Oaks to the Northeast Valley) will hit the polls to elect a new councilmember. The Mayor Sam blog digs into the latest filings for the two candidates, finding some notable patterns for each.

A mini-controversy is already surrounding Republican candidate for California Governor Meg Whitman. The former eBay CEO's first record of voter registration was found in 2002, when she was 46 years old. Whitman has admitted and apologized for the bad example that is her non-voting record, but says she had voted in some elections prior to 2002. However, a Sacramento Bee search of public records could not confirm that.

The L.A. City Clerk is reminding residents of Council District 2--that's Sherman Oaks through Shadow Hills--to register by Tuesday in order to participate in the September 22 special election to fill the seat vacated by Wendy Greuel, who left to become City Controller.

Although Equality California announced putting support a ballot measure to strike down Prop 8, another group, The Courage Campaign, said today they are shooting for 2010 and just raised $135,000 in the last two days--an amazing amount for August fundraising in an off-year during this economy--for research. Chatter among some within the anti-Prop 8 movement has the house divided.

After spending the weekend in Chicago at an Obama event, San Francisco Mayor and Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom is back in the Los Angeles area for like the billionth time today and tomorrow for his "Conversations About California's Future" tour. He'll discuss the economy, health care, education and will hold a question and answer period with the audience. Tonight he'll be in Long Beach and in Santa Ana tomorrow followed by Riverside next week Thursday. All three events are open to the public. Newsom is the only frontrunner Democratic candidate running for Governor. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa decided not to run and former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown's campaign website is intended for his re-election to his current post, not governor.

When Wendy Greuel became City Controller, her seat in the popular 2nd District of Los Angeles opened, leaving over 10 candidates vying for the spot. Before any debates have occurred, community organizers are bringing together the community this Saturday to "lay down a community based platform that will drive the issues that frame the upcoming election for the open CD2 City Council seat," according to an e-mail blast. "The CD2 Town Hall is designed to put the needs and desires of the community first, to frame the campaign with a real focus on the issues that matter, and to position the candidates so that the debates and forums start with a real foundation of vision and commitment to improving the quality of life in CD2." Greg Nelson, retired General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, will open the town hall. There is also a blog dedicated to the council district race. Info for Saturday's town hall is below:

As expected, Judy Chu won California's 32nd Congressional Seat in yesterday's election. "With 173 of 209 precincts reporting Tuesday night, Chu had 14,115 votes, or 62 percent. She was trailed by her cousin by marriage, Republican Betty Chu, with 7,355 votes, or 32 percent," reported the Associated Press. "Most residents in the 32nd Congressional District are Hispanic, but Judy Chu assembled a diverse coalition and stressed her ability to work across racial and ethnic lines. Her supporters included Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, one of the nation's most recognized Latino politicians." The district stretches from East LA into the San Gabriel Valley, from Monterey Park to Azusa. NPR yesterday featured the race as a unique one because Chu faced off with Betty Chu, the Republican Monterey Park city councilmember and a cousin by marriage.

Well, some of us vote, at least. After the May 19th Special Election where no candidate garnered 50 percent of the vote needed to claim the 32nd seat in the U.S House--left open by Hilda Solis after she joined the Obama administration as the Labor Secretary--a run-off was set for today. Democrat and vice chair of the California Board of Equalization Judy Chu is the frontrunner and is expected to win. She faces off with Republican Monterey Park Councilwoman Betty Chu (no relation) and Libertarian businessman Christopher M. Agrella. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m. and to find out where to vote, plug your address into the county's Recorder-Registrar website. The 32nd Congressional District covers a portions of the San Gabriel Valley and other areas including East LA, Rosemead, El Monte, Monterey Park, Baldwin Park, Irwindale, Azusa, Covina and Walnut Valley.

Is it already time to start talking about the 2010 election? While there's been quite a bit of gubernatorial talk already, congressional districts have been on the down low. California's 36th District is the exception, however, with one Progressive Democrat nearly two months into her campaign and hosting her first fundraiser tomorrow.

Every time we have a statewide election, there tend to be a few bond measures in there. Last November, one was the popular high speed rail bond that raised nearly $10 billion to whisk people from Los Angeles and San Fransisco in two hours, thirty-eight minutes. Most all agree, it's a good thing, but when it comes down to paying bonds back, it can run the state into fiscal problems such as we're facing today.

It happens every election, except when that Obama guy shows up: voting turnout is dismal and embarrassing. Now, three bills being considered within the state could make some interesting changes. They won't change things overnight, but two of them deal with those under 17. The most interesting is from Long Beach Assemblyman Warren Furutani. ACA 2 would allow 17-year-olds to vote in a primary if he or she will be 18 by the time of the general election. Another bill, AB 30, from LA State Senator Curren Price would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register, but they would not be able to vote until they are 18. Price also has AB 106 that would allow you to be registered to vote via your state income tax, drivers license and various other forms.

Just like over the weekend, local Iranians and supporters of a fair voting process will gather outside the Federal Building tonight at 5 p.m. Another one will be held in Irvine. The world's attention has been focused on Iran for the past few days after an election scandal. On Friday, voters hit the booths to vote for a new President or keep the current one. The results were quickly announced--reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi lost to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Protesters are calling it voter fraud.

Former West Hollywood Councilman and Assemblyman Paul Koretz claimed victory for LA's 5th district seat late Tuesday night. Then an e-mail late yesterday afternoon came with some sobering news.

Although not officially announced by the County Registrar, Paul Koretz claimed victory last night in an e-mail blast: "The L.A. County Registrar of Voters has just posted an update on their website. Paul's lead in Council District 5 has jumped from 551 votes to 702 votes... Although we have been told that there are still approximately 100 ballots left to count, we can now safely claim victory." As for the reported incorrect ballots, the e-mail indicated there were only 50. The total posted was Koretz, 18,286 votes (50.98%), Vahedi 17,584 votes (49.02%). What does this mean for residents of CD5? When he was an Assemblymember, there were lots of community town halls. Lots (but will he have more than Tom LaBonge?). As for improving the area West Hollywood style like he did when he sat on that city's council? If he can do that, then, wow.

As it stands right now, former West Hollywood Councilman and Assemblyman Paul Koretz leads lawyer and community organizer David Vahedi by a close 551 votes. Provisional and vote-by-mail ballots still need to be counted, but some problems have surfaced, earlier examined by the LA Times and highlighted by a Vahedi camp e-mail this weekend:

Young politicians have an awful lot of social networking and "new media" at their disposal to make reaching out to their potential constituents a lot faster and easier. Like many people in their 20s, Emanuel Pleitez, who recently challenged veteran politico Gil Cedillo for the 32nd Congressional District seat vacated by US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, made use of his personal Facebook profile to share news items and images with his "friends."

With 100% of precincts reporting, preliminary results for yesterday's special election are here. It's preliminary because an unknown number of provisional and vote-by-mail ballots still need to be counted. Here's a round up of what happened:

Other than Prop 1F, all the budget ballot props have failed, according to the Sacramento Bee: "With about a quarter of the state's precincts in as of 9:30 p.m., the Secretary of State's Office reported none of Propositions 1A through 1E were garnering more than 41 percent of the vote. Only Proposition F, which would freeze the salaries of state elected officials in bad budget years, was winning - and it was winning big." Contests for LA City Attorney and the 5th District are still up for grabs. As of 10:30 p.m., Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich is up 3 points over Jack Weiss for City Attorney with 22% of the precincts reporting. In the 5th District, Paul Koretz leads David Vahedi by 5 points. Only 10% of the precincts reporting in that race.

By 1:15 p.m., a voting precinct in a garage on Stern Avenue in Sherman Oaks just received their 60th vote. That's 60, or 4.28%, out of roughly 1400, a number provided by the LA County Recorder-Registrar's Office pertaining to the average amount of registered voters per precinct. Countywide, a sampling of turnout was a bit higher at 8.76% as of 2 p.m., according to the Recorder-Registrar's Twitter feed. Polls are open to 8 p.m. and if you need more info on today's election, check out our earlier post.

Well, election day is tomorrow and if you haven't already voted by mail and are otherwise understudied for tomorrow, there are plenty places to help catch you up on tomorrow's election. Here are some of our recommendations:

Signaling a cry for new blood in city politics, both major newspapers in town have endorsed David T. Vahedi for Council District 5 and Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich for City Attorney. Both face career track politicians, Paul Koretz and Jack Weiss, respectively, on next week's ballot.

In less than two weeks, we all go back to the polls again--some of us for the 3rd time this year--for the May 19th special election. The bulk of the ballot will include six budget based propositions that Governor Schwarzenegger hopes you pass.

At least we received our state income tax return last week... "The state is facing an unprecedented cash crisis and could run out of money within weeks, says the Legislature's chief budget analyst," according to an LA Times breaking news alert. "Lawmakers and the governor must act to stop the financial hemorrhaging, the analyst says in a new report, or state coffers could run dry by the end of next month."

Today is the deadline to register for the May 19th California special and consolidated election. You'll want to register if you qualify (US Citizen at least 18 years old, not on parole for felony conviction, residing in Los Angeles County), and/or if you've moved since the last time you voted.

Top Sheriff Lee Baca had endorsed both candidates Jack Weiss and Carmen Trutanich for LA City Attorney, but today he only supports one. “I can no longer remain silent about the reckless disregard for the truth that Jack Weiss has brought to this race," Baca said in a statement distributed by the Trutanich camp. "Mr. Weiss’s latest television commercial is desperate and an insult to the principles of the American legal system, our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Obviously, Mr. Weiss doesn’t respect the truth or our justice system that guarantees a fair trial for everyone. The radical portrayal in his twisted commercial against Mr. Trutanich undermines public trust for the fairness and integrity required by our courts. The lawyers in the City Attorney’s office need a leader who will honor all facets of the justice system.” Ouch.

Official Sample Ballot booklets for the May 19th election began their journey yesterday to homes of voters. “Every registered voter in the County will receive an Official Sample Ballot booklet prior to Election Day,” said LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan. “Sample Ballots contain important information to help ensure that voters are able to successfully cast their ballot, either by mail, or at their neighborhood polling place.” This also means you can start the process to vote by mail. You must request those ballots by Tuesday, May 12th.

The two most contested local battles on the May 19th ballot will be over City Attorney and the seat for Council District 5, which roams from the Westside to the Valley. In the latest reporting period for campaign contributions and expenses, which ended April 4th, the money races are neck and neck, found the LA Times.

Last week's election hardly brought a soul out. 6%, or around 24,000 people, of nearly 400,000 registered voters came out for last week's special election for the 26th district State Senate seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas when he joined the LA County Board of Supervisors. At a cost of around $2.2 million, many are frustrated at how the currently system is set up, which does not encourage participation.