Assembly Race

Re "Ethnic Politics to the Test," May 8: There was a time when the only choice voters had, even in communities of color, were two white men. The civil rights movement fought for the rights of minorities and paved the way for people like Gloria Romero and Judy Chu to get elected to public office. I live in the 49th Assembly District and am, for one, very happy that we have a diverse set of candidates, Latina and Asian women no less! Seems to me that your article's angle should have celebrated this victory rather than create divisions where there are none.

One contestant in a still-undecided Assembly race has already begun hiring staff "just in case. " His opponent, on the other hand, kept a commitment to go to Hawaii with her mother, on the advice of her political consultant who told her there was "nothing you can do here but wait" until the ballots are counted. That's how Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom and Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, both Democrats, are coping with the uncertainty of not knowing which has won their contest in California's changed political landscape.

Political consultant Rod Wright has dropped out of the race for the 50th Assembly District seat of the late Curtis R. Tucker. He endorsed Tucker's son, Curtis R. Tucker Jr., in the Feb. 7 election. A longtime campaign consultant, Wright said Wednesday that the short campaign period and the backing of powerful Democrats make Tucker unbeatable. "I'm not interested in being a spoiler," said Wright, who had never run for office before.

Democrats vying for the 39th Assembly District seat exchanged potshots Monday after one of them, L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon, held a news conference to charge that his rival had engaged in "insider trading" in securing a zero-interest city loan to buy a three-bedroom condominium. Under a light rain outside Raul Bocanegra's Pacoima condominium, Alarcon alleged that Bocanegra bought one of 28 condominiums built in 2005 at the corner of Osborne Place and Glenoaks Boulevard even though there was a waiting list of more than 200 people interested in the affordable units.

The article "Contribution Adds Wrinkle to GOP Race" (Times, May 31) incorrectly implied that Paul Horcher is being supported by the California Teachers Assn. He is not. While I believe that this was unintentional, I still thought that I needed to set the record straight. Stan Caress, the Democratic candidate in the 60th Assembly race, was officially endorsed by the CTA. He has pledged to support full funding for local schools, and he has developed several proposals for educational reform.

Your previous coverage of Evelyn Hart's challenge to Assemblyman Gil Ferguson has been manifestly slanted to her advantage. So it was a pleasant surprise to see a stab at balanced reporting in the latest article (May 17). Hart failed to cite for your reporter any specific measures she would push or exactly how she would relieve traffic congestion, if elected. I suppose she now realizes it's a liability for her campaign to mention raising the state's gasoline tax, which she was advocating only a couple of months before deciding to run for the Assembly.

A labor organizer who is also Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's cousin said Friday that he is running in the June 3 election for the legislative seat being vacated by state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. John Perez, 38, described his plans a day after stepping down from the board of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, where he spent two years as a mayoral appointee. His candidacy quickly injected some drama into a race that also features a Nunez aide and an aide to state Sen.

At a recent fundraiser for Democratic state Assembly candidate Phu Nguyen, tables at the Santa Ana restaurant featured signs recognizing various sectors of the community. Vietnamese. Korean American. School employees. "Arab American Community," read a placard at another table. Though the table at Emerald Bay Restaurant was only partially filled with Arab Americans, it underscored an unusual twist in a state Assembly race in central Orange County — a fight between a Vietnamese candidate trying to woo the Arab American vote and a well-known city mayor accused of denying his Egyptian heritage.

A retired Ventura County sheriff's deputy has joined a crowded race of Republican candidates vying for a state Assembly seat representing Simi Valley and Fillmore. Robert C. Hamlin, 41, of Castaic is the sixth candidate seeking the GOP nomination for the 38th Assembly District seat being vacated by Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills), who will not seek reelection because of legislative term limits. The district also includes portions of the northwestern San Fernando Valley.

A former Rosemead city official who made a run for state Assembly has agreed to plead guilty to soliciting and accepting more than $10,000 in bribes from a developer. John Tran, 36, an El Monte Union High School District board member and former Rosemead mayor and councilman, admitted shaking down a developer who was trying to build a mixed-use office and residential project in Rosemead while he was on the council, according to a federal plea agreement made public Friday. The developer, who was not named in the court documents, had bought a vacant lot for $1.1 million and planned to build offices.

In a battle among the three Democrats running for a new, open Assembly seat, community activist Torie Osborn was the overwhelming choice of the Malibu Democratic Club after a candidates forum on Sunday. But her victory may prompt a revision of the club's endorsement rules. Jean Goodman, the club's president and the forum's moderator, estimated that at least three-fourths of the approximately 80 people who attended the event at Malibu City Hall were not Malibu residents and had never before attended a meeting of the club and, she added, probably never would again.

When taco trucks with loudspeakers first rolled down his street, Allan Mansoor said, the last thing he thought about was lunch. The so-called roach coaches were proliferating, he lamented, and changing the character of his once-peaceful neighborhood. That was almost eight years ago, when Mansoor's quest for peace and quiet first led him to City Hall and sparked a growing involvement in government. Today, the 46-year-old is speaking out against a lot more than neighborhood nuisances as he campaigns for a seat in the California Assembly.

At a recent fundraiser for Democratic state Assembly candidate Phu Nguyen, tables at the Santa Ana restaurant featured signs recognizing various sectors of the community. Vietnamese. Korean American. School employees. "Arab American Community," read a placard at another table. Though the table at Emerald Bay Restaurant was only partially filled with Arab Americans, it underscored an unusual twist in a state Assembly race in central Orange County — a fight between a Vietnamese candidate trying to woo the Arab American vote and a well-known city mayor accused of denying his Egyptian heritage.

The California legislative and congressional district races on this week's primary ballot fell mostly into two categories: those whose lopsided party registration means they were all but decided Tuesday and those in which November runoff battles are looming. A few fit in a third category: still too close to call. Because the Legislature drew many political districts in California to favor one major party or the other, most of the contested primaries Tuesday are in the first group.

A coalition of oil interests, insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms and other business interests has poured at least $480,000 into a mail and television campaign to oppose one of the eight Democrats competing in the June 8 primary for an open Venice/South Bay Assembly seat. Groups funded by the Civil Justice Assn. of California and two medical malpractice insurance organizations have spent the money to defeat Betsy Butler, a former fundraiser for two major environmental groups and the Consumer Attorneys of California.

The Station fire raging in the Angeles National Forest forced a delay in counting ballots in two special elections Tuesday in California, officials said. Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said he took steps to carry out Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order aimed at ensuring that all eligible firefighters and other emergency workers had the opportunity to vote in Tuesday's special elections in the 51st Assembly District in the Los Angeles area and the 10th Congressional District in the Bay Area.

A labor organizer who is also Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's cousin said Friday that he is running in the June 3 election for the legislative seat being vacated by state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. John Perez, 38, described his plans a day after stepping down from the board of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, where he spent two years as a mayoral appointee. His candidacy quickly injected some drama into a race that also features a Nunez aide and an aide to state Sen.