Elections 2009

Legislative leaders are weighing contingency plans for a potential fiscal "doomsday" if a slate of ballot measures designed to balance the state budget fails in the May 19 special election. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the bipartisan team of lawmakers pushing the half-dozen propositions continue to insist that the campaign has just begun and can still be won despite a recent public opinion poll showing all but one measure trailing badly.

Winning just less than 36% of the ballots in Tuesday's special election for the vacant 26th State Senate District seat, Democratic Assemblyman Curren Price Jr. topped a field of eight candidates. But because he fell short of the majority required to win the office in the open primary, Price must go through a May 19 runoff before he can claim the seat in the heavily Democratic district. Republican Nachum Shifren, who earned slightly less than 12% of the vote Tuesday, and Cindy Varela Henderson of the Peace and Freedom Party, who finished with less than 2%, will appear with Price on the runoff ballot.

latimes.com/electioncentral More on local elections -- Azusa Mayor -- -- Joseph R. Rocha 2,278 100 -- -- City Council -- -- (2 Elected) -- -- Robert Gonzales 1,338 28 Keith Hanks 1,141 24 Edward J. Alvarez 1,025 22 Paul Naccachian 828 17 Nick Rosales 426 9 -- -- Clerk -- -- Vera Mendoza 1,890 73 Art Morales 698 27 -- -- Treasurer -- -- Marcene Hamilton 1,494 57 Arthur M. Vasquez Jr. 1,113 43 -- -- Bell City Council (2 Elected)

In the flashy television ad that has served as his calling card to voters, Los Angeles city attorney candidate Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich compressed his 30-year legal career into a narrow sliver: the time he spent prosecuting serious gang crimes. Not mentioned is the mainstay of Trutanich's work: his expertise in environmental law, developed as a young prosecutor in the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and finessed as a private attorney defending a number of polluters.

Los Angeles city attorney candidate Jack Weiss criticized his chief rival Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich on Wednesday for representing a man accused of shooting at sea lions. As a private lawyer several years ago, Trutanich represented John Gary Woodrum, a charter boat captain who ultimately admitted to firing a rifle at sea lions near Santa Catalina Island.

With the city of Los Angeles expected to face a $400-million to $500-million deficit in the 2009-10 fiscal year as the national economy continues to sour, Times editors asked 5th District City Council candidates in the March 3 primary how they would handle negotiations with key public safety employees. Here are excerpts from their answers to this question: -- In June, the city's contracts with police and firefighters unions will expire.

A new campaign mailer from City Councilman Jack Weiss, a city attorney candidate, sparked unusually heated criticism from several of his council colleagues Tuesday with the election just three weeks away. The brochure sent to voters early this month became the source of whispered conversations on the council floor in City Hall as colleagues passed around copies.

Less than six weeks before the election, Los Angeles city attorney candidate Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich on Thursday outlined his agenda for the office, promising to slash spending on outside counsel, improve training of deputy city attorneys, increase transparency and hire a team of investigators to aid the city attorney's office. "We spent in excess of $37.5 million last year on outside counsel; it's time to pull the plug on that expenditure," Trutanich said at a news conference outside City Hall.

The campaign for a new solar energy ballot measure in Los Angeles has raised more than $267,000, nearly two-thirds of it from groups affiliated with the union that represents Department of Water and Power employees, according to a report released Wednesday. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18 provided $50,000 for the campaign supporting Measure B, a proposal on the March 3 ballot to add 400 megawatts of solar panels throughout Los Angeles by 2014.

The March 3 race to replace Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss is shaping up as a close contest, with six candidates almost evenly matched in their fundraising, according to campaign finance reports turned in this week. In a Westside district stretching from Westwood to Sherman Oaks, former Weiss aide Adeena Bleich reported that she has raised roughly $199,000, more than her opponents.