Endorsements

Most voters have by now received their sample ballots, and those who plan to vote by mail are sending in their applications. The June 5 election is underway right now. It is noteworthy for several reasons. Los Angeles County voters will be selecting a new district attorney, and this is the first time since 1964 that there is no incumbent trying to hold onto the seat. The field is wide open. To win outright in this nonpartisan race, a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote.

Colin Powell says he's not prepared to endorse Barack Obama again, as he did during the 2008 campaign. But for the moment, it seems as if Powell has a thumb on the scale in the president's favor. In separate television interviews as he promotes his new book, the retired general and former Secretary of State under President George W. Bush both praised President Obama's efforts on the economy and raised questions about Mitt Romney's views on foreign policy. But, he insists he plans to keep his "powder dry" when it comes to throwing his support behind one of the two. "I feel as a private citizen, I ought to listen to what the president says and what the president's been doing.

The June 8 primary ballot includes 21 candidates competing for six positions on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. That's a fraction of the court's more than 400 judges, the vast majority of whom are appointed by the governor. It's too small a number for the electorate to be able to correct any perceived political, gender or racial imbalances on the court, or to try tinkering with the proportion of prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers or civil practitioners who come to the bench. This allows voters to focus on one basic question: Which candidate in each race would make the best judge?

CAMP DAVID, Md. - In a significant political victory for President Obama, the leaders of Germany and other European nations endorsed a policy of economic growth over austerity and emphasized that Greece, which is trying to battle its way out of a crippling debt crisis, should remain in the Eurozone. Meeting on the cloistered grounds of the presidential retreat here, the leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized nations said in a joint statement that Eurozone economies should work to narrow deficits through "fiscal consolidation" and that each country must decide for itself the best mix of policies for promoting economic recovery.

The newly created 44th Congressional District sprawls from San Pedro to Watts and across to South Gate. Its many blue-collar communities have been hard hit by the economic downturn and share a need for jobs, safe and affordable housing, and a representative capable of pushing those priorities in Congress despite the political gridlock that has seized Washington. The two candidates for the job, Janice Hahn and Laura Richardson, are incumbent Democratic members of the House, pitted against each other as a result of redistricting.

PITTSBURGH - Rick Santorum dropped his presidential bid nearly a month ago, so his meeting here Friday with presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney would have seemed like the perfect opportunity to offer Romney his endorsement. But even before the 90-minute meeting took place, everyone knew that no such nod would be coming anytime soon. Santorum, like pretty much everyone else who has run in the Republican presidential contest, has embraced the party's standard-bearer with a stiff arm. Of course they will work to defeat President Obama, they say. Yet few have been willing to get behind their party's winner with anything approaching enthusiasm.

There is something very wrong with the relationship between the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the voters who elect them. The supervisors oversee a county that is more populous than 42 states. But few county residents know what the supervisors do or how well they do it. The board members bear some blame for the problem; they are so expert in using the power of incumbency to raise campaign money that few challengers dare file to run against them, so there is rarely much public debate about the county's problems or the supervisors' fitness.

Voters go to the polls Tuesday to elect a member of Congress to represent California's 36th Congressional District, a South Bay area that is the bedroom community to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the historic home of much of this region's aerospace and related industries. The special election to fill the vacancy of departed Rep. Jane Harman has attracted a large and varied field. The Times endorses Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Hahn is not the only credible candidate in this race.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) has won the backing of the International Assn. of Fire Fighters, a major coup for the presidential hopeful, while leading contender Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) secured the endorsement of the United Transportation Union.

The socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is recruiting several dozen pastors to endorse political candidates from their pulpits Sept. 28, in defiance of Internal Revenue Service rules. The effort by the Arizona-based legal consortium is designed to trigger an IRS investigation that ADF lawyers would challenge in federal court. The goal is to persuade the Supreme Court to throw out a 54-year-old ban on such endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship. An opposing group of Christian and Jewish clergy will petition the IRS today to stop the protest, calling the ADF's "Pulpit Initiative" an assault on the rule of law and the separation of church and state.

Most voters have by now received their sample ballots, and those who plan to vote by mail are sending in their applications. The June 5 election is underway right now. It is noteworthy for several reasons. Los Angeles County voters will be selecting a new district attorney, and this is the first time since 1964 that there is no incumbent trying to hold onto the seat. The field is wide open. To win outright in this nonpartisan race, a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote.

Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - In 1988, well-heeled gay activists went to Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign with an offer to raise $1 million for his election effort. The campaign said no, according to the activists. "They turned us down flat because it was gay money," said longtime gay rights advocate David Mixner. Less than a quarter-century later, the gay and lesbian community ranks as one of the most important parts of President Obama's campaign-finance operation.

There is something very wrong with the relationship between the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the voters who elect them. The supervisors oversee a county that is more populous than 42 states. But few county residents know what the supervisors do or how well they do it. The board members bear some blame for the problem; they are so expert in using the power of incumbency to raise campaign money that few challengers dare file to run against them, so there is rarely much public debate about the county's problems or the supervisors' fitness.

Los Angeles County voters will soon select a new district attorney, and it likely will be their most consequential vote in years. It is hard to overstate the role that the top prosecutor of the nation's most populous county will have as California completely reinvents its justice system. Residents must demand a D.A. who will do his or her utmost to keep them safe, while at the same time embracing reform and ensuring smarter, and less costly, punishment and supervision of nonviolent criminals.

Los Angeles County voters face two tax measures on the June 5 ballot, and they are unusual for several reasons: They ratify taxes that are already in place and have been for more than two decades; the taxes apply only in unincorporated areas of the county; and all residents benefit from the taxes although few ever will have occasion to actually pay them. Measure H keeps the hotel tax in place at its current level. Measure L keeps a tax on landfill operators in place. H for hotels, L for landfills.

The newly created 44th Congressional District sprawls from San Pedro to Watts and across to South Gate. Its many blue-collar communities have been hard hit by the economic downturn and share a need for jobs, safe and affordable housing, and a representative capable of pushing those priorities in Congress despite the political gridlock that has seized Washington. The two candidates for the job, Janice Hahn and Laura Richardson, are incumbent Democratic members of the House, pitted against each other as a result of redistricting.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce announced its endorsement Thursday of Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks in his race against State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas for county supervisor. "Bernard Parks' steadfast commitment to business retention, economic development and promoting fiscal responsibility in government tipped the scales to his advantage," Chamber President Gary Toebben said in a statement. Ridley-Thomas has taken nearly all the key endorsements from labor organizations.

Michael Phelps' endorsements of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and McDonald's have attracted criticism from the Children's International Obesity Foundation. In a statement Friday, the foundation said: "As a role model and Olympic hero to America's children, Michael Phelps -- and all athletes and celebrities -- are asked to reconsider any connection to substances suspected as agents of obesity, including sugary cereals, soft drinks and other foods with refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, trans fats and high fructose corn syrup."

WASHINGTON - President Obama's decision to endorse same-sex marriage staked out a stance that carries uncertain political risks but one he said was rooted in the biblical admonition "to treat others the way you would want to be treated. " Obama's endorsement Wednesday, a milestone for the gay rights movement, was the first from a sitting president and a potentially powerful tail wind for a cause still struggling for electoral approval. It comes as the country remains divided over whether same-sex marriages should have the same recognition and legal standing as traditional ones, and six months before an election expected to be so tight it may hinge on small slices of votes in a handful of key states.

In a preview of Rick Santorum's first appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (see video below), the former Pennsylvania senator, who could be prickly in debates, seemed relaxed and able to joke about some of the topics that cemented his reputation as the most conservative candidate in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Leno prodded Santorum, who wore his trademark sweater vest, about the timing of his endorsement of Mitt Romney, which came at the end of a long email to supporters Monday.