Essel

A federal judge on Tuesday turned down the request of a political committee with close ties to the Department of Water and Power employee unions that sought to bar the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission from enforcing a campaign contribution limit. The group, Working Californians, said the law was preventing it from making independent expenditures for Los Angeles City Council candidate Christine Essel in her Dec. 8 runoff against Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles). Independent groups have spent more than $542,000 on Essel's campaign for the San Fernando Valley seat of former Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who is now city controller.

If there was a lesson in Tuesday's special election for the Los Angeles City Council seat previously held by City Controller Wendy Greuel, it was that money is no guarantee in a low-turnout city race. In an outcome that stunned some at City Hall, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian sailed to a 57%-43% victory over former film executive Christine Essel even though powerful independent groups, including the union that represents Department of Water and Power workers, set a record by spending more than $900,000 on her behalf.

There is a palpable weariness in much of Los Angeles of the professional candidate -- the politician who wins election to an office, then leaves it to run for another, seemingly with the sole object of keeping his or her career going. Such candidates often seem so plugged in to a network of consultants, slate mail specialists, fundraisers, city contractors and mutual endorsements from others just like them that their elections appear inevitable, even if their records of accomplishment are scant.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian claimed victory Tuesday evening in the bitter and expensive race for the Los Angeles City Council seat previously held by City Controller Wendy Greuel. Krekorian, the former head of the Burbank Board of Education who was elected to the Assembly in 2006, defeated former film executive Christine Essel by a 14% margin with all precincts reporting. Krekorian's win was a major rebuke to some of the city's most powerful unions, which flooded the race with hundreds of thousands of dollars in independent expenditures to support his rival.

Christine Essel, a former Paramount Pictures Corp. executive who is running for the Los Angeles City Council seat vacated by City Controller Wendy Greuel, won Greuel's backing Thursday. Greuel described Essel as the "independent candidate I trust to focus on the details and make sure the neighborhoods of District 2 receive city services in an efficient and effective manner." Another of the 10 candidates for the San Fernando Valley-based seat, state Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank)

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian claimed victory Tuesday evening in the bitter and expensive race for the Los Angeles City Council seat previously held by City Controller Wendy Greuel. Krekorian, the former head of the Burbank Board of Education who was elected to the Assembly in 2006, defeated former film executive Christine Essel by a 14% margin with all precincts reporting. Krekorian's win was a major rebuke to some of the city's most powerful unions, which flooded the race with hundreds of thousands of dollars in independent expenditures to support his rival.

Prominent supporters of Los Angeles City Council candidate and Assemblyman Paul Krekorian denounced two mailers sent last week by the campaign of his opponent, former Paramount Pictures Corp. executive Christine Essel, that accuse Krekorian of sexism and anti-Semitism, based in part on comments on a blog. Tuesday's runoff race for former City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel's seat in the San Fernando Valley has grown increasingly caustic in the final weeks, but Krekorian condemned one of Essel's new mailers as "the most disgusting and grotesque political communication" he had ever seen.

It's voting day in Los Angeles' 2nd Council District, which runs from the hills of the northeastern San Fernando Valley to Ventura Boulevard, into the Hollywood Hills and over to the Sepulveda Dam. The victor will fill the vacancy left by former Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, which ends in 2011, then be eligible to run for three full four-year terms. The Times recommends a vote for Christine Essel.

As the Los Angeles City Council race between Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and former film executive Christine Essel drew to a close, outside groups shattered the record for independent spending in a non-citywide election since ethics officials began tracking those figures two decades ago. By Sunday evening, independent groups, including some of the city's most powerful unions, had poured nearly $1 million into the contest for the San Fernando Valley...

Prominent supporters of Los Angeles City Council candidate and Assemblyman Paul Krekorian denounced two mailers sent last week by the campaign of his opponent, former Paramount Pictures Corp. executive Christine Essel, that accuse Krekorian of sexism and anti-Semitism, based in part on comments on a blog. Tuesday's runoff race for former City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel's seat in the San Fernando Valley has grown increasingly caustic in the final weeks, but Krekorian condemned one of Essel's new mailers as "the most disgusting and grotesque political communication" he had ever seen.

In a campaign where jobs and unemployment have become a signature issue, the two candidates seeking to replace former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel are fighting over who will do more to stem the exodus of Hollywood production. With feature film production down 37% citywide compared to the same period last year, former Paramount Pictures Corp. executive Christine Essel and Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles) agree on one thing: City officials have waited far too long to address the issue.

A federal judge on Tuesday turned down the request of a political committee with close ties to the Department of Water and Power employee unions that sought to bar the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission from enforcing a campaign contribution limit. The group, Working Californians, said the law was preventing it from making independent expenditures for Los Angeles City Council candidate Christine Essel in her Dec. 8 runoff against Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles). Independent groups have spent more than $542,000 on Essel's campaign for the San Fernando Valley seat of former Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who is now city controller.

A former film executive and a state assemblyman appeared headed for a runoff in Tuesday's special election to replace Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, according to partial returns. Mail-in ballots, which represent just a sliver of the nearly 124,000 registered voters in the 2nd Council District, showed Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and former Paramount Pictures Corp. executive Christine Essel jockeying for the top spot. Los Angeles school board member Tamar Galatzan, a deputy city attorney based in Van Nuys, was a distant third.