Political Candidates

An Eastside street corner was alive with mariachis, folklorico dancers and a pumped-up Antonio Villaraigosa on Saturday afternoon as the Los Angeles mayor kicked off his reelection campaign -- and skipped an invitation to face off with a group of his mostly unknown challengers across town. As hundreds of supporters cheered Villaraigosa with "Si se puede!"

Should the city of Los Angeles become a national leader in the generation of renewable solar energy, as a March 3 ballot measure proposes? Or would it be too costly to put 400 megawatts' worth of photovoltaic cells on roofs and parking lots across town? Times editors recently asked the 10 mayoral candidates about the solar energy charter amendment, Measure B. Here are excerpts of their responses. Do you support Measure B, the city's proposed solar power initiative? Why?

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.

To find ground zero of L.A's outdoor advertising wars, a good place to start is the Los Angeles City Council's 5th District -- or more specifically, a two-mile stretch of Westwood Boulevard. Your first stop would be Westwood at Wilshire Boulevard, where supergraphics -- large vinyl images -- are stretched across opposite sides of a 12-story medical building.

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.

Of the many issues facing the six candidates in the 5th District City Council race in Los Angeles, none is potentially thornier than the routing of the proposed Expo Line light rail. Should the train run along the old rail right-of-way that cuts through several residential neighborhoods between the 10 Freeway and Pico Boulevard? And, if so, should the train cross busy north-south streets or go under or over them?

Democrats auditioning for governor of California stepped one by one onto a Northridge stage Sunday for an opening scene of the campaign to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was Gavin Newsom, the hyper-caffeinated mayor of San Francisco, casting his City Hall record as a progressive model for California, if not the world.

Growth and development issues on Los Angeles' crowded Westside often leave residents roiling over how best to keep it vibrant without eroding neighborhood life. In recent days, Times editors posed various questions to the candidates seeking the region's 5th District City Council seat in the March 3 primary. Here are excerpts from their responses to this question: What approach will you use to evaluate real estate development projects in the district?

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.

A looming costly rematch between the mayor of Los Angeles and the teachers union over control of the school board has fizzled into a guarded truce. The result is a low-key election that finds Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the potent United Teachers Los Angeles endorsing the same candidates despite uncertainties about how they or their backers hope to guide reforms in the nation's second-largest school system.