Here are the local races voters will have to consider on election day
A citizen casts his ballot at Burbank City Hall during the primary election on Tuesday, June 7, 2016.
In the general election on Tuesday, area voters will be deciding who will be representing them in the state Assembly, the state Senate and as Los Angeles County supervisor.
In the Assembly race representing the 43rd District, Glendale Councilwoman Laura Friedman and Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian are vying for the seat currently held by Mike Gatto (D-Glendale), who is termed out.
In the June primary, Friedman and Kassakhian, both Democrats, were the two top vote-getters out of a slate of eight candidates, with Friedman receiving 33,276 votes, or roughly 32%, and Kassakhian garnering 25,375 votes, or about 24.5%.
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In a candidates forum last month, the two disagreed over strategies to halt rising housing and land costs. Kassakhian said development is to blame for traffic congestion, escalating costs and a lack of affordable housing.
Friedman maintains that Glendale is one of the “most aggressive” cities in respect to affordable housing, citing studies that show that when housing is created, “even if it’s luxury housing, that still relieves the pressure downstream.”
In the 25th District Senate race, Republican Michael Antonovich and Democrat Anthony Portantino came out on top in the primary among six candidates who were running for the office currently held by Carol Liu (D-Cañada Flintridge), who is termed out.
A current L.A. County supervisor who is being termed out, Antonovich received 85,663 votes, or 39.5%, in the June primary election while Portantino, a former state Assemblyman and former mayor of La Cañada Flintridge, captured 58,154, or about 27% of the votes.
In a forum last month, they debated several topics, including pensions.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, left, and former state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino are vying for Sen. Carol Liu’s seat in the 25th District.
To address the underfunding issue with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Portantino suggested the state adopt a “pay-as-you-go” approach to the system’s budget, which he said defines “what revenue we have up front, how do we use that revenue and what are our priorities and obligations.
“I’m going to bring that back to the state Senate because I think that’s the way to go,” Portantino said.
Antonovich said the county’s retirement system is in much better shape than the state’s, claiming that “Sacramento has no fiscal discipline.” His suggestion would be to adopt a tactic similar to the county’s and some cities, which is to have employees contribute part of their paycheck to the system and have the agency buy down the liability.
“We have a very serious problem that needs to be addressed, and it will only do that by having a change in leadership in Sacramento,” he said.
In the county supervisor race for the 5th District, Kathryn Barger, chief of staff for Antonovich, received 105,520 votes, or about 30%, and Darrell Park, a former White House Office of Management and Budget staffer, finished with 55,185 votes, or 15.5%. There were eight candidates squaring off in the primary.
At a forum last month, Barger and Park were asked if they would support a ballot measure that would raise funds to address the needs listed in an assessment completed last year for all of the county’s parks.
Park said he would support a ballot measure, adding that areas that have well-maintained parks “have much stronger communities than areas that don’t.”
Barger said she supports the assessment, but does not think a ballot measure is needed at this time.
“I don’t think the time is now,” she said. “We have many challenges ahead of us.”
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Mark Kellam, mark.kellam@latimes.com
Twitter: @LAMarkKellam
