Former Assemblyman Keysor Joins Race for L.A. Council Seat
A familiar face from San Fernando Valley politics has emerged in downtown Los Angeles as a long-shot challenger to veteran Councilman Gilbert W. Lindsay.
Jim Keysor, a northeast Valley assemblyman from 1971 to 1978, was among seven people who filed papers by Saturday’s deadline to oppose Lindsay in the April 11 municipal election.
“Who is he?” was Lindsay’s reaction Monday. “He’s got a constitutional right to run against me, and I got a constitutional right to slay him.”
After losing his 39th Assembly District seat to Republican J. Robert Hayes in 1978, Keysor, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully in 1981 for the northeast Valley’s old 1st City Council District seat won by the late Howard Finn. He also lost a bid to become Los Angeles County assessor in 1986.
Keysor, 61, is board chairman of the family-owned plastics firm Keysor-Century Corp. in Saugus.
Lindsay, 88, was appointed to the council in 1963, becoming its first black member. He has easily won reelection ever since.
To qualify for the ballot, candidates must collect 500 signatures and pay $300 by Feb. 4. Candidates can avoid paying the fee by gathering 1,000 signatures.
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