Montebello : Activist Is 1st to Throw Her Hat Into Council Race

Community activist Shirley Garcia has announced that she will run for the Montebello City Council in November.

Garcia, one of several community leaders who successfully opposed a proposal to grant the Community Redevelopment Agency eminent-domain powers in south Montebello, is the first person to formally announce intentions to run for Mayor William Nighswonger’s position. Nighswonger has announced that he will retire from the council in November.

Garcia, a paralegal for a Los Angeles law firm, did not say when she will begin campaigning. She claims the support of anti-drug and Neighborhood Watch groups, and said she favors a two-term limit for council members and other elected officials.

Councilmen Edward Pizzorno and Arnold Glasman are running for reelection to the five-member panel. Pizzorno, who also opposed the city’s bid for the power of eminent domain, is generally expected to be reelected.

Montebello voters in May rejected three ballot measures that would have given the Redevelopment Agency eminent domain power in two largely industrial and commercial sections of the city.

Glasman, who supported the plan to foster redevelopment in the area, is expected to be in for a campaign battle with eminent domain opponents. Larry Salazar, who also campaigned against the ballot measures, has indicated that he will seek to unseat Glasman. He has not, however, made any formal announcement.

Former Councilman William Molinari, the most popular leader of the anti-eminent domain forces, said that he may run for the council in November.