ELECTIONS : No Surprises as Filing Period Ends in 5 Races

No last-minute surprise political hopefuls emerged Monday as the period for candidates to file for five San Fernando Valley-based state legislative seats closed.

None of the five seats--four in the state Assembly and one in the state Senate--have incumbents running; the deadline for candidates to file for seats occupied by an incumbent was Wednesday.

The most crowded of the five races is the GOP primary contest for the seat now held by outgoing Assemblyman James E. Rogan (R-Glendale). The March 26 primary attracted eight Republicans.

On the other side of the Valley, in another heavily Republican district, seven Republicans are running to replace Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills).

Rogan is leaving his 43rd Assembly District seat to run for Congress. Boland, who is being forced out of the Assembly by term limits, is running for a Senate seat.

The other seats without incumbents are ones now held by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman (D-North Hollywood) and state Sen. Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale). All three incumbents are being forced to step down by term limits.

Running in the GOP primary for the Rogan seat are attorney James C. Regan of Los Feliz, a Republican party activist; Craig Missakian, a deputy district attorney from Glendale; John Geranios, a businessman and business professor at Mount St. Mary’s College in Brentwood; attorney Sheldon Baker, a Glendale councilman; Peter Repovich, a Los Angeles city police officer; Peter Musurlian, an aide to U.S. Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead; David E. “Dave” Wallis; and Elliott Graham.

One Democrat, Scott Wildman, a teachers union representative, is running in his party’s primary for the 43rd Assembly District.

Running in the 38th Assembly District, for the seat now held by Boland, are former Assemblyman Tom McClintock; Scott Wilk, Boland’s chief of staff; Ross Hopkins, a public affairs consultant; Bob Larkin, an insurance executive and GOP party activist; Robert C. Hamlin, a retired sheriff’s deputy; Peggy Freeman, a former day-care director; and Steve Frank, a veteran political consultant.

Running for the Democratic nomination in this race is Jon Lauritzen of Chatsworth.

Meanwhile, two Latinos filed their candidacy papers Monday in the race to pick a successor to Katz, bringing to six the number of Democrats running in a district that has a 65% Latino population.

The newcomers are librarian and longtime Latino activist Jose Galvan and Michael Del Rio, a former aide to state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Van Nuys). The pair joined Realtor Tony Cardenas to bring to three the number of Latinos running.

Also running in the 39th Assembly District Democratic primary are Jim Keysor, who was the area’s assemblyman during the 1970s; attorney Valerie Salkin, a former aide to state Board of Equalization member Brad Sherman; and Jim Dantona, a former aide to Lt. Gov. Gray Davis and to ex-Sen. David Roberti.

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Ollie McCauley of Sylmar is the only Republican running for this seat.

In the Democratic primary race for the Friedman seat are attorney Robert Hertzberg and council aide Francine Oschin. Republicans Ron Culver, David J. Ozeran and Michael McGarr are running in the GOP primary, and Kelley L. Ross is running as a Libertarian and David L. Cossak, as a Natural Law party member.

The final, Valley-based state legislative seat that has no incumbent is 21st Senate District seat now held by Russell. The GOP primary for this seat, covering Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena, will feature Boland, Wilbert Smith, a top aide to Gov. Pete Wilson, Sharon O. Beauchamp and Robert “Bob” Oltman.

Running as the lone Democrat for this seat is former federal prosecutor Adam Schiff.