3 Declare Intention to Run for Alarcon’s Seat

Corina Alarcon, the wife of outgoing City Councilman Richard Alarcon, Alex Padilla, an aide to state Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), and a teenage college student have announced that they will run for Alarcon’s council seat.

They will compete in a special election in April in the northeast San Fernando Valley’s 7th Council District, which Richard Alarcon is leaving for the state Senate.

Corina Alarcon, 41, has little political experience but said she will tout her involvement in nonprofit community groups. She has an associate degree in liberal arts from Valley College and studied at Cal State Dominguez Hills. She owns an Allstate Insurance franchise in Mission Hills with two partners.

Padilla, a 25-year-old Democratic political organizer as well as Cardenas’ aide, said Friday that he will formally declare his candidacy at a news conference in coming weeks.

Political observers say that Padilla, an MIT graduate, has strong working ties with Los Angeles union leaders and is well-liked by many Latino politicians.

Michael Trujillo Jr., a 19-year-old college student and member of the city commission for children, youth and their families, also said Friday that he plans to file papers with the Los Angeles Ethics Commission to declare his intent in raising funds for the council race, although he indicated that he will wait and see how much he can raise before deciding how long he will stay in the race.

Trujillo, who if elected would be the youngest person to ever serve on the council, describes himself as a conservative Democrat.