9 vie to replace Yvonne Burke

The field of candidates to replace retiring Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke was set Friday when the filing deadline passed for June’s primary election.

As expected, declarations were filed by City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, two popular Los Angeles Democrats who already have the backing of influential voting groups.

Burke’s central county district extends from mid-Los Angeles south to Carson.

The outcome of the election -- the first supervisor race in years likely to be hotly contested -- could tilt the five-member board from a liberal-leaning majority to a more conservative one.

Parks, a former Los Angeles Police Department chief, is considered to be fiscally conservative and pro-business.

He is backed by Burke, as well as by several of his council colleagues.

Ridley-Thomas, who rose through the ranks of elected office beginning with a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, is considered liberal and is backed by the county’s powerful labor unions.

Also in the race: Antonio Alvarez, a real estate agent; Martin Luther King Aubrey, a maintenance painter; Drew Fenton, a physician; Morris Griffin, a maintenance technician; Thomas Neusom, an attorney; Delaney Smith Jr., a physician; and Florian Thompson, who works in dental medicine.

If no candidate gets a majority on June 3, the two top vote-getters will face off during the general election on Nov. 4.

Incumbent Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys, drew one opponent, Stephen Mark Hinze of Los Angeles. Supervisor Don Knabe, who represents the southeast county, is being challenged by Jay Shah of Long Beach and Marylou Cabral of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley is being challenged by Assistant Dist. Atty. Steve Ipsen and Albert Robles, a constitutional rights attorney.

Voters also will be electing Superior Court judges and state legislators.

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jp.renaud@latimes.com