Judge also won’t let L.A. Councilman Mitch Englander call himself ‘reserve policeman’ on ballot

A tug of war over Los Angeles Councilman Mitch Englander’s description of himself on the June ballot, in which he is running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, ended Thursday with a judge ruling that he can’t call himself either a police officer or a reserve policeman.

Three other candidates running for the seat being vacated by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich — prosecutor Elan Carr, State Sen. Bob Huff, and Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian — challenged Englander’s chosen ballot designation, which originally was “Councilmember/Police Officer,” saying it was misleading because Englander is a volunteer reserve officer, not a full-time cop.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien agreed with them at a hearing Wednesday. Englander subsequently amended his ballot designation to “Councilmember/Reserve Policeman,” which the county’s office of registrar-recorder accepted.

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The other candidates promptly challenged that description as well, arguing that being a reserve is not Englander’s primary occupation.

O’Brien sided with the opponents again Thursday, leaving Englander with the designation “Councilmember.” The opponents crowed over the victory.

“Today and yesterday, the Superior Court sent a strong signal that honesty and integrity matters,” Carr said in a statement. “I honor Mitch’s service in uniform, but he has to tell voters the truth.”

Stephen Kaufman, Englander’s campaign attorney, said O’Brien “just plain got it wrong.”

“His ruling today is an affront to all the dedicated men and women who wear the LAPD badge and put their lives on the line for the people of Los Angeles,” he said in a statement. “There is no disputing that Mr. Englander graduated top of his class at the Police Academy, and has patrolled our city’s streets for more than a decade.”

The opposing candidates had also sought to have the court require Englander to specify that he is a member of the Los Angeles City Council, as the county district includes a number of other cities, but the judge did not side with them on that point.

Brenda Duran, a spokeswoman with the registrar’s office, said Thursday’s ruling was final and Englander’s designation would stand as “Councilmember.”

In a second county race, for the seat being vacated by Supervisor Don Knabe, candidate Steve Napolitano was also forced to change his ballot designation. Napolitano, a field deputy to Knabe, originally listed himself as “LA County Deputy Supervisor.”

After a rival in the race, Whittier school board member Ralph Pacheco, successfully challenged the title, Napolitano changed it to “Supervisor’s Senior Deputy.”

Eight candidates are running for Antonovich’s seat and three for Knabe’s.

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