The race is on as 5 candidates file to run for 4 seats on LCF Council
With the filing period for four open seats on the La Cañada Flintridge City Council having closed as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, five candidates have been qualified to run in the March 2020 election — meaning there will be a race.
Three openings are for full, four-year terms currently occupied by Mayor Len Pieroni and council members Terry Walker and Mike Davitt. Pieroni and Walker — who joined the council in 2015 as the result of uncontested appointments alongside Davitt — have announced they will run for the full-term seats.
Walker filed her candidate papers on Dec. 2 and was qualified by City Clerk Tania Moreno the same day. Pieroni filed on Dec. 5 and was qualified the next day.
The fourth open seat is a two-year position replacing Mayor Pro Tem Greg Brown, who was appointed in July 2017 after the unexpected death of Councilman Dave Spence. Brown has announced he does not plan to run for office in March.
On Nov. 26, Davitt officially filed to run for the two-year term and was qualified that same day. As the only contender for Brown’s seat, it’s now up to the City Council to appoint him, name another candidate or keep Davitt’s name on the March ballot as an uncontested candidate, Moreno said Wednesday.
Two other candidates announced their intention to run for full, four-year terms alongside Walker and Pieroni in a race for the three remaining seats. Public Works and Traffic Commissioner Keith Eich filed candidate papers Nov. 20 and was qualified to run the same day.
Rick Gunter, who served on the city’s Planning Commission from 2011 until May of this year, filed papers on Dec. 6 and has also been qualified to run.
In the coming months, the candidates’ respective campaigns will be required to submit disclosure statements with the city clerk’s office indicating campaign expenditures and donations.
Members of the public can obtain and review copies of the documents as they are filed by visiting the clerk’s office in person, calling (818) 790-8880 or emailing tmoreno@lcf.ca.gov.
