Northwest Valley forum set for candidates in only open L.A. council race
Six candidates seeking the Los Angeles City Council seat for the Northwest San Fernando Valley are expected to attend the campaign’s fourth and final public forum on Thursday evening in Granada Hills.
In the March 8 general election, the six will compete to replace retiring Councilman Greig Smith. The race is the only one of seven council contests that does not include an incumbent.
The candidates for the open seat are Dinesh “Danny” Lakhanpal, a businessman; Kelly M. Lord Jr., a small business owner; Brad Smith (no relation to Councilman Greig Smith), a former reporter who now works in business development; Navraj “Singh” Singh, a longtime restaurant owner; Armineh Chelebian, an accountant; and Mitchell Englander, chief of staff for outgoing Councilman Smith.
Englander, nephew of Harvey Englander, a longtime City Hall lobbyist, has raised close to $500,000 — more than 10 times what any other candidate has amassed, city records show.
The forum is scheduled to be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at Granada Hills Charter High School, 10535 Zelzah Ave.
RELATED:
Voter guide: March 8 Los Angeles Election
At South L.A. debate, Bernard Parks says he has delivered
Assembly speaker, demonstrators face off over Vernon cityhood
-- Patrick J. McDonnell at Los Angeles City Hall
EDITOR'S PICKS:
LA Times, your endorsement of Englander who has collected a fortune from developers and other special interests was the most shameful I've seen. Each and every other candidate has accomplishments earned on their own merit and are beholden to no one. What has Englander done on his own other than to collect his paycheck from the city and ride the coattails of his boss. Did it occur to you that half a million dollars is a lot of money to collect from people other than residents. What do they expect in return, cause the pay-offs have to be made in more unneeded development that the communities will be fighting project by project. Hope the CD 12 residents see the light now rather than after the elections when it will be too late.
Posted by: anon | March 02, 2011 at 02:31 PM
Mitch won the election squarely, and he worked his butt off to earn every one of those votes. He was not "handed" anything. As a volunteer, I resent it when people insinuate that, because one of the main reasons he got elected was because of the hard work and long hours that other volunteers and myself put into it. At the end of the day, he was the best candidate.
Posted by: Art | March 10, 2011 at 01:58 PM