Politics & Government

'Last-Minute Surge' in Candidates for Neighborhood Council Elections

From just 14 people a week ago, there are now 35 candidates in the running for the Oct. 13 elections.

Two professors, an elementary school principal, a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher, a retired clinical psychologist and a novelist are among 35 candidates vying for 18 seats in the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council—more than double the number of aspirants just a week ago.

"I couldn't be happier to see this last-minute surge in candidates," said Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council President Michael Larsen. "Participation is the key to any successful volunteer organization, and we're getting more participation than I've ever seen."

The deadline for running for the ERNC as well as voting by mail was midnight of Thursday, Sept. 13. There are now five candidates for president—up from three a week ago—and six candidates for business director. The latter post has two seats on the council, one of which had no takers for an entire year. (In fact, efforts to fill the second seat is something of a running joke in just about every monthly meeting of the ERNC.)

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It’s a measure of the keen response to the elections that, based on the Neighborhood Council Elections website for Eagle Rock, there is now a contender for every single post except that of youth director. (The current youth director, Eagle Rock High School student Caroline Roncalli, told Patch last week, however, that she would be running for the post as an incumbent.)

Further, except for directors for three positions—that of Faith-Based Groups, Sub-District 2 and Sub-District 4—every position has at least two contestants. (The post of civic director, like that of business director, has two seats.)

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here is the list of candidates and the positions they are running for, in the order that they appear on the Neighborhood Council Elections website:

President

Nelson Grande II: President

Robert Guevara: President (Currently Education Director and Secretary)

Peter Hilton: President (Currently Director Sub-District 4)

Michael Nogueira: President (Currently Vice President and Business Director)

Patrick Koppula: President

Treasurer

Ashley Atkinson: Treasurer

Cecilia Ryder: Treasurer

Civic Affairs

Eddie Ramirez: Civic Director (Board member, Pasadena Athletic Association Cycling Club)

Sande Seto: Civic Director (Professor and director, Public Interest Law Department, Loyola Law School)

Business Affairs

Mark Yutan: Business Director

Hamilton Yutan: Business Director

Liam Roth: Business Director

Anthony Freeny: Business Director

Elva Erykah Grande: Business Director

Gregory Luke: Business Director

Education

Lisa Karahalios: Education Institutions Director

Jennifer Nutting: Education Institutions Director (LAUSD Teacher, Nightingale Middle School, Cypress Park)

Faith-Based Groups

Andrea Anderson: Faith-Based Groups Director

Public Safety

Tim Ryder: Public Safety Director

José Posada: Public Safety Director (Principal, Eagle Rock Elementary School & Magnet Center)

Sub-District 1-8

Mark Haskell Smith: Director Sub-District 5 (Novelist)

Matt Harrington: Director Sub-District  5

Elva Erykah Grande: Director Sub-District 5

Marc Magallanes: Director Sub-District 7

Andrew Montgomery: Director Sub-District 1

Michael Blanchard: Director Sub-District 7

Duy Tran: Director Sub-District 1 (Incumbent)

Ethan Weiss: Director Sub-District 6

John Goldfarb: Director Sub-District 8 (Retired clinical psychologist)

Ursula Angell: Director Sub-District 3

David Greene: Director Sub-District 8

David Kofahl: Director Sub-District 6 (Incumbent)

Oren Bitan: Director Sub-District 3 (Currently Public Safety Director)

Carolyn Tribe: Director Sub-District 2 (Professor)

Michelle Frier: Director Sub-District 4

Elections to the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council are scheduled for Oct. 13 in Eagle Rock City Hall.

Click here to view the Neighborhood Council Elections website for Eagle Rock, which has brief biographical details and election manifestos of some of the candidates.

Click here to view the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council website.

Independent Election Administrator Terrence Gomes, who will monitor the ERNC election, can be reached for assistance with election or voting issues at terrence@empowerla.org.

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