The Times’ endorsements
The times is endorsing selectively in this high-stakes election, so these recommendations do not cover every race on every Californian’s ballot. In nonpartisan races, including those for City Council, county Board of Supervisors, district attorney and the Superior Court, candidates who win more than 50% of the vote are declared the winners and will avoid November runoffs. Also, there’s no need to wait until Super Tuesday to cast ballots — not only can Californians vote now by mail, but they can also vote early at any one of the new “vote centers” that began opening Saturday; all will be open by Feb. 29. There will be nearly 1,000 centers across Los Angeles County, and they will replace the precinct polling places used in past elections.
Here is a summary of our picks; for the full endorsements, go to latimes.com/endorsements.
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 2: Paul Krekorian. He’s an intelligent and thoughtful incumbent who deserves reelection, but he needs to be a more vocal advocate for fiscal responsibility.
DISTRICT 4: David Ryu. Ryu deserves a second term in office for his work trying to reform the city’s ethics and campaign finance system and for tackling homelessness in his district.
DISTRICT 6: Nury Martinez. Martinez needs to channel her bluntness and toughness into standing up for what’s right on homelessness and other issues. She should be reelected.
DISTRICT 8: Marqueece Harris-Dawson. Running unopposed, Harris-Dawson is a thoughtful leader who wants the best for his community. In his second term, we hope he uses his experience as an insider to get more change faster.
DISTRICT 10: Mark Ridley-Thomas. For this open seat, no other candidate in the race can beat Ridley-Thomas’ experience, knowledge and long list of accomplishments.
DISTRICT 12: Loraine Lundquist. An astrophysicist and community activist, Lundquist offers a vision for a cleaner, healthier, more humane city. Incumbent John Lee does not.
DISTRICT 14: Kevin de León. The community and the City Council would benefit from De León’s skills at dreaming up ambitious solutions to major problems and then using his political savvy to get them adopted.
L.A. UNIFIED BOARD OF EDUCATION
DISTRICT 1: George McKenna. McKenna, who is running unopposed, needs to translate his extensive experience and good ideas into action.
DISTRICT 3: Scott Schmerelson. Incumbent Schmerelson has a mixed record and should think more broadly about the needs of all LAUSD students, not just those in his district. But he’s the strongest candidate.
DISTRICT 5: Jackie Goldberg. Goldberg returned to the board last year, and she’s already made a positive impact with proposals to help struggling schools and improve budget transparency.
DISTRICT 7: Silke Bradford. Bradford has worked as a teacher, principal and administrator in South L.A. schools, and she brims with smart, well-articulated ideas to lift all students.
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
25TH DISTRICT: Christy Smith. Currently in the state Assembly, Smith is a centrist, pragmatic Democrat who spends her time crafting policy and working with colleagues to get it passed.
L.A. COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
DISTRICT 2: Holly Mitchell. An impressive state lawmaker who has focused her work on justice, equity and fiscal issues, Mitchell would be the best person to carry on the county’s work in improving justice and human services.
DISTRICT 4: Janice Hahn. In her first term, Hahn has shown her commitment to listening to constituents and solving problems and that she’s willing to fight the battles necessary to get homeless housing projects done.
DISTRICT 5: Kathryn Barger. On a progressive board, Barger is a pragmatic moderate who provides valuable insight on issues such as homelessness and public safety, with the exception of her knee-jerk opposition to certain criminal justice reforms.
L.A. COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
George Gascón. Gascón, a former Los Angeles police officer who also served as San Francisco’s district attorney, has championed rational reforms to make people safe and make the system fairer. He is an innovative thinker who would be a progressive D.A.
L.A. COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
OFFICE NO. 42: Robert “Bob” Villa. Villa is an experienced deputy district attorney with hundreds of trials under his belt. He is ready to serve as a judge.
OFFICE NO. 72: Steve Morgan. Morgan is a deputy district attorney but also brings valuable experience as a criminal defense lawyer. He served in the military with the judge advocate general handling courts-martial on the defense side.
OFFICE NO. 76: Emily Cole. Currently assigned to the sex crimes unit of the district attorney’s office, Cole has the experience, wisdom and integrity to serve. And she’s better than her opponent, who legally changed his first name to “Judge,” apparently to fool voters into thinking he’s serving in the role.
OFFICE NO. 80: David Berger. Berger is smart and respected by judges, defense lawyers and fellow prosecutors. OFFICE NO. 97: Timothy D. Reuben. Reuben is an experienced civil litigation attorney with solid trial court experience.
OFFICE NO. 129: Kenneth Fuller. Fuller has ample courtroom experience, both as a deputy district attorney and as a military judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force reserve.
OFFICE NO. 145: Adan Montalban. As a deputy D.A., Montalban has wide experience across a range of criminal cases, including murder and gang prosecutions.
OFFICE NO. 150: Manuel Alejandro Almada. Almada is not one of the more experienced deputy district attorneys, but he is a well-regarded trial lawyer.
OFFICE NO. 162: David Diamond. A former Burbank police commissioner, Diamond has served as a family lawyer, a civil litigator and a criminal defense lawyer and would bring a variety of experiences to the bench.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MEASURES
MEASURE R (Civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Department): Yes. Measure R would significantly strengthen civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Department, and it would focus county officials on improving psychiatric care, drug treatment and other services for people we currently send to jail.
MEASURE FD (Los Angeles County Fire Department parcel tax): Yes. The new parcel tax on residential and commercial buildings in the L.A. County Fire Department service areas would allow the agency to hire more firefighters and paramedics, upgrade its equipment and better serve the public.
STATE MEASURES
PROPOSITION 13 ($15-billion school bond measure): Yes. There’s still a need to build new school facilities and to provide older schools with some basic safety upgrades, such as protection from earthquakes, wildfire and lead-contaminated water supplies.