By STEVEN HERBERT | City News Service
The filing period concluded on Friday, Dec. 8, for most county, state and federal offices in Los Angeles County for the March 5 primary election, with District Attorney George Gascón drawing 11 potential challengers.
The field includes Maria Ramirez, the head deputy district attorney; supervising district attorney John McKinney; and prosecutors Jonathan Hatami, Lloyd “Bobcat” Masson and Eric Siddall, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Nathan Hochman, a former U.S. assistant attorney general who was the Republican candidate for state attorney general in the 2022 general election; Jeff Chemerinsky, an assistant U.S. attorney; and criminal defense attorney Dan Kapelovitz are among the other potential candidates who have completed the filing process.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judges Debra Archuleta and Craig J. Mitchell have also filed to run. Under the California Constitution, judges are eligible to run for office as long as they take a leave of absence without pay, Rob Oftring, the communications director of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County told City News Service.
David S. Milton, who retired as a Superior Court judge March 25, 2014, has also completed the filing process.
The March 5 primary also includes races for three seats on the county Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger has drawn four potential challengers in her bid for a third and final term to represent the Fifth District, including Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, and Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony.
Perry Goldberg, who listed “nonprofit leader/entrepreneur” as his occupation, and Marlon Marroquin, who did not list an occupation, have also completed the filing process.
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John M. Cruikshank have both completed the filing process to run against Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, who is also seeking her third and final term.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell has drawn three potential challengers in her bid for a second term representing the Second District — educator Daphne D. Bradford, CEO/nonprofit director Clint D. Carlton and CEO Katrina Williams.
If no candidates in the nonpartisan district attorney and Board of Supervisors races receive a majority vote in the primary, the top two finishers will meet in a runoff in November.
The filing period will be extended to Wednesday for offices in which an eligible incumbent does not file to run for re-election, which includes the seats held by Reps. Tony Cárdenas, D-Pacoima, and Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, who have announced their retirements, and Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, who is running for the Senate seat formerly held by the late Dianne Feinstein.
The March 5 ballot will also include primaries for president, all of California’s 52 congressional seats, 20 of the 40 state Senate seats and all 80 seats in the Assembly.
The list of candidates who have qualified for the ballot will be announced Dec. 29, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.