The LA Times may have endorsed Najarian for the 5^th District, but my money is on Barger to be the one elected to fill the soon to be vacant 5^th District seat. As a long time county observer I strongly feel that we need some institutional memory on the Board, and its apparent to me that even though Kuehl and Solis are working hard to serve their constituents their learning curve has been steep – Barger won’t have that challenge.

As a voter, besides knowledge and intelligence, some of the most important characteristics for me in a candidate are: ethics, fairness, and a truthful nature. In that vein I’ve had the opportunity to attend various debates and forums where many of these candidates had an opportunity to present their views to the audience. At one such event Huff and his supporters swarmed the stage at the end of the event holding up campaign signs and having their picture taken. This action could easily leave someone with the impression that the host had endorsed Huff – which was not the case. I found it concerning that Huff, as a seasoned campaigner, allowed this electioneering to go on unchecked.

Then there’s Englander who initially listed himself as “councilman/police officer”, the excuse given was that he was allowed only three words to describe himself. So instead of listing himself with a title representing his primary role as a LA city councilman (see three words) he chose to include “police officer” in his job title (not clarifying that he serves as a reserve police officer). Almost every mailer I’ve received shows him in his police uniform, and not at the LA City Council. Maybe he’s afraid that the constituents of the 5^th District will see him as yet another politician looking for his next political office if he emphasized his role as a LA city councilperson. Not to mention the numerous allegations that his campaign has received money from companies that have business before the LA City Council.

Then we have Najarian, endorsed by not only the LA Times, but also former Pasadena Mayor Boggard (a nice man, but someone who definitely leans more left than center). Not to mention that he referred to President Obama as a former roommate before he corrected himself and changed that to classmate. And though Glendale seems to have muddled well through the recent downturn, one can’t help but notice how much the community has changed going from a tree lined, single home community to a city that appears to be on the brink of being gentrified like so much of LA city.

And don’t get me started on Carr. Park and Carr are the only two candidates that have put out negative campaign pieces. Marring what I can only describe as one of the few elections where it would appear that all the other 5^th Supervisorial district candidates and their “independent groups” have focused on what the (their) candidate brings to the table, their accomplishments and what not.

Here’s the latest LA Times article on the 5th District race to fill one of the two soon to be vacant seats on the LA County Board of Supervisors

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-antonovich-race-20160605-snap-story.html