Council Candidate Lyon Announces More Endorsements

Pasadena Planning Commissioner Vice Chair Jason Lyon announced new endorsements of his campaign for Pasadena City Council in District 7 on Wednesday.

The campaign is being endorsed by former Pasadena Mayor Rick Cole and the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters.

“If it is possible to be both proud and humbled at the same time, that’s how I’m feeling today,” Lyon said. “Rick Cole has been such a staunch advocate for Pasadena. He knows from vast experience what it takes to serve a city. Then there are the men and women of the Southwest Carpenters, who are committed to providing Pasadenans with training and opportunities to build prosperous careers while at the same time offering our residents and businesses a deep bench of highly skilled craftspeople. I am so grateful for their support.”

Lyon is squaring off against Northwest Commissioner Allen Shay and former commissioner Ciran Hadjian to claim the District 7 City Council seat currently occupied by Vice-Mayor Andy Wilson.

Wilson is not seeking re-election.

Cole served twelve years on the Pasadena City Council, including two years as mayor and two as vice mayor. He went on to serve as Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles and city manager of several cities, including Santa Monica. Cole is currently the Executive Director of the Congress for New Urbanism, a national nonprofit that champions livable, walkable cities. In 2021, Mayor Victor Gordo named Rick Cole his special housing advisor.

The Southwest Carpenters represent over 57,000 members in six states. Among those are the more than 4,100 members of Local 661, which includes Pasadena. Their membership includes skilled laborers in virtually all construction disciplines, from acoustical ceiling installers to bridge builders to cabinetmakers to drywallers.

Lyon has already garnered the support of a broad array of elected and appointed officials, organizations, and local leaders. His endorsers include Senator Anthony Portantino and former Senator Jack Scott, L.A. County Assessor Jeff Prang, and Pasadena Community College Trustees Sandra Chen Lau and Tammy Silver, among others. He is also endorsed by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 12 and Stonewall Democratic Club. In addition, Lyon’s website lists more than 30 Pasadena community leaders who back his campaign.

According to the city’s website, District 7 is home to many of Pasadena’s iconic institutions, including the Pasadena Playhouse, Caltech, Pasadena Community College, and the historic Langham Huntington Hotel, as well as two of the city’s oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods, Madison Heights and Oak Knoll.

Lyon has served in leadership capacities for Young & Healthy, the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, Planned Parenthood Pasadena San Gabriel Valley, and All Saints Church.

In 2017, Mayor Terry Tornek appointed Lyon to Pasadena’s Historic Preservation Commission. Council Member Wilson tapped Lyon to join the Planning Commission in 2019. Lyon currently serves as Vice Chair of both the Planning Commission and the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

When not volunteering his time, Lyon is a partner with Pasadena’s historic Hahn & Hahn LLP, the law firm founded in 1899. He practices complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on partnership disputes and fraud matters.

Lyon lives in the Madison Heights neighborhood with his husband, Tim Hartley, a real estate agent, and their two sons.