Lamar, Lyon, Hadjian Pull Papers for June Election

There were no surprises on the first day of the local election season as three local residents pulled papers on Monday to run for seats in two local City Council races.

According to the city’s website, Brandon Lamar pulled papers in District 3 and Jason Lyon and Ciran Hadjian received the necessary papers to begin collecting signatures in District 7.

If he qualifies for the election, Lamar will face off against incumbent John Kennedy.

Lamar, who sits on the city’s Human Relations Commission, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Lyon and Hadjian are running for the vacant seat in District 7.

“I’ve already been out walking the district and talking to voters for the past six months, so the ‘campaign’ is already well underway, but It’s exciting to be able to ‘officially’ kick off the election season,” said Lyon, who sits on the Planning Commission. “Now folks in the district will finally have an opportunity to look at each of the candidates and decide whose vision is the best fit for Pasadena’s future.”

Hadjian previously served on several commissions, including the Planning Commission.

“I’m inspired to run because public service is a noble calling,” Hadjian said. “I was born in District 7 and over the past 30 years I have served the city of Pasadena on a wide-range of City of Pasadena commissions and non-profit boards. I am a community builder by profession, education, and at heart. I will work with our residents to protect and improve the quality of life in the district. I take the idea of representative democracy very seriously and will pay close attention to the concerns of our residents. My goal is to continue to ensure Pasadena is a city that flourishes now and for generations to come.”

All of the candidates had publicly stated intentions to run for office prior to the kick off of the election season on Monday.

As of Monday night, no one had pulled papers in District 5. Incumbent Jess Rivas has announced she plans to run for the seat. Rivas was appointed to the District 5 seat after Mayor Victor Gordo won the mayoral race and stepped down from his City Council seat.

Candidates must pull papers and collect signatures to qualify for the election.

A candidates workshop will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Appointments are also available by contacting cityclerk@cityofpasadena.net.

Candidates are required to circulate nomination petitions to gather signatures of registered voters in order to have their names placed on the June 7 ballot.

The primary election will be held on June 7 if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held on Nov. 8.

This is the second local election since the city moved its elections to correspond with state elections in compliance with the California Voters Participation Act (CVPA). Cities complied with the call to move local elections, which was designed to increase voter turnout. As a result of the change, the city no longer conducts its own elections.

In the first election since the change more than 81% of Pasadena’s registered voters cast ballots in November’s General Election, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar/County Clerk’s Office.

All told, 74,290 of 91,498 registered voters, or 81.18%, cast ballots.