Who Are the Candidates in Pasadena’s 2017 Elections?

[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story reported the nomination period ends at 5:30 p.m.; that is not correct. The period in fact ends at 5:00 p.m. today.]

The nomination period for candidates in the 2017 Pasadena City Council and Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education primary elections ends today at 5:00 p.m.

19 locals, among them six incumbents, requested nominating documents – traditionally referred to as “pulling papers – from Pasadena City Clerk Mark Jomsky.

So far, 12 candidates have official filed and qualified to be placed on the March, 2017 ballot.

To qualify, candidates are required to present 25 qualified signatures from Pasadena voters in their respective districts.

The current terms for Pasadena City Council Districts 3, 5 and 7 will expire in May 2017 and these seats will be open for the election, as well as the seats for Pasadena Board of Education sub-districts 1, 3, 5 and 7.

Prepared Thursday evening, here is Pasadena Now’s roundup of candidates who have officially “pulled papers,” filed papers and been qualified.

Candidates for City Council

Seats Open/Terms: The terms for Pasadena City Council Districts 3, 5 and 7 will expire in May, 2017 and these seats will be open for election in the upcoming March 7, 2017 primary municipal election. The City of Pasadena is divided into seven Council districts, and each Councilmember is elected by the voters residing within a specific geographic Council district area. The terms for these Council seats are four years. There are no term limit provisions for serving on the City Council.

District 3
John J. Kennedy:
Incumbent John Kennedy filed his paperwork on November 28 and was qualified on the same day.

“It’s been a wonderful three and a half years serving the residents of District 3 and of Pasadena, and I’m looking forward to building on the progress we’ve made in making the City of Pasadena and District 3 great places to be,” Kennedy said.

John J. Kennedy has experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. His political involvement and extensive travels have provided him with knowledge and understanding of local, national and international government practices and procedures, according to his bio on the city website.

Since January of 2015, Kennedy has worked for a family company, with responsibility in philanthropy, real estate, and business development.

According to Kennedy’s bio on the city website, he served as the Senior Vice President of one of the oldest and most respected civil rights organizations in the United States.

Prior to that position, Kennedy was Director of Special Projects for Southern California Edison (SCE) for seven years. He served in several capacities at SCE – including managing community investments of up to $1 million provided to various non-profit organizations.

District 3
Adrienne Large:
Adrienne Large pulled papers on November 16, but has not yet filed or been qualified.

“As we welcome with open arms new transplants of people to our City of Pasadena, we must remain vigilant in caring for and nurturing our long?time Pasadena residents, many of whom have put their hearts, blood, sweat, and tears into building , improving, and loving Pasadena,” Adrienne Large said.

Adrienne Large is a business executive with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry and next?generation technology organizations.

Large attended Hamilton Elementary where she benefited from the PUSD Gifted Program, Wilson Middle School, and John Muir High. She has served as CEO of LLI, Inc., an investment and real estate development firm, where she worked with the private and public sectors to develop innovative real estate developments and new financial instruments that created business value and achieved impactful results.

Early in her career, she worked as a Project Manager for Universal Studios, Universal Creative, the think tank for Universal Studios Vivendi, and supported and/or managed the development of The Terminator 2:3D Attraction. She also conceived, designed, and constructed Gameworks Studio and the “To the Extreme” Store.

At age 19, she said, she saved Universal more than $3.5 million on the Terminator 2:3D Attraction, by use of her programs and “skill in deal-making.”

This resulted in Large being taken under the wings and groomed by the Director of Merchandising, allowing her to become the youngest Project Manager on the studio lot.

Large went on to found a couple of local Pasadena businesses in the hair care industry and online retailers. She has also authored two books independently, “Protest,” and “The Real Cure for Cancer”.

District 5
Victor Gordo:
Incumbent Victor Gordo pulled papers on November 14 and was qualified on December 7.

“I’m proud of the team of District 5 residents that I’ve had the privilege to work with and represent in our combined efforts to make Pasadena’s District Five and Pasadena in general a better place to live. We’ve successfully worked together to improve the quality of life in our district and in our city,” Gordo said recently.

Victor Gordo began his direct service to the city of Pasadena in 1997, when then-Vice Mayor Bill Crowfoot appointed him as the field representative for District 5. Following Vice Mayor Crowfoot’s leaving city service, Gordo was elected to the Pasadena City Council in March 2001 and has represented District 5 ever since, being re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009. Gordo was also elected by his Council colleagues to serve as Pasadena’s Vice Mayor in 2009 and 2011.

Gordo serves on the Council’s Finance Committee and as Chair of the Economic Development and Technology Committee of the City Council and was selected by the Pasadena City Council in 2009 to serve as its representative on the Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) and in 2010 was elected by the RBOC Board of Directors to serve as its President/Chair and help lead the Stadium’s renovation efforts.

“I intend to wage a vigorous campaign for re-election in order to continue the work that my neighbors and I have initiated,” said Gordo.

District 5
Krystal Lopez Padley:
Kryztal Lopez-Padley pulled papers on November 16, filed her paperwork and was qualified on December 5.

“There have been some concerns that I have and my neighbors have that aren’t being addressed. Talking to neighbors and the community, many people asked me if I could be a voice for some of those concerns because, honestly, we can no longer wait,” Krystal Lopez-Padley said.

A young mother and newcomer to politics, Lopez-Padley aims to become a voice for Pasadena District 5 residents when issues like public safety, infrastructure and education are being discussed in the City Council.

The mother of three was raised in Orange County by immigrant parents from Mexico, and went to UCLA for her English degree. Her master’s in writing was acquired from an East Coast university. She moved to Pasadena when she married.

She cites that as the inspiration that made her decide to run for the City Council. With the concerns her family and her neighbors experience, Lopez-Padley feels they can no longer stand aside and not be part of the solution.

Lopez-Padley also stands firm in her belief that being a neophyte shouldn’t be a problem when the time comes for her to present her community’s concerns in public forums, including the City Council.

“Because I haven’t held public office, or because I’m a woman, a person of color or a child of immigrants, or younger working class mother, I feel that these are no longer reasons to abstain from public service,” Lopez-Padley says. “I can represent the needs of our community in a way that some of those who have been there for so many years, so many decades, won’t be able to. I have that energy of coming in and that willingness to listen to all the residents.”

District 5
Aida Morales:
Aida Morales pulled papers on November 30, but has not yet filed or been qualified.

A Guatemalan-American who has been living in Pasadena for over 50 years and serving with various community organizations for the past several years, Morales is challenging long-time incumbent Councilmember Victor Gordo.

Morales says she has served in a number of community organizations and has been on at least two City commissions.

“I’ve been a commissioner twice. I was a commissioner for the commission on the status of women, and of the northwest commission,” Morales said. “I was also elected as district bilingual advisory chairperson for the Pasadena Unified School District; I represented the bilingual parents in the district.”

Morales was also a member of the Parents in Community Action, Justice in Action Coalition, Affordable Housing Action Committee, and the Guatemalan Heritage Organization. She holds a BA degree from the California State University in Los Angeles.

Morales said she would help find simple solutions to the homeless problem in Pasadena, and would be willing to help address the immigration issue.

District 7
Andy Wilson:
Incumbent Andy Wilson pulled papers on November 14 and was qualified on December 6.

“I’ve been encouraged to run by many friends, neighbors and city leaders whom I respect. Serving the residents of District 7 is an honor,” said Wilson.

Wilson was appointed by the City Council in 2015 to fill the seat left vacant by the election of Mayor Terry Tornek. He is the co-founder and CEO of Rexter, a venture-backed software start-up and is also the co-founder and co-chairman of Innovate Pasadena, an organization dedicated to advancing technology based companies in Pasadena.

Wilson has extensive volunteer experience with the City of Pasadena including service on the Planning Commission, Design Commission, Urban Forestry Advisory Commission and the Pasadena Center Operating Committee. Wilson currently serves on the both the Municipal Services Committee and the Economic Development and Technology Committee of the City Council.

Wilson indicated in a statement that his priorities for the next four years include protecting the varied neighborhoods, strengthen the city’s economy and help revitalize South Lake.

“I enjoy the work and I would like to continue. So I’m asking the voters for a full term,” said Wilson. http://www.wilsonforcitycouncil.com

District 7
Phil Hosp:
Phil Hops pulled papers on November 14 and was qualified on December 7.

“My campaign is all about making sure that residents’ concerns and voices are being heard,” said Hosp.

Phil Hosp moved with his family to Pasadena as a teenager twenty years ago and graduated from Loyola High School. After receiving a business degree from Boston University, he served four years as a Tank Officer in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of Captain. Hosp served two tours in Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star.

After serving in the military, Hosp obtained a law degree from Loyola Law School and became an active volunteer in a number of organizations, including the Los Angeles Big Brothers Program and Loyola Law School Veteran’s Justice Project. He is currently an attorney with an international law firm and his campaign website says he has been recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a “Southern California Rising Star.”

“Protecting the quality of life in our neighborhoods requires a city council representative that is reliable, steady and focused on controlling development, reducing crime and traffic, and enhancing home values and overall quality of life” said Phil Hosp.
http://www.hospforcitycouncil.com/

District 7:
Bryan Witt:
Bryan Witt pulled papers on November 16 and was qualified on December 8.

“I thought it would be a great idea when I heard of this opening to start here at the most basic level of government and do everything I can to promote progressive ideals here in Pasadena,” Bryan Witt said.

Witt’s grandparents were immigrants from Holland. The family first settled in Michigan and in 1921 moved to Pasadena where he was born. Witt served with the Marine Corps and was a South Pasadena Reserve police officer before he started working for Amtrak. He is now assigned at Amtrak’s maintenance facility at the Santa. Fe yards in downtown Los Angeles.

As a public transportation advocate, Witt says Pasadena has to complete that last mile in the public transportation system in the City. With over 60,000 people commuting to and from Pasadena every day, the City has to strive to finish that last mile to encourage people to leave their cars at home. He also stressed that it would be a great service to students at Pasadena’s major institutions of learning to provide sufficient public transportation facilities.

“We have these three major educational institutions here – Caltech, Fuller Seminary and PCC – and I think we could do a lot better with not only helping those folks but the rest of the community to get around, shop, come here and work, have dinner, go to the movies, and make it easy to do so using public transportation,” Witt said.

His campaign website: https://bryanwitt.nationbuilder.com/

District 7
Alejandro Mechaca:
Alejandro Mechaca pulled papers on December 6, but has not yet filed or been qualified.
Pasadena Now currently has no information on Mechaca.

District 7
Anthony Miranda:
Anthony Miranda pulled papers on December 6, but has not yet filed or been qualified.
Pasadena Now currently has no information on him.

Candidates for Pasadena Unified School District Board Of Education

Seats Open/Terms: The terms for Pasadena Board of Education, sub-districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 will expire in May 2017 and these seats will be open for election in the upcoming March 7, 2017 primary municipal election. The terms for Board of Education sub-districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 are four years. There are no term limit provisions for serving on the PUSD Board of Education.

District 1
Kimberly Kenne:
Incumbent Kimberly Kenne pulled papers on November 14 and was qualified on December 6.

“It’s really about partnering with parents to support their students,” said Kimberly Kenne.
Parent advocate Kim Kenne was elected to the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education in 2011 and re-elected in 2013 to District 1. Kenne has been actively involved as a parent leader in the school site, district, and state levels since her children started kindergarten at Burbank Elementary.

Kenne has served on school site councils every year, as president of Parent Teacher Associations (PTA), Chair of District Advisory Council (DAC), which supports school site governance councils, and as a founding member of the Parent Education Network (PEN), which works to build family engagement in local public schools.

Kenne is a member of the Board of the Family Area Network (FAN), the statewide group that advises the California Department of Education on parent involvement. She has chaired the Altadena Education Focus Group, co-chaired the Education Committee of the Altadena Town Council, and is a member of the League of Women Voters, according to the PUSD website.

“If we can get a continuous improvement and accountability system in place and make sure there’s enough transparency so the community can be a part of it as a partner with our families, I think that’s when we are going to see wonderful growth and a lot of opportunity,” said Kenne.

District 1
Rita Miller:
Rita Miller pulled papers on November 16. She filed her papers and was qualified on December 6.
Pasadena Now currently has no information on her.

District 1
Jouslynn Griffin:
Jouslynn Griffin pulled papers on November 16, but has not yet filed or been qualified.
Pasadena Now currently has no information on her.

District 3
Michelle Richardson Bailey:
Michelle Richardson-Bailey pulled papers on November 16. She filed her papers and was qualified on December 8.

“I envision a community where the education of its children comes first,” said Michelle Richardson Bailey.

Michelle Richardson Bailey said she believes in order for the Board of Education to be successful at effectively addressing the educational needs of every student, it is important, that it be comprised of members who represent diverse perspectives, reflective of the student population it serves.
Richardson Bailey has been a classified educator for 20 years. Five of those years were in classified management. She is a 14-year employee of PUSD. She currently serves on the PUSD Customer Experience Advisory Group, the School Site Council at Blair school and the AD41 Education Advisory Committee. She founded the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, now the Classified Advisory Council, and served formerly on the PUSD LCAP Committee, representing classified employees and the PUSD AB 86 Committee (Adult Education Consortium Program) in support of Adult Education.

Richardson Bailey grew up in Pasadena and is a product of PUSD. She has been married for 25 years and has three children who also attended PUSD schools and have since, gone on to college.

“I am a forward thinker who puts children first,” Richardson Bailey said.

District 3
Adrienne Ann Mullen:
Incumbent Dr. Adrienne Ann Mullen pulled papers on November 17 and was qualified on December 8.

In September incumbent School Board Member Dr. Mullen, District 3’s representative said she would run to hold the seat to which she was appointed.

“I intend to run a campaign that is based on educational issues and puts student success first,” Dr. Mullen said. “I believe the district is on the right pathway with long-term planning to move it forward.”

Dr. Mullen has been a professional educator for almost 30 years working in both private and public schools at the high school level and in two-year and four-year educational institutions.

She has a Doctorate in Education from UCLA in Educational Leadership, a Masters in Counseling and Student Development and a Bachelors in Early Childhood Special Education. For the last 14 years, Dr. Mullen has worked for the Los Angeles Community College District.

Dr. Mullen has lived in Northwest Pasadena for 18 years. She has two children that currently attend PUSD schools and another two who recently graduated from PUSD schools.

District 5
Elizabeth Pomeroy:
Incumbent Elizabeth Pomeroy pulled papers on November 21. She filed her papers and was qualified on December 6.

“I am running in order to celebrate and extend our successes, and to work hard on any improvement that we need to make, and always to keep our focus on our students,” said Elizabeth Pomeroy.

Elizabeth Pomeroy is running for reelection for the Board of Education representing District 5. She finished her bachelor’s from Stanford University and holds a PhD in English from UCLA.

A California native who has been living in Pasadena for the past 35 years, Pomeroy has served on the staff of the Huntington Library, and has also worked at the W.M. Keck Foundation in Los Angeles.

She has taught English at Pasadena City College for a decade, and earlier taught at UCLA, UC Irvine, and California State University Los Angeles. Her first teaching years were in middle school and high school.

She plans to continue focusing on student achievement and getting the community more involved in public education if ever she gets reelected.
“I am running in order to celebrate and extend our successes, and to work hard on any improvement that we need to make, and always to keep our focus on our students,” Pomeroy stated.

District 5
Matthew Baron:
Matthew Baron pulled papers on December 2, but has not yet filed or been qualified.

“There are some viewpoints that a teacher may bring to the table that may not be represented, and some of those viewpoints would be how you give teachers the tools they need to let kids be amazing excellent learners,” Matthew Baron said. Baron was called a “rabble rousing master gardener with a floral arranger’s touch” in a 2012 article on the Los Angeles Times. At PUSD, he says he teaches agriculture and would like to represent teachers’ viewpoints if he gets elected, especially when it concerns teaching tools.

For him, students graduating from high school should really be trained enough to enter the workforce at a higher level than just being ordinary workers.

“For my students that I teach, I try to encourage them to enter the workplace as managers and entrepreneurs, as people who solve other people’s problems, as opposed to a 17-year-old who needs money,” Baron says. “I was a contractor in another lifetime, and I’m always about just giving whoever are on the job site the tools they need to do the job.

District 5
Mozella Pope Caudle:
Mozella Pope Caudle pulled papers on December 6, but has not yet filed or been qualified.
Pasadena Now currently has no information about her.

District 7
Scott Phelps:
Incumbent Scott M. Phelps pulled papers on November 14 and is the sole Candidate for District 7. He filed papers and was qualified on December 6.

“I am running to continue bringing my expertise in classroom education to Board decision-making, to ensure the reforms being implemented by the current administration are effective and to make sure that resources are used efficiently for student needs,” said Phelps.

Scott Phelps has served on Pasadena Unified’s Board of Education for eleven years and has dedicated the last 27 years of his career to education. Phelps was the coordinator of the Science, Engineering and Technology Academy and a teacher at John Muir High School and taught 9-12th graders in chemistry, physics, planetary science (astronomy), physical science and math for 14 years.

Phelps is a member of the founding staff of Learning Works Charter School in Pasadena and has taught 18 years part-time in astronomy, physics and math at Citrus Community College, Mt. San Antonio College, Chaffey College and the University of La Verne. He has also taught statistics, research methods, data analysis, assessment and evaluation courses at Cal State L. A.’s College of Education and supervised teaching credential candidates for Cal State Northridge.

“I think the real magic is in the relationship building between the teachers and the students. One of my priorities is to get the senior staff to spend more time on school sites and less time on reports,” said Phelps.

The nomination period began on Monday, November 14, 2016, at 7:30 a.m., and will close at 5 p.m. Friday. Nomination papers have been issued during normal office hours at the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall.