Veteran L.A. politicians take formal step toward 2016 supervisor race

Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas have filed paperwork to officially launch their campaigns in next year’s Board of Supervisors elections, officials said Tuesday.

Hahn, a former Los Angeles city councilwoman whose father held a seat on the Board of Supervisors for four decades, was among the first to file a so-called 501 form, which candidates must submit before they can begin raising campaign money.

A county elections office spokeswoman said Tuesday that Hahn was among those who filed the form on Monday but the communications office did not receive word of it until late Tuesday morning, so her name was inadvertently left off a list of first filers.

Saturday was the first day candidates could file the forms for the June 7, 2016, primary election, during which three of the five supervisors seats will be on the ballot.

Two of the seats will be open because 4th District Supervisor Don Knabe and 5th District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich must leave office because of term limits.

Ridley-Thomas, who represents the 2nd District and who served on the Los Angeles City Council and in the Legislature before his 2008 election to the county board, is running for his third and final term. No substantive challenger to his reelection has surfaced to date.

Hahn is a top contender for Knabe’s seat, which also is being sought by Steve Napolitano, a Knabe deputy and a former Manhattan Beach city councilman, and Mike Gin, a former mayor of Redondo Beach. Both also have filed fundraising intention statements.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Elan Carr also has filed his statement, officially launching his run to succeed Antonovich.

Antonovich’s top deputy, Kathryn Barger, has announced her candidacy and has her boss’ endorsement but had not yet filed her 501 form as of the close of business Tuesday, an elections office spokeswoman said.

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