Long Beach’s 2014 election season began Monday with the start of the nominating period, a window ending January 10 when candidates can officially file to run in next year’s April 8 primary.
Nearly every single elected position in the city will come before voters next year including the offices of mayor, city attorney, city prosecutor and city auditor along with the odd numbered council districts, the latter of which are mostly being vacated by their incumbents.
Already, many have come forward to announce their bids for these positions with so far nine intending to run for mayor, three for city attorney, two for city prosecutor and one for city auditor. In the 1st and 7th districts, five candidates have thrown their names into the ring. In the 5th District, four have announced candidacy. The 3rd District has the widest spread this time with seven potentital candidates listed on the City Clerk’s website and the 9th District has the least with only two candidates.
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Starting January 1, 2013, potential candidates were able to file intention paperwork and form committees to begin campaigning, however, no one is an officially registered candidate for any office until they submit the official nominating paperwork during this period.
At a morning information session held in city council chambers Monday, City Clerk Larry Herrera and staff broke down the process for about 50 people, some of whom have announced their intentions and others who remained undecided as to whether they would run. Many picked up nominating paperwork, a packet which includes worksheets and forms which must be filled out prior to submission.
All candidates must obtain between 20 and 30 signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction they intend to run as well as submit a candidate statement along with a Statement of Economic Interests. In order to be eligible to run, candidates must have been registered to vote in the district they are seeking as of December 10.
For more information on Long Beach City elections including current intended candidates and information on how to file during the nominating period, visit the City Clerk’s election page.
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