8 Council candidates for 2 seats?

Note: See story posted Jan. 18 about the final six official candidates, which do not include Paul Cheng.

Updated Dec. 30, 2015: The opening bell sounded Monday, Dec. 21, for the start of Arcadia’s own silly season, with candidates being allowed to “pull papers” to register to run for the two available seats on the Arcadia City Council in April. Five did just that, two more did Tuesday, Dec. 22, an eighth did on Dec. 30, and perhaps more will join the fun.

Paul Cheng

The biggest surprise to many on Monday was Paul Cheng, a lawyer in Pasadena who made a big splash in the hotly contested 2010 election as one of three Chinese candidates, including current City Council Member Sho Tay, who all lost to three Caucasian candidates. Another candidate sure to put a spark in this election is another lawyer, April Verlato, who is based in Downtown Arcadia and is President of the Arcadia Improvement Association. One of the two open seats currently belongs to yet another lawyer, Mayor Gary Kovacic, who is termed out after another coupling of two consecutive four-year terms. Current first-term City Council Member Tom Beck is also a lawyer.

Among the other potential candidates are three former Mayors: Bob Harbicht and Peter Amundson, both of whom have been sitting out a mandatory minimum two-year period since sitting on the Council for eight years (two consecutive four-year terms), and Dr. Sheng Chang, who was part of the rotation of Mayors during the Centennial celebration year of 2003.

April Verlato

Those who pulled papers must then return 20-30 signatures of registered voters of the City of Arcadia who are nominating/endorsing them before the deadline at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 15, with 20 valid and verified signatures required in order to be considered an official candidate. Voters will submit votes only by mail again this year, with the first batch of ballots being mailed Monday, March 14, according to Lisa Mussenden, Elections Official, Chief Deputy City Clerk/Records Manager for the Arcadia City Attorney/City Clerk Office. Postage for resident mail ballots will be prepaid by the city and ballots must be postmarked April 12 and received in the City Clerk’s office by April 15. Walk-in ballots at City Hall must be received in the City Clerk’s office no later than 8 a.m. the morning of April 12, 2016. The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce will hold its traditional Meet the Candidates Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Cay Mortenson Auditorium of the Arcadia Public Library.

Bob Harbicht

A first-time candidate in the 2014 election who surprised some with a strong showing, Burton Brink, was the first to pull papers again Monday for the next election. Another first-timer in 2014, Paul Van Fleet, did so again Monday as well. The latest to pull papers is Yee Phong (Alan) Thian, a newcomer to local politics who is relatively unknown in the community. A Google search show he is President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Business Bank in San Gabriel (sometimes listed in media announcements as a bank in Arcadia) and was recently named to the Community Bank Advisory Council by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington D.C.

Others may also yet consider a run for office — David Arvizo, who, along with April Verlato, has been a frequent vocal critic of mansionization and took specific aim at City Council Member John Wuo for months, is also said to be considering a campaign.

Peter Amundson

One of the two seats available would have been former Mayor Wuo’s as an incumbent for his second consecutive term this time around after a prior eight-year stint. But Wuo’s name became so entangled with a federal investigation and eventual criminal charges of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission against an Arcadia-based business called USFIA Inc. (US Fine Investment Arts) for operating a global pyramid scheme bilking $32 million from investors over the last 2 1/2 years, that Wuo resigned October 6. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing but it’s highly unlikely he would return to campaign for his Council seat at this time.

Burton Brink

Paul Cheng spent a reported $125,000 – $140,000 on his campaign in 2010, more than doubling the most ever spent by a candidate prior to that, and tripling and quadrupling the typical big spenders. His poor showing more likely reflected the fact that he was almost completely unknown at the time and had not been involved in many Arcadia groups or activities.

Paul Van Fleet

April Verlato’s name has become familiar to viewers of the City Council meetings, where she has been waging a campaign against the building of large homes that has spawned the Save the Arcadia Highlands anti-mansionization group, which in turn sparked a lawsuit against the City of Arcadia earlier this year, and has also led to a proposed ballot initiative that would create a voter-written zoning code to limit the size of homes built or remodeled in Arcadia. The petition to put that initiative on the ballot is pending, but most believe it is unlikely to make it onto the election ballot in April 2016.

Dr. Sheng Chang (with microphone 2nd from right) at Former Mayor’s Panel January 2015

Amundson, Chang, and Amundson all appeared last January on a first-ever Former Mayor’s Panel at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Planning Conference. Amundson was Mayor in 2010-11, and Harbicht was Mayor in 1988-89; 1997-98; 2008-09; and 2012-13. That Planning Conference, which also features a State of the City address by the City Manager, is scheduled for 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 this year at the Embassy Suites Arcadia, but given the election and the candidates, there will be no Former Mayor’s Panel this year. A much expanded State of the City address will feature department heads or representatives from most every city department to answer FAQs and address common concerns and issues and offer suggestions.

— By Scott Hettrick