Key Labor Candidate for Council Faces Hurdle

One of organized labor’s leading candidates in the crowded race for the Eastside City Council seat apparently has failed to qualify for the ballot, the city clerk’s office confirmed Tuesday.

Late in the day, however, Jorge Mancillas’ campaign workers were poring over nominating forms in hopes of discovering enough overlooked valid signatures to merit an appeal.

Mancillas was notified Friday that he had not qualified for the April ballot because city election workers could verify only 414 of the 900-plus signatures he submitted. The other signatures were found to be duplicates, to belong to people with addresses outside the district or to have been collected from people who are not registered voters. He needed at least 500 registered voters’ signatures to qualify.

But Mancillas’ campaign workers have until Thursday to contest the evaluation of the signatures, and campaign officials said they will continue to review all the nominating petitions.

Mancillas, the political director of the Service Employees International Union, was one of five candidates informed that their signature petitions were insufficient. The others who did not qualify were Yolanda Gonzales, Paul Gonzales, Richard A. Kim and Art Leon Romero.

In all, 13 candidates have qualified; another, Paul Konrad Melero, is still waiting for word on his signatures.

But Mancillas’ apparent lack of valid signatures took most political observers and even his opponents by surprise because he was expected to be a leading contender in the race to fill Councilman Richard Alatorre’s seat. The incumbent has decided not to seek reelection.

If Mancillas fails to make the ballot, political consultants said, their candidates will benefit. The union official was expected to tap into both the large labor movement in the 14th Council District and the newly registered immigrant population there.

“I think it gives our campaign a huge boost because it allows us to go after some labor endorsements that we otherwise wouldn’t have,” said Rick Taylor, who is managing Juan Jose Gutierrez’s campaign.

Victor Griego, another candidate, said that Mancillas is “a very viable candidate” and that he hopes he can pick up community and labor endorsements if Mancillas fails to qualify.

Organized labor, which is expected to play a significant role in the local election, was split over the candidates, and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor has decided not to endorse anyone in the primary.

The others who have qualified are: Jim Beckham, Luis Cetina, Armando Hernandez, Juan Jimenez, Cathy Molina, Ramiro Moseley, Nick Pacheco, Alvin Parra, Ezequiel Quezada, Sylvia Robledo and Juan Marcos Tirado.