Cardenas Says He Won’t Seek City Council Seat

LOS ANGELES —  State Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) said Thursday that he will not run for the District 7 City Council seat soon to be vacated by Richard Alarcon, who has been elected to the state Senate.

“It looks like I will stay in Sacramento, barring any outrageous events,” Cardenas said in a phone interview.

His decision leaves the field open to several possible candidates. Alarcon, who had earlier voiced support for Cardenas, said his support would now go to his wife, Corina Alarcon, should she choose to run. Corina Alarcon runs an insurance agency and a domestic violence shelter.

Cardenas, considered the strongest potential contender, said the decision came after discussing the move with his wife, Norma.

A number of other possible successors have stepped forward or have been named by political insiders.

They include Raul Godinez, mayor of San Fernando and a civil engineer for the city of Los Angeles; Irene Tovar, executive director of the Latin American Civic Assn., a community service group that manages Head Start programs; Michael Trujillo Jr., a 19-year-old member of the city’s Commission on Children, Youth and their Families; LeRoy Chase, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of the San Fernando Valley; and Marcos Castaneda, an aide to City Councilman Richard Alatorre and former aide to Alarcon.

Cardenas suggested his deputy, Alex Padilla, a 25-year-old graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.