Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti likes city politics, so he's putting a bid for the brass ring on it. He announced today he is officially running for Mayor in 2013. more ›

Presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman is hitting the campaign trail in SoCal today, holding fundraising dinners in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, reports the Daily Breeze. The GOP candidate, who formerly served as the governor of Utah and announced that he was throwing his hat in the ring for president on Tuesday, spoke at a lunch at the Jonathan Club in downtown LA and will speak a dinner at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. more ›

Rudy Martinez, the Eagle Rock businessman challenging Jose Huizar for his seat on the Los Angeles City Council, reportedly quit his post as an LAPD volunteer in 2005, according to a police report, and refused to cooperate with an investigation into why he possessed the badge of a slain officer who died in the line of duty, reports the LA Times. more ›

11 candidates are gearing up to duke it out to win the election to be the Council person in District 12, to succeed retiring Councilman Greig Smith, according to Chatsworth Patch. Saturday was the filing deadline for the 2011 Primary Election, which will take place on March 8. Next year, the seven "even-numbered City Council district seats are up for election." Among those on the primary are two businesswomen, three Neighborhood Council members, a policeman, and a restaurant owner, as well as other hopefuls. CD 12 covers the northwestern portion of the City. more ›

Now that the numbers from Tuesday's vote are being finalized, we can divide what losing candidate Meg Whitman spent on her campaign by the number of votes cast for her, and come up with a figure close to $50 per vote. Today, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez takes on her expenditures, on their own and compared to the winning Jerry Brown. more ›

For an election in 2011, the announcement that community activist Stephen Box is running for the Los Angeles City Council has picked up a lot of steam already. In many ways -- whether he planned to run or not -- he's has been preparing for this moment for years. His name is out there as someone who has been constantly working to improve neighborhoods, as someone who can be a pain in the ass to officials at city hall (especially incumbent Councilmember Tom LaBonge) and as someone who has succeeded, whether good or bad, at changing Los Angeles. more ›

Surprised? We're not. The seemingly omnipresent Los Angeles community activist Stephen Box has announced his candidacy for the city's fourth district, which includes Silver Lake, Hollywood, the Miracle Mile, Griffith Park, Toluca Lake and the NoHo Arts District (see map). It is currently held by Councilmember Tom LaBonge. more ›

If you don't mind the wind, it is a vacation paradise. Santa Rosa Island boasts miles of white sand beaches, rare torrey pine forests and beautiful scenery throughout. It's the second largest island off California's coast and is one of the five within Channel Islands National Park. (if you've got 3 minutes and 30 seconds, check out this amazing photo slideshow of the island). more ›

A 26-year-old Santa Clarita City Council candidate was arrested last night in the city's Valencia neighborhood for various sexual acts with two 14-year-old girls, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Johnny Pride is suspected of rape, lewd acts with a minor, sodomy, oral copulation of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was held on $500,000 bail. more ›

As expected former Governor (1975 to 1983) and current Attorney General Jerry Brown this morning finally announced his gubernatorial aspirations. He did it via a video--a transcript can be found below: "Hi I'm Jerry Brown, your Attorney General. I've lived in California all my life. As a former Governor, Secretary of State and Mayor-I've seen our government from every angle. When it works and when it doesn't work. And, it's no secret that Sacramento isn't working today..." more ›

It's official(ish). Delaware Senator Joe Biden is Senator Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, according to a CNN text message alert. more ›

LAist News Editor Andy Sternberg is inside the Barack Obama rally which is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 this afternoon at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. more ›

Our crack political team is projecting "reason to believe" that both Rudy Giuliani and Gov. Schwarzenegger will endorse John McCain for the Republican nomination very soon. more ›

Barack is on a roll. He doubled Hillary Clinton's vote count in South Carolina's primary election yesterday. And Caroline Kennedy's op-ed (titled "A President Like My Father") in this morning's New York Times is adding fuel to the fire as pundits across the ideological spectrum ponder the B.O. mo-mo like they haven't since Iowa, a long three-and-a-half weeks ago. more ›

John Edwards is everywhere in LA this weekend. Today, at the Presidential Forum on Global Warming and yesterday, images are pouring in all over these internets of Edwards in Burbank at the WGA Strikes. Best photo caption goes to Variety's Strike Blog, Scribe Vibe, for this picture of Edwards screaming into a bullhorn: "John Edwards was campaign shoutin' like a Southern Democrat out there on Alameda Avenue." A statement released by John Edwards on November... more ›

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is stopping at Chapman University in Orange on Sunday, capping off weekend fundraising dinner rounds elsewhere in OC. The public forum is billed "Ask Mitt Anything," and we've got a few suggested questions with which you can do just that... after the jump. WHAT: Public Forum w/ Mitt Romney WHEN: Sunday 9/23, 2:15 p.m. WHERE: Chapman University Theater, Orange (map). RSVP: Call (857) 288-2667, or email california@mittromney.com. AP Photo... more ›