Saugus Still Waiting on the County's OK to Fill Winkler's Seat

The LA County Registrar's Candidate Filing Status for the November 5th election is now live, so you can see who has pulled nomination papers for each local office (here's our breakdown of all of the local races this November). So far, most incumbents have have filed, with just one challenger so far, a Ken Chase taking on the incumbents in the Sulphur Springs district. 

But if you look around, there's no sign of the race for the vacated seat on the Saugus Board formerly held by Stephen Winkler, including in the latest version of the updated Candidate Handbook.

On July 2, the district passed a resolution calling for the special election to fill the vacancy. Bu tit's since become apparent, as Perry Smith reported earlier this month, that the LA County Office of Education would like to have the final say on vacating the seat. As you may recall, when he was removed, Winkler said he wouldn't fight the board's decision.

It's unclear exactly why the county is holding up this vacancy, or if they has a timetable to make a decision. A request to the LACOE for comment sent earlier this week has gone unanswered.

With the candidate filing period already open, there's no telling when or if we'll see this office open up for the November elections. If the county approves by the first week in August, the race will still appear on the November ballot. Otherwise, it will be up to the district whether to appoint a replacement or to hold a special election.

Since the law specifies that vacancies happening in a very specific window should be filled in the at the same time as the next elections, any unnecessarily delay would certainly go against the spirit of the law. Let's hope for a quick resolution and a chance for a proper election for this seat.