Candidates Vie for Seats on RPV Council, School Board

Campaigns are underway for candidates looking to fill open Palos Verdes city government and school board seats come election day in November.

The Nov. 8 election will fill spots on the , and determine the makeup of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education.

In Rancho Palos Verdes, eight candidates are vying for three open seats on the Council. Terms are up for Councilmen Steve Wolowicz, Doug Stern and Mayor Tom Long. Current terms for Councilmen Brian Campbell and Anthony Misetich end in 2013. 

Candidates for the open Rancho Palos Verdes Council seats are Eric Alegria, small business owner and teacher; Susan Brooks, former Rancho Palos Verdes mayor; Ken Dyda, former Rancho Palos Verdes mayor; Dave Emenhiser, current Rancho Palos Verdes planning commissioner; Dora de la Rosa, current PVPUSD Board of Education president; Jim Knight, current Rancho Palos Verdes planning commissioner; Jerry Duhovic, current vice chair of the RPV Finance Advisory Committee; and Cynthia Smith.

In a message on his website, Long urged residents keep up with the campaigns during this "unusually important election."

"We must take the initiative to seek our information in order to be informed voters," he said in the statement.

Three candidates—Alegria, Brooks and Dyda—answered a series of questions on City issues, which were provided by Long and posted on his website.

On the Board of Education, incumbent Larry Vanden Bos, of Rolling Hills Estates, will be challenged by Dianna Chooljian, a doctor from Palos Verdes Estates, and Erin LaMonte, a school district employee from Rancho Palos Verdes.

Three candidates filed for three open seats in the Palos Verdes Library District. The candidates are James Moore, of Rancho Palos Verdes; Debby Stegura, of Rolling Hills Estates; and Frances "Fran" Wielin, an incumbent from Rolling Hills Estates.

For more information on the November elections, visit lavote.net and the City of Rancho Palos Verdes website.