South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer will face a challenge for her District 1 City Council seat during the November 5 from Public Works Commission Chair Omari Ferguson, while at least two candidates—Finance Commission Vice Chair Sheila Rossi (Sheila Rossi For South Pasadena City Council, District 2 (rossi4council.com) and Public Safety Commissioner Charley Lu (Lu for South Pasadena 2024 (luforsouthpasadena.org)–will compete for the District 2 seat. Current sitting district 2 Council Member Jack Donovan is not running.
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District 3 incumbent Jon Primuth will face no opposition in his quest for a second four-year term, according to data published Monday by the South Pasadena City Clerk.
The seats for District 4 Council Member Michael Cacciotti and District 5 Council Member Janet Braun are not up for a vote this year.
Although the nomination deadline for the District 1 and 3 offices is now closed, prospective candidates for District 2 have until 5 pm Wednesday to file. That’s because of a rule providing an extension for candidates seeking an office held by an incumbent who, as in Donovan’s case, opted not to seek re-election.
Successful city council candidates will have a full plate next year as the city seeks a final disposition for the Caltrans-owned homes in town; implements the multiple programs of the Housing Element–including a prospective referendum setting new building height limits; looks to bring stability to the Finance Department; and bares down on infrastructure and capital projects, most notably improvements to streets and roadways.
Evelyn Zneimer
Current Mayor & District 1 Councilmember
Zneimer, first elected to the Council in 2020, previously served as the elected City Clerk. An attorney, she serves as a judge pro tem on the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles and has lived in South Pasadena for 35 years. During her tenure this year as mayor, she orchestrated the removal of the former City Manager and is presently focused on securing a new balanced budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year which began July 1.
Omari Ferguson
Public Works Commission Chairperson & District 1 Candidate
Ferguson and his wife came to South Pasadena eight years ago, just before the birth of the first of their three children. An electrical engineer, he worked at both Southern California Edison and LA DWP before joining Bird Micro-Electric Mobility, an electric bike and scooter firm where he oversaw the industrial design and release of the startup’s silver Bird 2 dockless vehicle. He has “extensive experience in the management of programs, projects, resources, cost control, scheduling, and quality for highly complex, large-scale capital improvement, infrastructure, and product development projects,” according to his LinkedIn page.
Ferguson became interested in civic affairs after making a public comment at the city council to complain about repeated visits he got from local police in response to a minor neighborhood dispute and to question the city’s method for investigating and assessing noise violations. “That illustrated to me where disconnects happen,” he told the South Pasadenan. Before long he was put on the Public Works Commission, which he now chairs. He believes the city’s decision to adopt an all-electric fleet for its police department was not sufficiently transparent and is interested in carefully monitoring the million-dollar program’s implementation over the coming years.
Sheila Rossi
Finance Commission Vice Chair & District 2 Candidate
Rossi, a 17-year city resident who as a community activist and member of the Finance Commission, has taken a high profile role analyzing the complex budget problems and providing real-numbers feedback to the community and council of the city’s ongoing finance department issues. She has also served on the South Pasadena Education Foundation executive board and campaigned for both Measure S and SP. and has served as a member of the South Pasadena Arts Council, WISPPA and AYSO.
Charley Lu
Safety Commission Member
Lu came 25 years ago to South Pasadena where he and his wife raised their two children, both now computer engineers. He holds a PhD in computer engineering, and worked for 20 years on both hardware and software for the South Pasadena startup Cogent Systems Inc., which produced an automated identification system allowing clients within seconds to match up fingerprints against a database with over a 100 million sets. Cogent went public on the Nasdaq and in 2010 was acquired for $943 million by 3M, which relocated it to Pasadena. Lu currently works in artificial intelligence hardware.
Now a member of the city’s Public Safety Commission, Lu’s community engagement commenced when he decided to purchase and renovate a historic house on Oaklawn Ave. He said the structure’s renewal had become bogged down for years under a cacophony of neighborhood complaints and litigation between the previous owner and the city. Lu renegotiated the redevelopment plan and, working with neighbors and the city, reached a resolution that he said satisfied all parties. He told the South Pasadenan this work demonstrated his ability to collaborate and build consensus. “My vision is to make South Pasadena safer, accelerate infrastructure upgrades, foster sustainable growth and preserve our small town charm.”
At least one difference has already emerged between the candidates: Lu, District 2 candidate, says he supports the ballot measure the city council unanimously agreed last week to place on the Nov. 5 ballot a measure calling for the partial repeal of city’s existing 45-foot height limit as part of a program to implement the city’s new housing element and settle a lawsuit brought by affordable housing advocates. Ferguson, running for district 1, said he opposes the measure.
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More on the candidates and the South Pasadena election issues as this critical election cycle unfolds. Check back to The South Pasadenan for the inside information.
