Write-In Filing Period Begins Monday for Monrovia Elections

The filing period for candidates hoping to mount a successful write-in campaign for a seat on the City Council starts Monday, according to the city clerk.

Write-in candidates must file a statement of write-in candidacy and collect 20 to 30 signatures of registered voters to qualify as a candidate "just like any candidate filing during he first nomination period," City Clerk Alice Atkins said.

To vote for a write-in candidate, voters would write in a qualified candidates name on an empty line listed under each listed office on the ballot and fill in the bubble on that line, Atkins said.

There are two candidates--Larry Spicer and Alexander Blackburn--on the ballot for the two open City Council seats. Voters will go to the polls in Monrovia on Apr. 9. The City Council decided last month to move forward with its regular elections after former Councilman Clarence Shaw's surprise decision not to seek a second term.

Atkins said no one has filed to run as a write-in candidate for City Council in the 12 years that she's worked for the city. Kris Mariconda won a seat on the school board in the 1970s through a write-in campaign and that's the last successful write-in campaign that Atkins is aware of.