Local News in Brief : Councilman Put on Ballot

A Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the Cerritos city clerk can go ahead with plans to place Councilman Daniel Wong’s name on the April election ballot, despite a lawsuit that challenges the legality of Wong’s reelection bid.

In a brief hearing in Norwalk, Judge Kimball Walker set March 1 to hear arguments in the lawsuit, filed against the city clerk and the city earlier this week by two opponents of Wong’s candidacy.

Saying he did not want to interfere with the ballot’s printing schedule, Walker turned down the opponents’ request for a temporary restraining order blocking Wong from running. If necessary, Wong’s name could later be removed from the ballot, Walker said.

The suit asserts that letting Wong run for a third term violates a 1986 city charter amendment restricting council tenures to two consecutive four-year terms. The city attorney has said that the amendment only applies to terms commencing after April, when the amendment takes effect.