Voting for eight seats on the Altadena Town Council takes place Tuesday and Saturday, with 13 candidates running in an election overseen by the council’s Election Committee.
The council is a volunteer, nonpartisan advisory body. Its bylaws record that it exists to convey residents’ needs and wishes to county, state and federal agencies and to provide a forum for a town meeting on community concerns.
Under the bylaws, two representatives serve each of Altadena’s eight census tracts, in two-year terms staggered so one seat per tract opens each year. Each voter casts one vote for one candidate in the voter’s own tract. A winner must receive at least 10 votes, the bylaws say, a threshold that also applies to a candidate running alone.
According to the council’s election page, tracts 4601, 4602, 4610 and 4612 have more than one candidate, while tracts 4603.01, 4603.02, 4611 and 4613 each list one.
Under the 2026 rules, candidates must have lived in Altadena for at least two years before taking office or two years before the Eaton Fire, and those displaced by the fire may list a pre-fire Altadena address.
The descriptions below come from candidates’ written statements to the council, posted on its website.
Tract 4601
Theresa Fuentes says she spent 30 years as a lawyer for public agencies, retiring from the Pasadena City Attorney’s Office in 2024, and cites land use planning as her strength as the County updates the Altadena Community Standards District.
Martha House says she has worked more than 20 years as a community college educator and administrator while living in Altadena. Her listed goals are community advocacy, safe development, and community safety and preparedness.
Arezoo Khodayari, who describes herself as an environmental engineer and Cal State LA professor of more than a decade, says her family was displaced about nine months after the Eaton Fire. She lists safe rebuilding and environmental health among her priorities.
Tract 4602
Nic Arnzen says he has served three terms and was chair this past year. He is seeking another two-year term and says he hopes to continue as chair.
Angelika Erhard says she is a trained electrical engineer with 10 years of experience and a longtime volunteer, including picking up trash and recycling on Altadena streets. She proposes bringing millet, an ancient grain, to the community.
Tract 4603.01
Milissa Marona says she is the council’s vice chair and chairs its Land Use Committee, and she cites her work as co-chair of the Altadena Eaton Fire Relief Fund. If elected, she says, she would focus on open communication, transparency and follow-through.
Tract 4603.02
Darlene Greene, who describes herself as an Eaton Fire survivor, is seeking reelection. She says she chairs the council’s committees on renter protections and on legislative affairs and has served as its treasurer.
Tract 4610
Anthony (Antonio) Becerra says he served on the council for the tract from 2018 to 2020 and has lived in Altadena more than 15 years. He says those who live, work and raise families in Altadena should have the loudest voice in deciding its future identity.
Justin Graham says he bought a home in Altadena in November 2015 and has worked 20 years as a guidance counselor and high school college counselor. He says he wants to preserve the community’s character while advocating for equitable representation.
Tract 4611
Vi-Eyvette Stewart-Gordon says she is a registered nurse with more than two decades of experience, was elected to the council in 2024 and is running again. She lists healthcare, disaster preparedness and resident safety among her priorities.
Tract 4612
Kathleen J. Becket says her law practice is devoted to representing indigent litigants in civil rights and appellate criminal defense. She says she is running to hold higher-level representatives accountable, beginning with the Board of Supervisors.
Justin Mahramas, a land use attorney, says he has served on the council since July. He lists the future of the Eliot Arts Tower and campus, rebuilding Altadena Golf Course facilities and Southern California Edison undergrounding as tract issues.
Tract 4613
Alexandra Kershner says she works on Eaton Fire recovery wellness resources and has served as coordinator of the Altadena Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. She says she would push for transparency and community input on surveillance technology.
Under the rules, a designated deputy takes the ballot boxes to the Altadena Sheriff’s Station at the close of each voting day. The Election Committee counts them, with each box counted twice by different people. Newly elected representatives are sworn in at the December council meeting under the bylaws, and the council is scheduled to consider certification at its regular meeting Dec. 15. Written challenges are due before the Dec. 1 Executive Committee meeting.
How to vote
When: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: The same three sites are open both days: Bob Lucas Library, 2659 Lincoln Ave.; Loma Alta Park Library, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave. (the council’s election page calls this site the Loma Alta gym entrance); and Prime Pizza, 1900 Allen Ave.
Who can vote: Altadena residents who are at least 18 and permanent residents of Altadena, casting one vote for one candidate in their own census tract.
What to bring: Proof of name and Altadena residency within the tract, such as a California driver’s license or ID card, checking account documentation or a utility bill.
Not accepted: Absentee and write-in ballots. Voting is in person only.
More information: Candidate statements, the election rules and a link to the Oct. 29 candidate forum are at altadenatowncouncil.org. Questions: info@
Bob Lucas Library, 2659 Lincoln Ave., Altadena; Loma Alta Park Library, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena; Prime Pizza, 1900 Allen Ave., Altadena.
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