A local clergyman told Pasadena Now on Thursday that he intends to run for the District 3 City Council seat left empty by the death of John F. Kennedy.
“Yes, it is something I intend to do,” said Lucious Smith, senior pastor of Friendship Baptist Church.
Since 1996, Smith has been as pastor of Friendship Pasadena Church.
Smith served as the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Greater Pasadena’s Past President (IMA). He also served as Vice President of the Clergy Communal Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to spiritual enrichment and community healing in Pasadena and the surrounding areas.
The separation of church and state does not bar Smith from running for office. That provision exists to prohibit the government from instituting a national religion.
The division is maintained by the First Amendment, which prohibits measures that establish a national religion or restrict religious freedom.
A 1947 Supreme Court case popularized the phrase.
Smith is the second individual to express his desire to run for the seat. Local commissioner Brandon Lamar told Pasadena Now on Wednesday that he wanted to enter the race.
Kennedy passed away last month. The City Charter requires the City Council to designate a District 3 representative within 75 days of the vacancy to fill Kennedy’s current term.
The appointment must be scheduled by October 4.
The deadline for applications is September 8.
The City Council will have to vote again in December on an appointee to fill the vacancy left by Kennedy’s victory in the June primary.
Smith stated:
“The needs of the city are important to me. I was born here in Pasadena,” Smith said. “ I live in the district, and I just believe that there needs to be someone there to advocate for the whole city, but also for the specific needs of District 3 of Councilman Kennedy.”
In his interview with Pasadena Now, Smith stopped short of calling himself the perfect candidate to fill the vacancy. He said:
“Well, I don’t know if I am the perfect candidate. My hope is that whoever the Council will appoint to that seat will take into account what the needs of the city are, and what the qualifications of the person is. And if indeed that is me, then wonderful. But I’m more concerned that the right person gets put in the seat as opposed to it just being me.”
The Councilmember appointed in December will serve until the next general municipal election in 2024. At that moment, the District 3 representative will be chosen by the people.
“I just hope that the city Council will do what’s right for the city and they’ll take into account the needs of the district, but even more so the needs of the city as a whole.”
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