Chapman wins council seat

By Kevin Uhrich, Pasadena Weekly, 6/9/2005

It wasn't on par with, say, Bush beating Gore, or David killing Goliath, or Rocky pummeling the evil Drago.

But in the rustic confines of sleepy Altadena, Justin Chapman's victory over longtime Town Council incumbent Mike Manning amounted to nothing less than an historic achievement.

Actually, the 19-year-old Chapman, a freelancer for the Weekly and the youngest person ever elected to the Town Council, was victorious by a near mandate, more than 62 percent of the ballots cast -- winning 42 out of 67 votes for Manning's former Town Council seat from Census Tract 4602.

Chapman will now join 15 other members of the Town Council -- two apiece from each of the community's census tracts -- on the advisory panel to the LA County Board of Supervisors.

An actor and a journalism student at Pasadena City College, Chapman was elated over his underdog campaign kicking into gear for a come-from-behind win Saturday during the voting at the unincorporated community's annual Altadena days celebration.

"I had my work cut out for me. But I definitely had some help," Chapman said about his grassroots campaign, which was run by Chapman and his friend, Colin Burton, a student at LA City College.

Chapman also thanked opponent Manning for his years of service on the council, where Manning will not serve as an alternate councilman.

"I thought it could have gone either way, really," Chapman said, adding his tenure on the panel "won't be boring."

Chapman will be sworn in June 21.

From there, it's anyone's guess what will happen.

But, the teen said, the first order of business will be "meeting and establishing relationships with all these people; people at the police station, the fire station, all the businesses, and creating a dialogue with them and getting to know their concerns."