Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Altadena Library District Sets October 19 Forum for Trustee Area 3 Candidates

The League of Women Voters Pasadena Area will moderate the in-person forum at the Altadena Community Center ahead of the Nov. 3 election

The Altadena Library District will host an in-person forum Monday, Oct. 19, for candidates seeking its Trustee Area 3 seat in the Nov. 3 election, with the League of Women Voters Pasadena Area moderating.

The District’s notice invites residents to “hear directly” from the candidates and learn their ideas about the libraries’ future. It also asks the public, “What do you want to know?” The notice does not describe how audience questions will be handled.

The winner will join the District’s five-member Board of Library Trustees, whose members serve without pay, set district policy and approve and monitor the annual budget, according to the District. The District’s Main Library has been closed for renovation since Feb. 1.

Three candidates are on the ballot, according to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk: Stephanie A. Capps, Samuel Mistrano and Steven M. McCall. The notice does not say which have agreed to take part.

Capps, an emergency nurse educator, wrote in her official candidate statement that she has worked as a registered nurse for 15 years and that public libraries play an essential role in strengthening communities, “especially” as Altadena recovers from the Eaton Fire.

Mistrano, an associate professor of social work, wrote in his statement that renovations will improve the Main Library “but the process needs strong oversight.” He wrote that he is a former senior project manager for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s facilities division.

McCall wrote in his statement that he has lived in Altadena for 39 years and, since retiring 10 years ago, has served on nonprofit boards including the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Altadena Historical Society. He described himself as “an ardent advocate of the importance of libraries to democratic societies.”

Only registered voters who live in Trustee Area 3 vote in the contest. The District committed in 2019 to replacing its at-large board seats with five trustee areas, a change it said adheres to the California Voting Rights Act. When it advertised a board vacancy in 2025, the District said that seat, whose term ends Dec. 4, would be open only to Area 3 residents this year.

The forum falls on the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election, according to the California Secretary of State’s office. Conditional registration with a provisional ballot is available Oct. 20 through Election Day.

The forum runs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive, Altadena. For information, call the Altadena Library District at (626) 798-0833 or visit https://altadenalibrary.libnet.info/event/17526246.”