Supes’ field narrows for Nadia Lockyer’s replacement

Not much of a surprise here: former Alameda County supervisor Gail Steele has withdrawn her name from consideration as an interim replacement for the seat left vacant by Nadia Lockyer’s resignation. The four remaining supes have until June 5 to appoint someone to fill the seat until the November election.

Add: Steele’s name hadn’t gotten much traction. She didn’t want the job permanently and it’s assumed the supes want to pick someone viable enough to withstand the anticipated candidacy in November of Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D-Castro Valley), who is termed out. The supes will pick from a list of four candidates, with Ana Apodaca, a former staffer to state Sen. Liz Figueroa, the early favorite.

More: Hayashi (pictured above, left, with Lockyer), who stole more than $2,400 worth of merchandise from Nieman Marcus on Union Square last year, and is banned from the store, has some obvious character baggage. But she also has more than a half-million dollars in campaign funds, enough, some observers believe, to possibly blunt the sure-to-come attacks on her personal failings. Oakland Tribune; East Bay Citizen