Without polling and surveys of assorted flavors, can any of the seven candidates for City Council tell, with any measure of accuracy, how they are faring in the race to April 12?

The question went to Goran Eriksson last evening at West Los Angeles College before the Ask2Know students’ forum.

“I think we are doing what we need to do,” said the Swedish-born candidate with unique international credentials.

“We have executed the type of campaign we had planned, and so far it is going well.”

The fairly unusual mix of environmental concerns and intimate knowledge of City Hall’s financial status and prospectus probably are strongest themes of Mr. Eriksson, who travels the state regularly and also globally.

“Professionally I work every day in waste energy and waste handling,” he said. “I see what happens around the country and around the world.”

As owner of an ambitious business with 10 employees, he needed to master finances early and expertly, long before he became the twice-re-elected chair of City Hall’s Finance Advisory Committee.

“In this position,” Mr. Eriksson said, “you better understand numbers.”