Though Los Angeles is the second largest city in the US, only about 9% of registered voters cast their ballots this past Tuesday. We all know low voter turnout isn’t uncommon for the City of LA, though ironically voters who did manage to cast a ballot March 3 decided on two amendments created with the hopes of raising voter turnout in future years by merging them into November elections.
Also important to note, several dozen additional LA County cities also went to the polls Tuesday – if you can call it that, 14% turnout in San Gabriel, 11% in Signal Hill. Notably, however, the select few Southlanders who did make it out to vote engaged in razor thin races, some elections are still undecided as of Thursday and down to just a couple dozen votes.
Here’s CityNews’ rundown of key elections and measures in LA County:
Azusa: Incumbent Uriel Macias has won re-election, and incumbent Angel Carrillo is holding the second seat by just 9 votes as of Thursday morning. Absentees and provisionals are outstanding.
Cerritos: Semi-official results put incumbent Mark Pulido in first, with former Cerritos City Councilmember Jim Edwards and Businessman Naresh Solanki in second and third place, respectively, in the race for three seats.
Cudahy: Incumbents Baru Sanchez and Cristian Markovich, and newcomer Christian Hernandez were all successful in their run for City Council.
Hermosa Beach Measure O (Oil Drilling): Measure O was defeated by a no vote of over 78%, thanks to one of the highest Hermosa Beach turnouts in a generation (some people in LA like to vote, when the issues are right evidently). The measure would have allowed E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation to install 34 oil and gas wells to drill oil beneath the Santa Monica Bay.
LA City Council Districts 2, 6, 8, 10, and 12: Incumbent City Council members Paul Krekorian, Nury Martinez, Herb Wesson, and Mitchell Englandar (who ran unopposed) cruised through to re-election. Political newcomer Marqueece Harris-Dawson won his election by a landslide in District 8 with 57% of the vote.
LA City Council District 4: In the 14 member face-off to replace Tom LaBonge in District 4, Carolyn Ramsay has secured the top spot while David Ryu is sitting 60 votes ahead of Tomas O’Grady in a battle for second place. District 4 will be the only City Council race heading to the runoff in May.
LA City Council District 14: A surprise for many, incumbent Jose Huizar crushed former LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina, receiving 66% of the vote vs. Molina’s 24%. Could this be the end of a decade-long career for Molina?
La Habra Heights Measure A (Drilling Ban): Measure A would have banned the drilling of any new oil and gas wells, including fracking, in the city of La Habra Heights. The measure was unexpectedly defeated with a 60% no vote. Reports show that oil companies spent over $400,000 to defeat this measure.
Manhattan Beach: Incumbent Amy Howorth won her re-election and placed second in a race for two seats on the City Council.
Monterey Park: Despite speculation that the City of Monterey Park might make history by electing an all-Asian American City Council, unofficial results show that the demographic mix will remain the same, with Incumbents Mitchell Ing and Teresa Real-Sebastian and newcomer Stephen Lam getting the top votes. 500 provisional and mail-in ballots are still being counted.
Redondo Beach Districts 3 & 5: Semi-official results show Candace Allen Nafissi in first and Christian Horvath in 2nd place. Because neither candidate received over 50% of the vote, they head to a runoff in May. District 5 candidate Laura Emdee easily won her election with 95% of the vote.
Redondo Beach Measure B (AES Power Plant): Measure B was narrowly defeated with 51% of the vote opposed. This measure would have torn down an old power plant sitting near the Redondo Beach harbor and rezoned the site, turning it into a location for residential units, commercial space and a 250 room hotel. Opponents claimed that brining in new developments like this would make the already cramped area even busier. Because AES did not secure a long-term power contract, the plant must be torn down or rebuilt by 2020 anyway.
Rosemead: No surprise to any, incumbents Polly Low and Bill Alarcon both won re-election.
San Fernando: The city of San Fernando is no stranger to scandal and corruption—the city was on the brink of bankruptcy and sorting out a sex scandal just a few years ago. The Councilmembers that came in to fix the city and repair its reputation were up for re-election—incumbents Sylvia Ballin is in the lead, followed newcomer Jaime Soto and incumbents Jesse Avila and Antonio Lopez who are tied for third. They are 8 votes behind Jaime Soto, with absentees and provisionals outstanding.
San Gabriel: Incumbent John Harrington is in first place, and Julia Costanzo is 23 votes ahead of Denise Menchaca in the race for two available seats. Race is still too close to call.
Signal Hill: Incumbents Tina Hansen and Larry Forester were both victorious in their re-election bids for City Council.
West Hollywood: Incumbent John D’Amico took first and newcomer Lauren Meister was close behind in second. An upset for many, West Hollywood City Councilman John Heilman, who's held office since the city was incorporated in 1984, is facing possible defeat after coming in fourth, just 28 votes behind Lindsay Horvath. There are 700 provisional ballots and 80 mail-in ballots yet to be counted, with additional mail-in ballots possibly arriving in the next few days. The City Clerk is expected to have those results by Friday. A special election for one more seat on the council will take place in June, which gives the losing candidates another shot at a seat, if they are willing to run again.