There will be no pricey runoffs in Redondo Beach. The March 4 election produced five winners for local office through ranked choice voting (RCV). It was the first time a Los Angeles County city had ever used the preference-based election system.
James Light was re-elected Mayor. 44.1% of voters selected Light as their first choice. City Councilmember Nils Nehrenheim received 29.2%. In the second round, with the lowest vote-getter eliminated, Light had 46% to Nehrenheim’s 31%. By the fourth and final round, Light had triumphed with 59.4%.
The rest of the winners were as follows:
CD 1: Brad Waller
CD2: Chadwick Castle
CD4: Zein Obagi Jr
City Attorney: Joy Ford
You can watch certification of the results here.
Redondo Beach’s inaugural RCV election was declared a success by FairVote.org. As the website notes, Redondo Beach taxpayers paid over $300,000 to hold a runoff election in 2013. That’s a situation it can now avoid.
Aside from the cost savings, Redondo Beach will also be able to seat its winners sooner. They’ll be sworn in on April 1.