At Park La Brea, a ‘duty to vote’ brings in the balloters

A slow, steady trickle of voters passed through the polling station early Tuesday morning at Park La Brea, the largest housing complex west of the Mississippi River and home to three precincts and an increasingly diverse residential community.

Contractor John Malloy, 69, said he liked both mayoral candidates so much that he was still torn when he walked into the polling booth. They’re both good candidates, he said, but he finally decided to vote for Wendy Greuel.

“I think it’d be nice to have a lady mayor, get rid of the good ol’ boys,” said Malloy, who found Greuel very personable when he met her at a reception earlier this year. “She seems like a person who’ll get things done.”

PHOTOS: L.A. voters head to the polls

Malloy was joined by neighbors who said that even though they were running late to work, it was important to exercise their rights to vote. One man stopped in quickly on his way to a hospital to be with his wife, who was in labor.

Katrina Delcampo, 29, recently moved from Orange County and echoed the thoughts of many of these neighbors: Voting for mayor is even more important than voting for president. Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the nation, Delcampo said, wondering “How can people not be more excited about choosing their mayor?”

Lynda La Rose, a 40-year Los Angeles resident, has been watching videos of City Council meetings and said she liked Eric Garcetti’s personality. “He seems very cool and very level-headed,” she said.

FULL COVERAGE: L.A.’s race for mayor

In addition to watching the council meetings, La Rose said she started doing her research months before the primary election.

“It’s my duty to vote. I don’t take voting lightly,” said La Rose, who said she has voted in almost every single election since she turned 18. “Those who don’t vote get the leaders they deserve.”

Also on Tuesday’s ballot are races for city attorney, city controller, City Council and the L.A. Unified and L.A. Community College District school boards, along with a handful of ballot measures, including three on medical marijuana dispensaries. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More than 167,000 of the roughly 400,000 people expected to vote have already cast ballots by mail, according to the city clerk’s office.

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Twitter: @rosannaxia

rosanna.xia@latimes.com