Local News in Brief : Grisham Takes Lead; Recount Continues

Assemblyman Wayne Grisham, who was trailing Democrat Robert D. Epple by 87 votes the day after the Nov. 8 election, was leading his opponent by nine votes Monday as county officials continued to tally absentee and other uncounted ballots.

As of noon Monday, the Norwalk Republican had 46,929 votes to Epple’s 46,920, said county registrar-recorder spokeswoman Marcia Ventura. The next update on the canvass is scheduled Thursday, Ventura said. Election officials hope to complete the count and have the results certified by Nov. 29.

By Monday, officials had counted about 73,000 absentee, write-in and other uncounted ballots from throughout Los Angeles County, Ventura said. About 50,000 remained to be counted, but election officials do not know how many of them are from the 63rd District, which includes Artesia, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Santa Fe Springs, and parts of Norwalk, Lakewood, unincorporated Whittier and Long Beach.

Democratic and Republican leaders funneled hundreds of thousand of dollars to the two candidates to win the 63rd District seat and strengthen their ranks in the Legislature in anticipation of the 1990 reapportionment. An Epple victory is also expected to give Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) the minimum number of supporters he needs to retain his powerful post.