Long Beach Council Winner Doubles Margin in Recount, Leads by 2 Votes
A court-ordered recount of eight ballots in a narrow race for the Long Beach City Council stretched the lead of the winner, contractor Mike Donelon, from one vote to two votes Friday.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien had allowed candidate Tonia Reyes Uranga, the former president of the Long Beach Children’s Museum, to inspect 29 questionable, provisional and absentee ballots that had been rejected from the original tally by City Clerk Shelba Powell.
After a nearly three-hour examination of the ballots at City Hall, Powell added eight to the recount when the ballots were determined to be legitimate. In the end, Donelon ended up with 2,936 votes to Uranga’s 2,934.
“This is far from over,” said Uranga, promising a court challenge.
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