Final Ballot Count Confirms Narrow Defeat of Mayor
A final ballot count has confirmed that Mayor Jeff Jennings, the target of a last-minute mail attack, narrowly lost his seat on the City Council to Planning Commissioner Tom Hasse.
Hasse, who received 1,862 votes, and Planning Commissioner Harry Barovsky, who received 2,033 votes, won the two open seats, said Deputy City Clerk Nancy Steiner. Jennings finished with 1,833 votes.
Candidate Stephanie Smith and write-in candidate George Mathy received 370 and 21 votes, respectively.
Controversy arose in the council race when pro-Hasse videotapes that were harshly critical of Jennings were mailed by an environmental group to Malibu voters days before the election. Actor Jack Lemmon narrated the video.
An additional 149 ballots were counted Friday, Steiner said. Initial results showed Jennings behind Hasse by just nine votes.
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