Katz Drops Recount but Not Lawsuit

Democratic state Senate candidate Richard Katz said Friday that he has called off the recount of ballots cast in the June 2 primary, allowing his opponent, Los Angeles Councilman Richard Alarcon, to remain the certified winner by 29 votes.

But Katz has not conceded the San Fernando Valley race. In a written statement, he said he intends to keep up the fight in the courts.

Katz, who contested the election results from the outset, has filed a lawsuit against Alarcon in Superior Court challenging the results and alleging voting irregularities.

But by ending the recount, which had dragged on for five days, Katz effectively handed the nomination to Alarcon--unless a judge undoes the results.

Katz was not available for comment Friday, said Harvey Englander, his campaign consultant.

Katz called off the recount, Englander said, because “we have counted enough ballots, and we have seen what changes there are . . . and we are satisfied that, while there are discrepancies in the count, those by themselves would not change the outcome of the election.”

Katz spent an estimated $28,000--raised by supporters, Englander said--on the recount.

Katz is a onetime Sacramento powerhouse who had sought to reenter legislative politics after losing his seat to term limits. Alarcon rode a wave of Latino voter participation and benefited from his reputation for providing service to his Valley district.

For his trouble in pursuing the recount, Katz only managed to produce more votes for Alarcon.

With all 20,000 absentee ballots and a third to half of regular ballots recounted, Alarcon had a net gain of seven votes, putting him 36 votes ahead, said county Registrar/Recorder Conny McCormack. But because the recount was called off before all votes were tallied, the official results remain those of the first count, McCormack said.

“I’m very pleased the recount is over,” Alarcon said. “I was surprised [the results] changed so much in my favor.”

He added: “Katz has a right to pursue his lawsuit but, frankly, we think the county did a good job.”