Final Counts Don’t Change Race Results

With all of the votes finally counted in two close contests for Los Angeles City Council, the winners did not change Saturday: Dennis Zine was the narrow victor over Judith Hirshberg in the 3rd District race and Jack Weiss won over Tom Hayden in the 5th District.

Of the more than 42,000 votes cast in the 3rd District, Zine, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant and police union director from West Hills, won with just 88 votes more than Hirshberg, a former council deputy from Encino, according to the final results of the June 5 election released Saturday.

In the final tally for the 5th District, Weiss, a former federal prosecutor from Bel-Air, beat Hayden, a former state senator, by 369 of the more than 53,000 votes cast, according to the official results.

The election day returns were too close to call because thousands of provisional and absentee ballots had not been counted.

Both Weiss and Zine held their earlier leads.

The City Council is expected to certify the election results Tuesday.

Candidates have five days to ask for a recount.

Hayden did not concede defeat Saturday, but Hirshberg did.

Despite the closeness of the final tally, Hirshberg said she will not seek a recount because there are too many votes to make up.

“I feel disappointment for the district because I had a lot of plans for it,” Hirshberg said.

“This was my only run for office, and I really expected to win.”

Zine, 53, said it was a relief to win after more than a week of agonizing over whether his narrow margin of victory would hold.

“It’s been an anxious time, but I am very pleased with the outcome,” Zine said Saturday. “I’m looking forward to fulfill my responsibility as a councilman.”

Weiss, 36, said that despite his race being very close, “the outcome was clear to me a week and a half ago.”

Weiss has already begun interviewing potential staff members before taking office July 1.

“I am immensely gratified and it’s an extraordinary high honor,” Weiss added.