Imelda Padilla takes significant lead in L.A. City Council District 6 race
Imelda Padilla held a significant lead over rival Marisa Alcaraz on Wednesday in the special election for the Los Angeles City Council seat representing the northeast and central San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder.
With more than 11,500 ballots counted, Padilla had 57% of the vote and Alcaraz was at 43%.
The county estimated Wednesday that about 3280 ballots still need to be processed, with the vast majority of those being vote-by-mail ballots received on Election Day.
Alcaraz, a top advisor to City Councilmember Curren Price, and Padilla, a community advocate, are vying for the Council District 6 seat formerly held by City Council President Nury Martinez, who resigned last year.
Martinez stepped down from the council in October after a leaked recording surfaced on which she was heard making incendiary comments about her colleagues and various groups, setting the stage for a special election.
Padilla, who had briefly worked for Martinez a decade ago, was met with applause when she walked into her packed election party at a Mexican restaurant in Sun Valley shortly after polls closed Tuesday night.
“Oh my goodness, what a great start,” Padilla told the crowd, which included Reps. Brad Sherman and Tony Cardenas and former L.A. City Councilmember Felipe Fuentes. City Councilmembers Traci Park, John Lee and Marqueece Harris-Dawson were also spotted at Padilla’s party.
In a brief speech, Padilla noted the “diversity” of the crowd at her party and thanked longtime supporters. “You were with me from the beginning,” Padilla said.
At Alcaraz’s campaign event in Panorama City, the crowd cheered when the candidate arrived about 9:30 p.m. Someone pulled Alcaraz onto the makeshift dance floor in the center of the room as Marc Anthony’s “Vivir mi Vida” played over a speaker.
Alcaraz spoke briefly, thanking the campaign team and saying how much she appreciated them.
“We’re going to still see what happens. Like I said, we’ve still got a long way to go and I just want to celebrate with all of you,” Alcaraz said, thanking the group again as someone handed her a bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath.
Wade Watson, a 20-year member of the Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters, had an “I Voted” sticker affixed to his gray polo shirt. He said that Alcaraz — the daughter of a union member — came from “carpenter blood” and “stands for what we stand for.”
“There’s still more to be counted,” Watson said.
Voter turnout was at about 11% in the April primary, but was expected to pick up slightly in Tuesday’s election.
Just before the polls closed Tuesday, a steady stream of voters headed into a Panorama City Goodwill office to mark their ballots.
“Not a lot of people know there’s an election,” said Jasmine Lemus, a 34-year-old clad in a T-shirt, jeans and sunflower-covered checkered Vans shoes.
Imelda Padilla and Marisa Alcaraz vie in next week’s special election to fill the Los Angeles City Council seat formerly held by Nury Martinez.
The Arleta resident had come to vote after finishing work at a local nonprofit. But she’d been unsuccessful in convincing her husband to join her. He felt like his vote wouldn’t make a difference, she said.
Lemus planned to vote for Padilla, she said, because she’d heard good things about her.
“She’s very involved with the organizations and with the community, wanting to improve everything that’s been going on with our homeless community,” Lemus said. “I’m hoping the best with her.”
In general, Lemus didn’t think that the policymakers at City Hall paid enough attention to her corner of the northeastern San Fernando Valley.
“We have more homelessness out here, we have more families struggling, we have so many more businesses closing,” Lemus said.
With Alcaraz and Padilla agreeing on many city policies around homelessness and policing, the election focused in part on the differences in the candidates’ resumes.
Alcaraz touted her experience crafting legislation to help street vendors and grocery store workers, while Padilla talked up her community work in the district.
Both candidates also vowed to improve the city’s homelessness crisis and rebuild trust in local government following Martinez’s resignation and a string of other political scandals at City Hall.
In a blow to Alcaraz’s campaign, her boss, Price, was charged with 10 felony counts two weeks before Tuesday’s election. The councilman said he is innocent of the charges, which are related to votes on developments and his wife’s business, as well as medical benefits that she received.
But whether the charges altered the outcome of the race wasn’t clear. Many ballots had already been mailed in.
Following Tuesday night’s initial vote tally, an updated count from the county is expected Friday afternoon.
Los Angeles City Clerk Holly Wolcott told The Times that the winner of Tuesday’s election can take office after the results are certified by the county and declared by the L.A. City Council.
“If there is a clear front-runner, the council has often taken action to appoint the person in the meantime,” Wolcott said.
Labor groups, including those whose members have business before the City Council, spent heavily in the race.
The Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters spent more than $270,000 to support Alcaraz. IBEW Local Union 18, which represents Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers, spent more than $100,000 to back her.
Padilla was supported by the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the union representing city firefighters, which spent more nearly $200,000. A group backed by the California Apartment Assn. and the American Beverage Assn. spent more than $219,000 to support Padilla, and Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 300, spent more than $200,000.
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