Tuesday’s election could decide seven seats on the Los Angeles City Council, but the final results will be slow, and several of the seats may even be decided in November’s election.
The LA City Council, composed of 15 members, represents around 3.8 million people. Six incumbents ran for re-election and one seat, District 2 in the San Fernando Valley, was left open by council president Paul Krekorian, who will leave the council after reaching his term limit.
While ballots are still being counted, three of the incumbents may win outright because they garnered more than 50% of the vote. In the elections where no one receives over 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will face off in the November election.
Results will not be finalized until the end of the month, and things could change as remaining mail-in ballots are received and counted in the coming days.
The LA County registrar-recorder’s office, which counts the ballots and ensures they are valid, will be posting updates daily – with the exception of the weekend –until next week. Mail-in ballots postmarked as of Tuesday, election day, and received over the next seven days, will be counted, along with provisional and conditional ballots. As ballots are counted, the results will be updated here.
As of votes counted on election night, here are where things sit for the seven council districts:
Council District 2
Adrin Nazarian, a former Assemblyman and state board member, leads a field of seven people vying to represent the 2nd council district in the southeast San Fernando Valley. Tentative results on Wednesday morning show Nazarian with nearly 40% of the votes, with still many votes to be counted. Sam Kbushyan, who currently sits at second, has nearly 20% of the votes. Jillian Burgos is close behind, with just over 16% of the votes. With a few hundred votes separating Burgos and Kbushyan, the two could be battling for the second spot in a likely runoff in November. If no one in the race gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in the general election in November.
Council District 4
LA City Council member Nithya Raman is so far surviving a strong challenge from Ethan Weaver. Just a few hundred votes separate the two. A third candidate, Levon Baronian, has 12% of the votes. No single candidate has more than 50% of the votes, so this race could go to a runoff if the percentages hold. That also could change if additional ballots counted in the next few days put one of the candidates over 50% of votes, allowing that candidate to win outright in the primary. Raman currently has 44.54% of the votes, while Weaver has 42.83%. The 4th council district stretches from the South Valley, through the Hollywood Hills and into Griffith Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. The district includes Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Reseda, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills and Encino.
Council District 6
LA City Council member Imelda Padilla claimed more than 76% of votes counted so far. Any challengers trail far behind, so Padilla will likely win the race outright, and be re-elected to a term starting in December. Padilla is now completing a term that was vacated in late 2022, when then-Council President Nury Martinez resigned following leaked audio exposed a conversation in which LA politicians made homophobic and racist remarks while discussing rigging the political process. The 6th council district includes the northeastern San Fernando Valley neighborhoods of Arleta, Lake Balboa, North Hollywood, North Hills, Panorama City, Van Nuys, and Sun Valley.
Council District 8
LA City Council member Marqueece Harris-Dawson garnered more than 78% of the votes counted so far. Any challengers trail far behind. Harris-Dawson is seeking another term starting December. It would be his third, and final term. The 8th council district includes South LA of Baldwin Hills, Watts, Vermont Knolls, King Estates, Canterbury Knolls, Park Mesa Heights, Baldwin Hills, Hyde Park, Chesterfield Square, Vermont Vista, Green Meadows, View Heights and West Park Terrace.
Council District 10
LA City Council member Heather Hutt, with 37% of the votes, looks to be headed to a runoff, potentially with challenger Grace Yoo, an attorney, who is in second place after receiving 27.78% of the votes counted so far. Other challengers trail far behind the two, beginning with Eddie Anderson, a pastor, who has 14.75% of the votes, followed by Aura Vasquez, an environmentalist and former LADWP commissioner, with 13.86% of the votes. Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a state Assembly member, is in last place with 6.31% of the votes. The 10th council district includes Koreatown, Mid-City, Crenshaw, The Village Green and Leimert Park.
Council District 12
LA City Council member John S. Lee looks to be headed to another term, based on votes counted so far. He has 65.54% of the votes, with a challenge from former LA City Ethics Commissioner Serena Oberstein, who entered the race last fall. Prior to Oberstein entering the race, Lee looked to be virtually unchallenged, until the Ethics Commission released a report accusing Lee of violating disclosure laws around gifts he received in Las Vegas and other events in 2016 and 2017. The 12th council district is in the northwest San Fernando Valley. It includes the communities of Chatsworth, Granada Hills, North Hills, Northridge, Porter Ranch, Sherwood Forest and West Hills.
Council District 14
LA City Council member Kevin de Leon, who has faced calls for resignation, so far holds onto 27.15% of the votes, following strong challenges from seven other candidates, following a rough year in which he has faced calls to resign for his role in the leaked audio scandal. With no one likely able to get more than 50% of the votes needed to win the race outright, the top two candidates will be headed to a runoff in November. In second right now is state Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, with 20.27% of the votes. Ysabel J. Jurado, a tenants rights attorney, is close behind, with just 250 votes separating the two. With thousands of more votes likely to be counted, the line-up could change dramatically. The 14th council district is on the easternmost edge of Los Angeles city and includes the communities of El Sereno, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Eagle Rock and a part of downtown LA.
