Los Angeles City Council members Imelda Padilla, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and John Lee – representing Districts 6, 8 and 12, respectively – appeared likely to win their primary races and avoid a runoff election, based on the L.A. County registrar’s office’s first post-election day update on Wednesday, March 6.
Three other incumbents – councilmembers Nithya Raman, Heather Hutt and Kevin de León in Districts 4, 10 and 14 respectively – were leading in their races. But the winner may not be decided until the November general election.
And in District 2, former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, with 38.1% of the vote, had a nearly 20-percentage-point lead over the next candidate – though still short of winning outright.
If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in their council district, the top two vote-getters in the district will face off in November.
In some races, the results may not be known for several days or weeks, as votes are still being counted.
Here were the standings shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
District 2
Former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian continued his lead with 38.1% of the vote in a seven-person race to replace Council President Paul Krekorian, who could not seek reelection due to term limits.
Sam Kbushyan, owner of the public affairs firm SKG, was in second place with 18.7% while North Hollywood Neighborhood Council member Jillian Burgos was third with 17%.
Rounding out the list were Manny Gonez, policy director with the environmental nonprofit TreePeople with 11.6%; Jon-Paul Bird, a therapist, 7.4%; Rudy Melendez, who works in Hollywood’s film industry, 4.1%; and attorney Marin Ghandilyan, 3.2%.
Nazarian was the heavy favorite entering election day, having been endorsed by the outgoing councilmember – his former boss – as well as Mayor Karen Bass, and having raised and outspent all his opponents in campaigning. Nazarian was also the only candidate in the race to have outside groups make independent expenditures to support his campaign.
Kbushyan, in a statement, said he entered the race to address “failed policies” and rising crime and homelessness in the district.
“Rents keep getting higher, and crime is out of control,” he stated. “I have three kids, and how could I sit by and do nothing? This vote matters; Valley residents deserve better. That’s the message I will be taking into the general election.”
This San Fernando Valley seat represents residents in North Hollywood, Studio City, Sun Valley, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, Valley Village and Van Nuys.
District 4
Councilmember Nithya Raman, with 45.8% of the vote, had a slim lead over Deputy City Attorney Ethan Weaver, who had 42.1%. A third candidate, software engineer Levon Baronian, had 12.2%.
In the lead-up to election day, outside special interest groups spent heavily to try to unseat Raman, including the unions representing the city’s police officers and firefighters.
Some of her biggest critics oppose her approach to tackling homelessness, such as her opposition to 41.18, the city’s anti-camping law that prohibits homeless encampments near schools, parks and other “sensitive” areas.
Over $1.35 million had been spent by outside groups on independent expenditures such as running ads to attack Raman or to support Weaver. No outside group had spent money to attack Weaver.
Raman, in an interview on election night, said Angelenos “showed decisively that the city is not for sale quite so easily.”
“I think that the political machine in Los Angeles, over and over again, tried to make sure that I would not come out ahead in this election and so far Angelenos have defied that machine,” Raman said. “We will see what happens but so far, Angelenos have voted for the city that is filled with hope and love, and I’m excited.”
Weaver, in a statement Wednesday, said “it’s clear that a majority of voters across Los Angeles’ 4th District have rejected Nithya Raman’s extremist and failed record in which crime and the homelessness crisis have gotten out of control.”
“We’re still waiting to see how things shake out as votes continue to be counted, but we feel great about how things are looking so far,” he continued, adding that his campaign has broad support from nurses, emergency responders, grassroots Democrats, small businesses, LGBTQ+ groups and community leaders.
“They want, need and deserve real change — and we are the campaign that will deliver it,” Weaver said.
The candidates are duking it out to see who will represent a district that stretches from San Fernando Valley to Silver Lake and includes the Santa Monica Mountains, Los Feliz, the Hollywood Hills, Sherman Oaks, Encino and Van Nuys.
District 4 was heavily impacted by the city’s 2021 redistricting process, in which City Council boundaries were redrawn. As a result of the new maps, Raman lost 40% of the constituents she represented prior to the redistricting.
District 6
Incumbent Imelda Padilla, first elected in a special election last June, continued to hold onto her solid lead over two other candidates for this East San Fernando Valley seat. Wednesday’s update showed Padilla with 76.9% of the vote. Real estate broker Ely De La Cruz Ayao had 12.9% while respiratory care practitioner Carmenlina Minasova had 10.2%.
“This election was a vote of confidence in my ability to get things done in a short amount of time, and now voters want to see what my team and I can deliver in the next four years,” Padilla said in a statement on election night. “I’m ready to keep rolling up my sleeves and get the work done.”
The 6th District includes the communities of Arleta, Lake Balboa, North Hollywood, North Hills, Panorama City, Van Nuys and Sun Valley.
District 8
Incumbent Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is seeking his third and final term on the council, claimed victory on Wednesday, with 78.9% of the vote. Cliff Smith, the business manager for Roofers Union Local 36, had 14.1% while real estate broker Jahan Epps had 7%.
Harris-Dawson, who serves as president pro tem on the City Council, cited efforts he plans to push for over the next four years, assuming he is elected to another term. This includes safer corridors for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers; programs to combat crime in Algin Sutton Park and around Figueroa Street; public safety reforms and supporting Destination Crenshaw, an initiative celebrating L.A.’s Black culture and communities.
“With this momentum, I look forward to building up our community together. From public safety reforms to keeping our neighborhoods intact to building up our businesses and economy, our office is here to serve and seed South LA’s better future — for us and by us,” Harris-Dawson said in a statement.
“And to those who had reservations – we want to hear from you, too,” he added. “I represent the people of the Eighth, and my office is responsible for everyone’s concerns. We invite you to join us in turning years of disinvestment into a future that serves us all.”
District 8 includes parts of South L.A. and spans from Baldwin Hills to the border of Watts. Neighborhoods include 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.
District 10
Both the campaigns for appointed incumbent Heather Hutt, who had 38% of the vote, and community advocate and former city commissioner Grace Yoo, with 26.9%, were already making plans by Wednesday to face off in the November general election.
Candidate Eddie Anderson, senior pastor at McCarty Memorial Church, was trailing Yoo with 15.1% of the vote. Aura Vásquez, a community organizer and former Los Angeles Board of Water and Power commissioner, had 13.8% and Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer had 6.2%.
“I came into this position because of my community’s support and investment in me, and since the time I’ve been here it’s always been about serving them and working together to make CD10 a better place to live, work and raise our families,” Hutt said in a statement. “I am looking forward to continuing the work, and am enjoying being a part of the democratic process.”
Hutt’s campaign consultant, Mike Shimpock, said the campaign expected the race to head into a runoff, though not all votes have been counted yet.
Yoo’s campaign on Wednesday was also looking ahead toward November.
“She’s very optimistic,” Scott Mann, spokesperson for Yoo’s campaign, said when asked about her chances of making the runoff. “The numbers are leaning in her favor. She looks forward to the runoff. I think her message for positive change has resonated with voters.”
District 10 represents a swath of L.A. stretching from Koreatown and Mid-City in Central Los Angeles to Baldwin Hills, the Crenshaw District and Leimert Park in South L.A.
District 12
Councilmember John Lee maintained a solid lead over former L.A. City Ethics Commission board president Serena Oberstein. Lee had 64.8% of the vote to Oberstein’s 35.2%, based on Wednesday’s update.
Lee projected confidence that results would continue to go his way, though he stopped short of declaring victory on election night.
“I’m feeling amazing,” he said in an interview. “When I saw the numbers, it was validation of the work we’ve been doing in the district.”
“I think the numbers look really strong right now. The night is young, but we’re very confident that we’re going to pull out a victory here,” he added. “I think it speaks to the fact that this community supports the issues that I support – safe neighborhoods, good schools.”
Despite Lee’s optimism Tuesday night, there had been a cloud hanging over his campaign.
Lee is contesting an accusation by Ethics Commission staff that he violated ethics rules several years ago for allegedly receiving gifts in excess of the gift limit for city officials while chief of staff to then-Councilmember Mitch Englander, then failing to report those gifts.
Despite that case, Lee continued to be endorsed by the city’s police and firefighters unions – two groups that contributed heavily to independent expenditure committees to run ads to benefit the incumbent.
According to the latest campaign filings with the city’s ethics commission, over $1.1 million had been spent by outside groups to fund independent ads or other efforts in support of Lee or against Oberstein. Lee’s own campaign had spent over $684,000 through Feb. 28.
In comparison, no group had spent outside money to support Oberstein or attack her opponent. The political newcomer’s own campaign had spent a bit over $284,000 through Feb. 28.
“I didn’t take on an entrenched incumbent and his more than $1 million of special interest money because it would be easy. I did it because our community deserves so much more than the status quo that has allowed corruption to run rampant at City Hall for years,” Oberstein, via her campaign consultant, said in a text message Tuesday night.
She added that she was proud of the volunteers, voters and others “who came together with a common goal: to bring ethical leadership back to City Hall.”
“We always knew this would be a long night – likely a long week or two – as all votes are counted, and we will patiently await the updates as they come,” Oberstein stated.
Lee said he was surprised to see how much money was pumped into the District 12 race but said he was “honored” by the support he received from some unions and business groups.
He further said the fact that so many voters cast their ballots for him despite the unresolved ethics case that he’s fighting demonstrated that voters understood that the alleged wrongdoings occurred several years ago and that they were “baseless claims.”
“I’m glad that … it was just noise to them,” he said of the voters. “They focused on my record – my voting record, what I’ve done in this community. They showed it tonight.”
District 12 represents the communities of Chatsworth, Granada Hills, North Hills, Northridge, Porter Ranch, Sherwood Forest and West Hills in the West Valley.
District 14
Councilmember Kevin de León, who had 26.8% of the vote, continued to lead in the eight-person race. Battling it out for the No. 2 spot were Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, with 20.6% of the vote, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado, with 19.2%, and Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, with 15.9%.
Santiago and Jurado were separated by 291 votes. It was unclear how many ballots are left to be tabulated.
The other candidates in the race are attorney Teresa Hillery with 5% of the vote, small business owner Genny Guerrero with 4.78%, high school science teacher Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas with 4.77% and geriatric social worker and professor Nadine Diaz with 2.9%.
De León sought reelection despite critics demanding his resignation for his role in a racist audio leak scandal in 2022.
De León’s campaign issued a statement after early results were released, stating that the incumbent had defied expectations by leading in the vote count.
“I’m filled with profound gratitude and humility,” de León said. “This isn’t just about numbers on a scoreboard or victories in a political race, but about a campaign journey defined by resilience, determination, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community so that no one is left behind. Together, we will build on the progress we’ve made and keep moving our district forward.”
District 14 represents much of downtown L.A. as well as Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, El Sereno and Northeast L.A.
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