LOS ANGELES (CN) — With the early-arriving ballots counted, Imelda Padilla leads Marisa Alcaraz by 1,500 votes, or 14 points, in a special election to pick the next City Council member representing the east San Fernando Valley. The LA County Registrar-Recorder will update the vote totals on Friday.
The District 6 council seat was formerly held by Council President Nury Martinez, who resigned this past October after an audio recording of her using crass and racist language to describe her City Hall colleagues was made public. Alcaraz had attacked Padilla throughout the campaign for having once worked for Martinez about a decade ago, as a field deputy during Martinez's first term, for about 18 months.
But in an election that was thought to be a referendum on one scandal, another intervened. Two weeks ago, City Councilman Curren Price, Jr., who represents parts of South LA, was charged with embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest, making him the fourth council member charged with corruption in less than three years. Some have defended Price, saying the charges filed against him by LA County DA George Gascón — and not federal prosecutors, who charged the other council members — sound more like ethics violations than career-ending felonies.
Nevertheless, the scandal weighed heavily on the special election, because Alcaraz has worked for Price in a variety of roles, most recently as his deputy chief of staff. Though voting had already begun when the charges against Price were filed, in the final two weeks of the race, voters in the district received a slew of glossy mailers excoriating Alcaraz for being a "top adviser to disgraced politicians. Alcaraz was also once employed by another scandal-plagued councilman, Richard Alarcón, who was convicted of voter fraud and perjury though the conviction was overturned by an appellate court.
The early ballots that have been counted are mostly mail-in ballots that were filled out weeks ago, and were likely cast before the charges were filed against Price. So Padilla's lead could grow as the counting goes on.
"I believe the ballots that come in tomorrow will be more of a reflection of what happened to Curren Price," said Padilla campaign adviser Mike Trujillo. "The later ballots should be good for Imelda."
Setting aside the various scandals, the two Latina candidates, both in their mid-30s, had much in common. Both are Democrats who hold similar positions on the most important and controversial issues facing the city today — crime and homelessness. But they differ both in style and background. Alcaraz, who has worked as a City Hall staffer for nearly 15 years, ran as a seasoned, experienced "policy nerd," as she herself put it recently. Padilla ran as an outsider, a community activist and former neighborhood council member.
Despite — or, perhaps, because of — her own billing as an outsider, Padilla has enjoyed plenty of support throughout the campaign. She finished in first place in the open primary earlier this year, with just 3,424 votes; Alcaraz came in second with 2,821. Turnout in the primary was around 10% of registered voters, or less than 5% of adults in the district, which is heavily Latino and lower-income. Voter turnout was expected to be higher in the runoff. More than 11,000 ballots have already been counted, or about 9.5% of registered voters.
Padilla raised more money than Alcaraz and attracted more outside spending from political action committees. Both candidates secured support from various unions, although Alcaraz was endorsed by the powerful LA County Federation of Labor. Padilla won the backing of a number of business groups, including the Apartment Association. She was also endorsed by the Los Angeles Times' editorial board.
Follow @hillelaron
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
