Just after 3 p.m. today, the L.A. County Clerk posted new tallies for last week's election. According to L.A. Times reporter David Zahniser via Twitter, the clerk is now expected to certify election results next Tuesday.
There could be more ballots, challenges, or even recounts, so the Council District 1 race remains too close to call definitively. Assuming the latest numbers hold, incumbent Council District 1 City Councilmember Gil Cedillo and challenger Joe Bray-Ali appear headed for a runoff election on Tuesday May 16. Though both candidates are progressive democrats, there are sharp distinctions between them on livability issues. Cedillo has repeatedly taken anti-bike positions, including blocking LADOT's planned safety improvements on North Figueroa Street and undermining L.A.'s multi-modal Mobility Plan 2035. Bray-Ali is a cyclist, a bike-shop owner, and a strong champion for bike facilities including the North Figueroa Street project.
On election night Cedillo appeared to have won re-election outright. That night, after all precincts had been counted, Cedillo had 50.98 percent of the vote, 128 votes above 50 percent of the 13,147 votes counted in the race. Earlier this week, Cedillo's percentage slipped to 49.51 percent. Since election night, an additional 7,658 votes have been tallied, bringing the CD1 tally to 20,805 votes. Cedillo has 10,272 of those 20,805, which gives him 49.37 percent. That puts Cedillo 131 votes below the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.
Not yet included in those vote totals are 28 votes for write-in candidate Lucca Barton.
Cedillo is clearly in first, and Joe Bray-Ali is clearly second. Bray-Ali is currently at 37.96 percent.
Measure H proponents and Measure S opponents are also happy with the latest results. Countywide homeless services sales tax Measure H needs two-thirds approval to pass; it is currently receiving 69.24 percent. Homeless advocates have declared victory, though theoretically there is a very tiny chance that the results could change before Tuesday's certification. The successful effort to defeat the Measure S housing ban is winning now with 70.4 percent voting no.
(5:06 p.m. - Post updated to correct a math error)
