CJ Dablo
Staff Writer
Incumbent candidates in education races take big leads
April 10 drew low voter participation for the election that aimed to decide several Long Beach Council seats and appoint representatives to the boards of the Long Beach Unified School District and the Long Beach Community College District. Only 11.3 percent out of the 151,163 registered voters bothered to cast their ballots last Tuesday. According to the numbers available at press time, incumbent candidates may have managed to keep their seats on their respective boards of the local school and community college districts. When it came to choosing a representative for Long Beach’s council districts, however, the voters did not always favor the person seeking another term. The winner of a tight, three-way race that’s too close to call in the fourth district will now be decided in a run-off election in June. The city clerk may also announce a recount soon.
The unofficial final results from Tuesday’s election are posted at longbeach.gov. As of Wednesday morning, the Signal Tribune has summarized the results for the seats on the ballot for the even-numbered districts of the Long Beach City Council and the available board positions on the Long Beach Community College District and the Long Beach Unified School District. Candidates need to capture at least 50 percent plus one vote in order to be declared winners.
At press time, all 158 precincts from Long Beach and Signal Hill had reported their tallies from Tuesday’s election, however the Long Beach City Clerk’s office indicated Wednesday morning that about 540 provisional and around 1,000 vote-by-mail ballots had not yet been counted. The clerk’s office has 21 days from April 10 to certify the final results. City Clerk Larry Herrera said Wednesday in a telephone interview that he anticipated that his office will be able to complete the final tally well before the 21-day deadline in order to get the ballots ready in time for a run-off election on June 5. Herrera also emphasized that he may announce soon whether his office will perform a recount.
Long Beach City Council District 2
Incumbent Dr. Suja Lowenthal took a commanding chunk of votes in support of her bid to serve another term to represent Long Beach’s second district. Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the numbers indicated that Lowenthal captured 61.6 percent or 1,366 votes while her challenger Janet Ballantyne came in at a distant second, winning only 30.1 percent or 668 votes. Mike Kamer, another contender for the second district council seat, only drew 8.3 percent of the votes with 185 of the ballots cast in his favor.
Long Beach City Council District 4
As of Wednesday morning, the race in the city’s fourth district was too close to call. Since no candidate achieved the magic number of one plus 50 percent of the vote, two top contenders in this race will face off again for a June 5 run-off election. At that election, voters will be given the choice between the top two candidates with the most votes from April’s primary nominating election, Herrera confirmed Wednesday. Herrera said that the City Clerk’s office may also announce a recount in the next couple of days. There is still a high number of provisional ballots and mailed-in ballots that need to be counted, and there is also only now a reported 40-vote difference between all three contenders who are vying for the seat.
As of Wednesday morning, Daryl Supernaw took a tentative lead over his opponents, gaining 34.1 percent, or 1,099, of the votes. However, incumbent Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell’s numbers were not very far behind. O’Donnell won the support of 33 percent, or 1,063, of the votes. He led a write-in campaign in hopes of winning an unprecedented third term in office. The numbers for John Watkins, a retired police sergeant, trailed O’Donnell’s numbers by only a few votes. Watkins drew 32.9 percent, or 1,059, votes.
Long Beach City Council District 8
Union representative and fundraiser Al Austin II pulled ahead of opponent Lillian Kawasaki for the eighth district council seat. As of Wednesday morning, Austin captured 1,960 votes, or 55.2 percent, where Kawasaki only received 1,527 votes, or 43 percent. The other challenger, Gustavo Cortes Rivera, only won the support from 1.8 percent, or 65, of the voters. If the numbers do not significantly change Austin’s hold on more than half of the district votes, he will start his term on the Council on July 17.
LBCCD Board Trustee Area 4
Incumbent Doug Otto took a commanding lead over challenger Davina Keiser for another term on the LBCCD board. As of Wednesday, Otto had so far won the support of 67.5 percent, or 4,460 votes. Keiser, a math teacher at Wilson High School and treasurer for the Teachers Association of Long Beach, only secured 32.5 percent, or 2,145 votes.
LBUSD Board Member District 2
LBUSD board incumbent Felton Williams captured the support from 61.7 percent, or 1,794 votes, as of Wednesday morning. This election marks Williams’s bid for a third term on the LBUSD board. His challenger, Ricardo Linarez, only secured 38.3 percent, or 1,114 votes.
LBUSD Board Member District 4
Incumbent Jon Meyer captured 74.7 percent, or 4,554 votes, as of Wednesday morning. His challenger, former educator Naomi Rainey, had withdrawn from the race earlier this year. Rainey’s name remained on the ballot, and 25.3 percent, or 1,539 voters, cast ballots for her anyway.
