With three or more candidates seeking a seat in each open council district, and no frontrunner taking quite enough votes to clearly outnumber the remaining ballots, all three Long Beach City Council races have the potential to proceed into a run-off election in June.
The only races that could confidently be called by press time were those for Long Beach Unified School District School Board and Long Beach City College Board of Trustees. There were two candidates each for four open seats on those governing bodies, and the four winners who emerged have garnered enough votes to render the remaining provisional ballots inconsequential.
In an email to the Signal Tribune Wednesday afternoon, Long Beach City Clerk Maria de la luz Garcia said the provisional ballots will be counted early next week.
The city clerk confirmed that it is indeed a possibility that Eric Gray and Jeannine Pearce, Dee Andrews and Erik Miller, and Al Austin and Wesley Turnbow could be heading into run-off elections in their respective districts since some ballots have yet to be counted.
“We are still processing the vote-by-mail ballots that were dropped off at polls on Election Day and provisional ballots,” she said. “So, yes. This is a possibility.”
On Thursday, the Signal Tribune asked the city clerk if the leading vote-takers for the two LBCC Governing Board seats and the two LBUSD School Board seats are the clear winners or if there are enough VBM and provisional ballots to be counted that can still possibly make a difference.
“I don’t like to rule anything out because anything can happen,” she wrote in response. “But I think it would be fair to say that the remaining vote-by-mails and provisionals are highly unlikely to change the Election Night results for those contests.”
[aesop_image imgwidth=”1000px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Screen-Shot-2016-04-14-at-3.40.25-PM.png” align=”left” lightbox=”on” captionposition=”left”] Council District 2
The unofficial results at press time showed Jeannine Pearce leading with 1,629 votes, or 43.6 percent. Eric Gray is in second place with 1,378 votes, which gives him 36.9 percent. Joen Garnica earned 729 votes, giving her 19.5 percent of the total votes in the 2nd District.
With 343 provisional ballots for the 2nd District waiting to be counted, Pearce and Gray could end up on the June ballot in a run-off.
Council District 6
Another four years serving the 6th District are possible for termed-out Dee Andrews, who garnered 48.1 percent of his district’s votes, with 828 total, as a write-in candidate. Behind the incumbent’s lead is Erik Miller, who earned 471 votes, putting him at 27.4 percent. Depending on the outcome of that district’s provisional-ballot count, Andrews and Miller may be facing off in June. If a run-off does occur, Andrews’s name will indeed appear on the ballot, since he won enough votes in the primary as a write-in.
Landing in third place with 14.4 percent is Robert Harmon, at 248 votes. Josephine A. Villasenor earned 174, leaving her with 10.1 percent of the vote.
Council District 8
Were it not for the uncounted ballots, Al Austin would have earned just enough votes to be granted a second term in office. Austin got 50.1 percent of the vote, by press time, having received 1,694 votes from constituents. Depending on the counting of provisional and more vote-by-mail ballots next week, Austin may find himself in a run-off with Wesley Turnbow, who earned 1,132 votes, putting him at 33.5 percent.
Laurie Angel garnered 554 votes, or 16.4 percent.
After all the votes are counted, if Austin ends up with 50 percent plus one vote, he will avoid a run-off with Turnbow.
“I am humbled and honored that a majority [of] voters have again entrusted me to lead our great community,” Austin wrote, in an emailed statement to the Signal Tribune Wednesday morning. “I am looking forward to continuing the hard work in my district and our city.”
LBCC Governing Board Area 2
Facing off against incumbent Irma Archuleta, Vivian Malauulu took the most votes, earning 2,350, giving her 59.3 percent. Archuleta garnered 1,611 of the votes, at 40.7 percent.
“I am very thankful to the residents of west Long Beach for having the confidence in me to serve as their elected representative to the Long Beach Community College Board,” Malauulu told the Signal Tribune Wednesday. “I am deeply humbled. I look forward to representing them and the issues they find important, such as job training and making sure that students do not fall through the cracks.”
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Screen-Shot-2016-04-14-at-3.32.30-PM.png” credit=”Photo by Diana Lejins” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Sixth District candidate Erik Miller views results on the Long Beach City Clerk’s website on Tuesday night.” captionposition=”right”] Malauulu added, “It certainly wasn’t easy defeating an incumbent who had strong financial and political support from Supervisor Don Knabe, Mayor Garcia, Councilman Uranga, Superintendent Eloy Oakley, Board Members Doug Otto and Jeff Kellogg and the district’s biggest bond measure contractor, Córdoba Corporation.”
LBCC Governing Board Area 4
Doug Otto retained his seat in the Area 4 race, winning 5,866 votes, putting him at 72.1 percent. Davina Keiser earned 2,275, which leaves her at 27.9 percent.
“I am very proud of all we have achieved during my term in office, but I also know there is much more to be done to help our students, our local businesses and our community,” Otto wrote in an email blast Wednesday morning. “Our next challenge is to support the Measure LB construction bond on the June ballot, which will provide urgently needed bond funds for campus renovation and technological enhancements.”
His statement also acknowledged his opponent’s campaign.
“I want to send my kindest regards to Davina Keiser and congratulate her for running a clean and positive race for the Board of Trustees,” he wrote. “She is an educational leader who we hope to work with in the future.”
School Board District 2
Incumbent Felton Williams also kept his seat, by earning 2,680 votes, at 68.7 percent. His sole opponent Jessica Vargas-Alvarez garnered 31.3 percent of the votes, with 1,223.
School Board District 4
Jon Meyer is another incumbent who will stay in office. He earned 4,910 votes, or 61.8 percent. Rosi Pedersen earned 3,031 votes, giving her 38.2 percent.
