A handful of local city council elections, school board races and measure passage thresholds remained tight as counting continues in Los Angeles County.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts
The Los Angeles County registrar’s office said it continues to accept vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received through Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Measure PH, the bond measure that will boost the budget of the Puente Hills Habitat Preservation Authority, crossed the threshold of required percentage of votes Friday, earning 66.93% of the vote as of 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office.
The bond needed a two-thirds majority, or 66.67%, to pass. The cost for property owners from the 1-cent-a-square-foot parcel tax comes out to $15 for a 1,500-square-foot house, officials said. The measure, with its funding boost, would allow the Habitat Authority to protect the hills from wildfires, fight illegal dumping, and hire more rangers.
“Getting passage would be a wonderful boost to these cities that have worked so hard for many decades to keep and preserve this unique biological resource and keep it open to the public,” said Bob Henderson, former mayor of Whittier and founding member of the government agency.
Andrea Gullo, executive director of the Habitat Authority, said the boost is encouraging, but all votes still need to counted.
Here are the other local elections and ballot measures where the current margin appeared to be between four to five percentage points or closer.
Pasadena Unified School District, Measure EE
A parcel tax to help fund programs and raise teachers’ salary at the Pasadena Unified School District has been gradually edging above the threshold for approval.
Measure EE received 68.02% of the votes, surpassing the two-thirds majority, or 66.67%, required for passage, according to the registrar’s latest update at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
This measure imposes a $90 per-parcel tax, expected to generate around $5 million annually over eight years, to support the expansion of STEAM classes, competitive salaries for teachers and staff, as well as the hiring of counselors and mental health professionals.
Meanwhile, Measure R, a general obligation bond that would raise $900 million for PUSD through levies on property owners, has consistently met its 55% approval, securing 63.97% of the votes as of Friday.
Pasadena’s Vice Mayor Steve Madison said he supports both PUSD’s measures because “it’s the right thing to do”.
“Education should be near the top of the list for every level of government, it certainly is in Pasadena,” he said in an interview Thursday, Nov. 7. “That is why I supported both of those initiatives, even though that’s PUSD, not the city.”
Irwindale
As of the 4:30 p.m. update on Friday, Nov. 8, the three incumbents, Manuel Garcia, Mark Breceda and Larry Burrola, maintained slim leads and only one candidate had garnered at least 300 votes.
Four candidates ran for three available City Council seats in an at-large election.
All four candidates were separated by 53 votes with challenger Marguerite Lopez-Sapien appearing to be in fourth place behind Breceda by 34 votes.
Baldwin Park City Council
In another at-large race, eight candidates vied for three available seats. As of 4:30 p.m., Emmanuel Estrada, Manuel Lozano and Daniel Damian appeared to be the top three vote-getters with current City Clerk Christopher Saenz running fourth behind Damian by about three percentage points.
El Monte Mayor
Incumbent Mayor Jessica Ancona appeared to lead by about four percentage points, or about 610 votes, as of the 4:30 p.m. update. Challenger Marisol Cortez appeared to have garnered about 48% of the counted votes.
South El Monte City Council
Fewer than 100 votes appeared to separate two candidates running for one of two available seats on the City Council. Larry Rodriguez appeared to hold a slight lead by about one percentage point over incumbent councilmember Richard Angel as of 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Walnut City Council
As of the 4:30 p.m. update, incumbents Linda Freedman and Nancy Renne Tragarz appeared to hold a clear lead for two of the three available seats. For the third seat, Kaylee May Law held about a four percentage point lead over the rest of the field. A total of six candidates ran for the three available City Council seats.
San Marino City Council
John Chou appeared to hold about a five percentage point lead over Chun-Yen Chen for the second and final available seat on the City Council. A total of four candidates ran for the two available seats.
Pico Rivera City Council
Incumbent councilmember Erik Lutz appeared to hold about a four percentage point lead over Genaro Moreno for the third and final council seat available. Four candidates ran for three available seats.
Santa Fe Springs City Council
Incumbent councilmember Joel Angel Zamora appeared to hold about a 160-vote lead over Gabriel Jimenez as of the 4:30 p.m. update. Four candidates ran for two available seats.
Baldwin Park Unified
Three incumbent board members, among a list of eight candidates who ran for three available seats, appeared to be trailing to Ricardo Vazques, Yvonne Juarez and Jose Mata. Incumbent Christina Lucero was the closest to retaining the seat but appeared to trail Mata by about 500 votes as of 4:30 p.m.
Covina-Valley Unified School District, Trustee Area 1
Incumbent board member Sue Maulucci appeared to lead challenger Steve Bennett by about 50 votes as of the latest update.
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, Trustee Area 1
Incumbent Stephanie Serrano who appeared to be trailing in early returns appeared to lead Wednesday and most recently at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Serrano appeared to lead by 110 votes over Joyce Garcia.
El Monte Union High School District, Trustee Area 2
As of the 4:30 p.m. update, incumbent board member Esthela Torres de Siegrist appeared to trail Luis Guzman by about four percentage points or about 190 votes.
Bonita Unified School District, Trustee Area 5
Results appeared to show Brittany Allison leading by about 280 votes over Mark Arvidson, according to the 4:30 p.m. update.
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