Embattled Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León conceded to political newcomer Ysabel Jurado on Friday, Nov. 8, the day after Jurado declared victory in the highly publicized L.A. City Council race that had garnered national attention.
De León, who never fully recovered from a political scandal that upended City Hall two years ago, had defiantly resisted call from fellow council members to President Joe Biden to resign and instead sought reelection for a second term on the council.
But after multiple days of trailing Jurado by double digits in vote tallies this week — and although there are still more ballots to be counted — de León congratulated his opponent “on a well-fought campaign.”
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the people of Council District 14 for the honor of serving these past four years, and to my supporters who stood by me with unwavering dedication to ensure our communities thrived,” de León said in a statement after the L.A. County registrar’s office released updated vote tallies for races in the county.
As of Friday afternoon, Jurado had 56.25% of the vote. De León had 43.75%.
“While the results of this election did not go our way, I respect the decision of the voters and our democratic process,” de Leon said, adding that he wished Jurado success and would be available to help with a smooth transition of power.
Council District 14 represents downtown L.A. and Eastside communities including Boyle Heights, El Sereno and Northeast L.A.
The outgoing council member said he was proud of what he had accomplished in his time in office, from “housing more people than any other district” to creating new parks and playgrounds, to “securing historic investments” for the community.
De León is a former state lawmaker who once served as the state Senate’s president pro tempore and was seen as a rising star among Latino politicians. But his involvement in a secretly recorded conversation with two other councilmembers and a labor leader that featured racist and derogatory remarks, which became public in 2022, led to widespread calls for his resignation and critics protesting outside his home.
The councilmember has repeatedly apologized for not shutting down that conversation when he had the chance.
De León’s opponent in the race found herself at the center of her own controversy in the weeks leading up Election Day. Jurado had been recorded saying “[expletive] the police” after a student asked her position on police spending. She later issued a statement saying she was quoting a lyric from a song but she did not issue an apology as the union representing Los Angeles police officers has demanded.
With de León conceding on Friday, it brings to close one of the most watched races in L.A. County this election cycle.
In the meantime, other local races have yet to be decided.
Below are the latest results for contests including the U.S. House race in California’s 27th Congressional District, a heavily fought San Fernando Valley seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District board, and city council races in nearby L.A. suburbs.
The results reflect vote counts through Friday afternoon, Nov. 8 from the L.A. County registrar’s office. It’s unclear how many more ballots are left to be counted for individual races, but countywide there are an estimated 759,100 ballots still to be processed. The office isn’t expected to finish counting for days and has until Dec. 3 to certify the results.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts
Candidates for California’s 27th Congressional district are: Mike Garcia and George Whitesides. (Courtesy Photo)
U.S. House of Representatives
In California’s 27th Congressional District, Democrat George Whitesides was still nipping at Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia’s heels. Garcia was barely ahead with 50.19% to Whitesides’ 49.81%. Garcia’s lead has steadily shrunk since election night.
The nation is watching to see how this race plays out since it could help determine whether Republicans will continue to control the House or if Democrats will wrest control.
This battleground district represents parts of northern Los Angeles County, including high desert communities of Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita.
LAUSD school board candidates Dan Chang and Scott Schmerelson. (Courtesy Chang and Schmerelson campaigns)
Los Angeles Unified School District
In the race for an LAUSD school board seat, math teacher Daniel Chang further cut into incumbent Scott Schmerelson’s lead. As of Friday, Schmerelson, a retired principal, had 51.85% while Chang had 48.15%. The winner will represent District 3 in the San Fernando Valley.
Smaller cities near Los Angeles
Burbank: Incumbent City Councilmember Konstantine Anthony and eight others ran for two open seats on the Burbank City Council. Anthony led with 22.93%, followed by Chris Rizzotti at 20.48% and Judie Wilke at 19.59%. Candidates lagging behind were Mike Van Gorder at 10.72%; Eddy Polon at 10.68%; Hovanes Tonoyan at 7.03%; John Parr at 3.55%; Emma Pineiro at 3.16%; and Patricia “Trish” Suarez Nacion at 1.85%.
Malibu: Three Malibu City Council members seeking reelection faced two challengers. The top three vote-getters will win seats. Councilmember Bruce Lee Silverstein had 24.61%; Councilmember Steve Uhring had 22.91%; and Haylynn Conrad had 20.55%. Councilmember Paul Grisanti had 19.51% and C. Channing Frykman had 12.41%.
Candidates for San Fernando City Council are from top L, to bot. R: Sylvia Ballin, Victoria Garcia, Patty Lopez, Sean M. Rivas and Jason Strickler, (Courtesy Photos)
San Fernando: Five candidates ran for two seats on the San Fernando City Council. Incumbent Victoria Garcia led with 28.93%, followed by Patty Lopez with 22.25%, Sean Rivas with 21.63%, Sylvia Ballin with 16.25% and Jason Strickler with 10.95%.
Santa Clarita: The three candidates running for Council District 1 were Patsy Ayala, Tim Burkhart and Bryce Jepsen. Ayala was ahead with 35.25% followed by Burkhart with 33.4% and Jepsen with 31.35%.
Candidates for the West Hollywood City Council are from top left: Larry Block, Jordan Cockeram, John Erickson, Danny Hang, Dorian J. Jackson, Stefanie LaHart, George Nickle, William West Seegmiller and Zekiah Wright. (Courtesy Photos)
West Hollywood: City Councilmember John M. Erickson had 28.16% and Danny Hang had 21.11%. They led the pack to fill two seats on the City Council. Other candidates were Larry Block at 13.86%; George Nickle at 12.37%; Zekiah “Z” Wright at 9.59%; Stefanie LaHart at 5.65%; Jordan Cockeram at 4.98%; Rachel Schmeidler at 2.03%; Dorian J. Jackson at 1.4% and William West Seegmiller at 0.85%.
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