Imelda Padilla, the winner of the Los Angeles City Council District 6 race to finish the term vacated by former Councilmember Nury Martinez, won by 1,782 votes, according to election results certified by the county registrar’s office on Friday, July 7.
According to the final vote tally, Padilla received 8,547 votes (55.8%) while candidate Marisa Alcaraz received 6,765 votes (44.2%).
Overall voter turnout in the June 27 special election was 13.05%.
Although the registrar’s office did not certify the results until Friday, Padilla declared victory last week, shortly after Alcaraz conceded. The City Council on Wednesday appointed Padilla as a temporary voting member of the council while waiting for the results to be certified, and for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to declare the election final.
The board is expected to declare the election officially concluded next week, on Tuesday.
Padilla, who turns 36 next week, is a Sun Valley resident who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and previously served on the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council.
On paper, she and Alcaraz appeared similar in many respects, though Padilla’s background is in community organizing while Alcaraz, a top aide to Councilmember Curren Price, is a veteran City Hall employee who has largely focused on drafting policy.
The special election was called after Martinez resigned from her seat in October, after she was caught making racist and demeaning remarks in a private conversation that was secretly recorded in 2021, then leaked to the public a year later.
Padilla, who worked for about 18 months for Martinez between 2013 and 2014, has condemned her former boss’ comments.
The race to replace Martinez began with seven candidates appearing on the ballot during the April primary election, which narrowed the field down to two candidates in last week’s primary election.
Council District 6 represents central and eastern parts of the San Fernando Valley including Arleta,…
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