That's according to Paul Kortez, who will be the next City Councilman for the 5th District, which spans from Hollywood to West LA and into the Valley. "It is my pleasure to announce that three weeks after Election Day, it appears that all of the votes have been counted and our campaign has won by over 700 votes. This hard-fought election is over, and my opponent David Vahedi has conceded," Koretz wrote in an e-mail this morning. "I will strive to serve in an atmosphere of integrity and transparency. No one will serve on my staff unless he or she is willing to embrace the mission of service to the public. I have no doubt that communication is the key to rebuilding trust between residents and their councilmember." more ›

Residents of West LA, South Robertson, Hollywood, the Hills, Sherman Oaks and Encino, on July 1st, Paul Koretz will replace Jack Weiss as your city councilman. Last night, the County Clerk declared that he won the election by a tight margin of nearly two points, according to Jill Banks Barad, President of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. As listed on the County's website, last updated yesterday afternoon, Koretz received 18,547 (50.99%) votes while David T. Vahedi was less than a thousand behind at 17,825 votes (49.01%). Koretz is both a former West Hollywood Councilman and State Assemblymember. Vahedi, a community organizer and attorney, is expected to concede tomorrow. Don't know if you live in CD5? Check the embedded map below. more ›

Former West Hollywood Councilman and Assemblyman Paul Koretz claimed victory for LA's 5th district seat late Tuesday night. Then an e-mail late yesterday afternoon came with some sobering news. more ›

As it stands right now, former West Hollywood Councilman and Assemblyman Paul Koretz leads lawyer and community organizer David Vahedi by a close 551 votes. Provisional and vote-by-mail ballots still need to be counted, but some problems have surfaced, earlier examined by the LA Times and highlighted by a Vahedi camp e-mail this weekend: more ›

When all the ballots were counted from precincts early Wednesday morning, just hundreds votes separated the two candidates for Council District 5, now held by Jack Weiss, who lost a bid for City Attorney during the same election. Former West Hollywood Councimember and former Assembly Paul Koretz leads lawyer and community organizer David Vahedi by 335 votes. Around 3,000 ballots, a mix of mail-in and provisionals, remain to be counted and the LA County Recorder-Registrar predicts announcing the results as early as Friday. However, about 112 mail-in ballots may have been erroneous. Some allegedly did not include the council race and one reviewed by the LA Times seemed to be assembled incorrectly with contradictory information on the front cover and inside. more ›

With 100% of precincts reporting, preliminary results for yesterday's special election are here. It's preliminary because an unknown number of provisional and vote-by-mail ballots still need to be counted. Here's a round up of what happened: more ›

With all but two precincts reporting, only 316 votes separated candidates Paul Kortez and David Vahedi for the 5th district of Los Angeles, which covers the Hollywood Hills, Westside and Sherman Oaks/Encino. Koretz, a former West Hollywood councilman and state politician, led with 50.51% of the vote, over a point ahead of Vahedi, a community organizer and lawyer, according to the LA County Recorder-Registrar/County Clerk. The race is too close to call because provisional and some vote-by-mail ballots will still need to be counted. UPDATE: 335 votes separate the two with 100% of precincts reporting. Koretz still leads, but because these are preliminary results and the race is so close, the official outcome will probably come in the near future. more ›

Other than Prop 1F, all the budget ballot props have failed, according to the Sacramento Bee: "With about a quarter of the state's precincts in as of 9:30 p.m., the Secretary of State's Office reported none of Propositions 1A through 1E were garnering more than 41 percent of the vote. Only Proposition F, which would freeze the salaries of state elected officials in bad budget years, was winning - and it was winning big." Contests for LA City Attorney and the 5th District are still up for grabs. As of 10:30 p.m., Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich is up 3 points over Jack Weiss for City Attorney with 22% of the precincts reporting. In the 5th District, Paul Koretz leads David Vahedi by 5 points. Only 10% of the precincts reporting in that race. more ›

Signaling a cry for new blood in city politics, both major newspapers in town have endorsed David T. Vahedi for Council District 5 and Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich for City Attorney. Both face career track politicians, Paul Koretz and Jack Weiss, respectively, on next week's ballot. more ›

The two most contested local battles on the May 19th ballot will be over City Attorney and the seat for Council District 5, which roams from the Westside to the Valley. In the latest reporting period for campaign contributions and expenses, which ended April 4th, the money races are neck and neck, found the LA Times. more ›

The city's primary nominating election is hardly on the radar of voters because it's on March 3rd, months after what the nation is focusing on right now--the Presidential election. But earlier this month, in the only City Council race that's going to be a fight, a hacker attacked 5th District hopeful Paul Koretz's website (do you live in CD5? Check this map to see). more ›