Early Results Show Padilla Leading Alcaraz In Special Election For LA City Council Seat

Early results in Tuesday’s special election in Los Angeles City Council District 6 in the San Fernando Valley show Imelda Padilla opening up a double-digit lead over Marisa Alcaraz, 57% to 43%. So far, nearly 12,000 ballots have been counted, representing about 10% of the district’s registered voters.

In a statement Tuesday night, the County Registrar-Recorder's office said "there are still many outstanding ballots" left to count, including mail-in ballots returned by Tuesday, provisional ballots, and conditional voter registration ballots. The registrar will update the vote totals on Friday.

The seat was held by former Councilmember Nury Martinez until she resigned last October after she was heard making racist remarks on an audio recording. The district stretches from Lake Balboa east to Sun Valley and includes parts of Van Nuys, Panorama City and Arleta.

Whoever wins will serve until the end of Martinez’s unexpired term on December 8, 2024 and could choose to run for reelection.

Padilla, 35, is a community organizer who has worked for the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy, the environmental justice group Pacoima Beautiful, and for 18 months was a field deputy for Martinez.

Alcaraz, 38, has worked inside City Hall for the past 15 years. She currently is a policy advisor to South L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price. Before that, she worked for former Councilmember Richard Alarcon.

The two candidates share similar policy positions. Both say the proliferation of RV’s parked on the street is a top priority, both support an ordinance that bans homeless encampments around schools, parks and daycare centers, and both support increasing the size of the LAPD.

There are 15 members of the L.A. City Council. Each represents more than 260,000 people and wield enormous power over how development and other policies play out in their districts.