Villaraigosa reelected mayor

By a margin that was considerably smaller than had been expected, incumbent Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was reelected to his post by the voters of Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The mayor, who held the lead with 55.73 percent, 118,602 votes as of press time, saw very little challenge from any of his opponents; the closest runner-up was attorney Walter Moore, whose totals had reached 25.89 percent, or 55,103 votes as of press time.

Candidates vying for the city council seat representing Council District 5, which includes the UCLA and Westwood neighborhoods, will be forced to wait until the city’s runoff election on May 19 to hear a final result.

Former state Assemblyman Paul Koretz and neighborhood councilman David T. Vahedi remained neck-and-neck at 21.49 percent and 21.62 percent respectively at press time.

Though a canvassing period between the March 2 election and the runoff in May could have potentially produced a victor in the race, there is no chance that such events could transpire; the winning candidate would have to tally a total of 50 percent plus one vote in order to claim the position outright, according to the Los Angeles City Charter.

The race for city controller was marked by a tremendous disparity between the number of votes cast for each of the candidates.

Incumbent Wendy Greuel claimed a clear win with 65.18 percent of votes reported, based on figures released at 1 a.m.

The city attorney competition was tighter.

Jack Weiss held a lead with 36.65 percent as of press time, but will most likely have to run in the May runoff against his nearest competitor, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich, whose totals reached 26.81 percent at the same time.

Steve Zimmer was elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education for District 4, holding a decisive lead with 56.59 percent.

His opponent, Mike Stryer, was behind by more than 15 percent with just 43.41.

Ballots were driven and flown via helicopter to the Los Angeles City Clerks’s office throughout the evening after polls closed at 8 p.m., and updates were provided on the office’s Web site on 30- to 40-minute intervals.

Ballot measures A through E received varied success.

Measure A, which would mandate the use of an independent assessor of the recently-scrutinized Los Angeles Fire Department, passed with a total of 52.77 percent.

Measure B, the Los Angeles Solar Energy and Job Creation Plan, was ahead by a less-than 1 percent margin as of press time with 90.42 percent of precincts reported.

Its passing would mark the single largest investment in solar energy in the United States to date and will lead to the installation of some 400 megawatts’ worth of photovoltaics.

Measure C, the Disabled Children Survivor Benefit, and Measure D, the survivor benefit purchase program for the Los Angeles Fire and Police Departments, both passed by large margins, each exceeding 65 percent as of press time.

Measure E, the economic incentives plan, did not pass.