Imelda Padilla, a community relations manager, is set to join the Los Angeles City Council this summer. She won the special election to fill the vacant Sixth District seat left by Nury Martinez’s resignation.
According to the semifinal official returns released Tuesday night by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Padilla appears to have defeated Marisa Alcaraz, a City Council aide, with a vote percentage of 56.74% to 43.26%. Padilla received 6,684 votes, while Alcaraz received 5,096.
The voter turnout for the election was 10.04%.
The next update of voting results is scheduled for Friday, and officials are expected to release an estimate of the remaining uncounted ballots on Wednesday.
The county clerk will certify the results on July 7, and the winner will take her seat after the council’s three-week summer recess from July 7-28.
“As someone who has been a community organizer and coalition builder in the Valley for 20 years, I am ready to be the community’s champion in the L.A. City Council to ensure that we get our fair share of resources to thrive,” Padilla told City News Service in an email.
In response to the early results on Tuesday night, a spokesperson from Alcaraz’s campaign stated that “these are the first results.”
“The night is young and counts are continuing. More people voted in person tonight than they did in the primary,” the statement said. “Marisa is on the right side of history and will continue to work for working families in any capacity.”
Padilla secured the top position in the April 4 primary with 25.65% of the vote, but a majority was not reached, leading to a runoff against Alcaraz, who came in second with 21.13% in the seven-candidate field.
District 6 includes Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley, and portions of North Hills and North Hollywood.
During her campaign, Padilla emphasized the need for an immediate solution to the homelessness crisis.
“I will propose an emergency remediation of encampments, connecting the homeless population to essential services that will support them in finding housing, employment, and health services,” Padilla stated on her campaign’s website.
“I will work cohesively with all stakeholders, residents, non-profit organizations, religious leaders, business owners, and health organizations to develop and implement sensible hyper-local solutions that make our communities safer, sanitary, and sustainable.”
Padilla was born in Van Nuys and raised in Sun Valley. She graduated from Roscoe Elementary School, Byrd Middle School, and Polytechnic High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from Cal State Northridge.
Alcaraz, 38, who currently serves as deputy chief of staff and environmental policy director to Ninth District Councilman Curren Price, expressed pride in the campaign she ran.
Alcaraz grew up in Lake Balboa and graduated from Birmingham High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine and a master’s degree from USC.
Martinez previously represented the Sixth District but resigned in October. She gave up her Council presidency and seat after making racist comments in a secretly recorded meeting that was leaked to the news media.
The winner of the election will complete Martinez’s term, which ends in December 2024.
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