LA City Council incumbents hold comfortable leads over challengers as vote count continues

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Incumbent Los Angeles City Council members held comfortable leads over their challengers as the vote count continued Thursday.

Elections were held Tuesday in the council's eight odd-numbered districts.

Get live election results here

Timothy Gaspar and Jose Ugarte continued to lead in their respective races to represent communities in the southwest San Fernando Valley and South Los Angeles, while most incumbents held commanding advantages in their bids for reelection.

Council Districts 3 and 9 were guaranteed to get new members because Councilmen Bob Blumenfield and Curren Price were termed out after serving 12 years.

All but one of the six incumbents far exceeded the 50% plus one threshold to be reelected without the need of a runoff.

Los Angeles City Council, District 1

The exception was District 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who had 52% of the vote in the latest count.

Los Angeles City Council, District 3

Gaspar, the founder and owner of a Woodland Hills insurance agency, was just short a majority needed to be elected without a runoff in the race to succeed Blumenfield in the 3rd District., with 49.08% in the latest count.

Barri Worth Girvan, a former district director for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, was second with 39.04%.

Christopher Celona, a self-described "compassionate capitalist,'' was last in the three-candidate field with 11.88%.

Blumenfield endorsed Gaspar in the race to represent the district, which includes Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka, Tarzana and Warner Center.

Los Angeles City Council, District 5

In the 5th Council District, City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky topped the field of three candidates with 66.11%. Henry Mantel was in second with 22% and Morgan Oyler was in third 12%.

Los Angeles City Council, District 7

Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez ran unopposed for a third and final term representing the 7th Council District in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

Los Angeles City Council, District 9

In the race for the open 9th District seat, Ugarte, a top deputy to Price, led the field of six candidates with 40.83%. Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, was second with 22.48%.

All of the four other candidates - Jorge Nuño, Martha Sánchez, Elmer Roldan and Jorge Hernandez Rosas - received less than 12% of the vote.

The winner will be the first non-Black council member to represent the district since 1963, a reflection of the city's shifting demographics.

The district encompasses downtown and South Los Angeles, including such landmarks such as L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Los Angeles City Council, District 11

Councilmember Traci Park was reelected for a second term to represented the Westside's 11th District, defeating her lone challenger, Faizah Malik, 64.83%-35.17%.

Park received 35,043 votes, or 64.83%, while Malik received 19,007 votes, or 35.17%.

In 2011, District 11 voters elected Park to represent Venice, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Del Mar, Playa Vista, among other coastal neighborhoods. She's now seeking a second term, and has been endorsed by the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the United Firefighters of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Council, District 13

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez was reelected for a second term representing the 13th District in the Hollywood area with 64.5% of the vote in the field of four.

Los Angeles City Council, District 15

Councilman Tim McOsker, who represents the 15th Council District, defeated 22-year-old community organizer Jordan Rivers, 76.68%-23.32%.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.