Redondo Beach incumbents hold a lead in early vote count
By David Mendez
Mar. 6, 2019 as seen in The Easy Reader
The first round of ballots have been counted, and based on early returns Redondo Beach residents have re-elected City Council members Christian Horvath and Laura Emdee and City Treasurer Steve Diels.
As of the Election Night count at 11:20 p.m., Horvath led in his District 3 race over Candace Nafissi with 55 percent of the vote (1,186 votes out of 2,154 total), Emdee defeated challenger Mel Samples in District 5 with 62.9 percent (1,094 votes out of 1,739 total) and Diels overwhelmed Solomon with 66.2 percent (5,124 votes out of 7,739 total). The next tally of votes will be announced March 8.
“I’m basically looking forward to completing the projects that we’ve started and continuing to bring the focus back to District 5,” Emdee said. “With the Galleria [redevelopment project] being approved, there’ll be a ripple effect down Artesia and we’ll be able to upgrade our neighborhood to the way it deserves…this is an exciting time for District 5, and we’re going to continue doing great things.
Redondo’s two election night parties took place at opposite ends of the city — Horvath, Emdee and Diels at Panelas Brazil Cuisine in the north; Nafissi, Samples and Solomon at 1892 Bistro in Riviera Village.
“I think everybody just cares so much about our city and I’m hoping that regardless of the final outcome next week we can get past this divisiveness and we can just get shit done,” Horvath said to attendees of the joint election night party with Emdee and Diels.
Christian Horvath and Laura Emdee shake hands as Steve Diels speaks to a supporter at an election night party on March 5. The three incumbents have the lead in the first ballot count. Photo by David Mendez
Across the city, a solemn mood hung in the room; by 10 p.m., Nafissi was not at the party, preparing for an early day at work the following morning. Solomon was optimistic in defeat, and rallied his supporters to continue pressing on.
“This does not stop your efforts to make this city a better place, and I thank you for that,” Solomon said.
Samples hoped that residents and officials would be able to end the divide between North and South Redondo going forward, though he questioned how much Emdee had actually done for District 5 with her focus on Artesia Boulevard and the South Bay Galleria.
“I’m still the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and I’m still going to do what’s right,” Samples said.
“You win some, you lose some and you just keep going,” Mayor Bill Brand said, acknowledging the likely defeat of the candidates he supported. “It’s not a destination so much as it is a practice…and maybe the biggest battle will be with Sacramento.”
Nafissi, Brand said, will refrain from conceding until after March 8, saying that she’s still got a chance, though “not a great chance…but I’ve seen these things flip.”
The early counts portend good things for the incumbents, and Horvath in particular. As of last night, 2,154 votes were counted in the District 5 race.
Four years ago, Nafissi won a plurality in the General Election against Horvath and three other candidates by 17 votes. Horvath ultimately won the May Runoff Election and subsequent recount by 13 votes.
The 2015 District 3 runoff election may offer the best forecast for this year’s results. That election totaled 2,843 votes, the majority of which were counted during the first tally. The second tally count held only 316 votes, indicating that the majority of votes were made early on, and gave the advantage to Horvath.
In a statement, Nafissi said the LA County Registrar Recorder’s Office told her 7,700 ballots are still to be counted citywide, not including late mail-in ballots.
“Less than half of the ballots have been counted so far. We remain optimistic and anxiously are awaiting the final count will happen on Friday,” Nafissi said. “Thank you to every single resident who’s reached out. It means everything.”
“We haven’t published anything stating that, and I’m not sure where they would have gotten that,” said Mike Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Recorder’s Office. “We’re still in election mode, and there are still ballots that could be brought to our office until Friday, if they were postmarked by yesterday.”
In an update provided to candidates by the Redondo Beach City Clerk’s office as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the County estimates that at least 2,000 Redondo Beach ballots have yet to be processed, rather than 7,000.
“These ballots are from the [vote-by-mail] ballot box locations and some US mail that didn’t make it into the count. There will also be ballots that were mailed/post-marked on Election Day (and received by County on Friday, 3/8),” said the City Clerk’s office.
It’s not yet clear how many total votes have been cast, but interest in the 2015 election was largely motivated by Measure B, a plan to rezone the AES power plant land to develop a residential and commercial “harbor village” district. Measure B was rejected by a 52.4 percent majority of voters.
This year’s election, on the other hand, was motivated largely on views of Horvath and Emdee’s records. The two were cast by their opponents as wasteful spenders whose votes in favor of the failed CenterCal waterfront redevelopment went against the larger wishes of their constituents.
Nafissi and Samples both repeatedly stated that the city’s failed marriage to CenterCal was the fault of their opponents, and that lawsuits resulting from the stalled project were on their heads. (CenterCal, in their legal filings, named Mayor Bill Brand and Council members Todd Loewenstein and Nils Nehrenheim as conspirators who lied about the project’s ill-effects, leading to its demise. The lawsuit has yet to be resolved.)
Horvath and Emdee countered with their records, asking constituents to instead look at the work that they’ve done over the past four years, and to look past the Waterfront decisions as “a difference of opinion.”
Emdee cited the improvement of the Artesia Boulevard commercial corridor, which has been bolstered by cosmetic improvements and investment from the city toward businesses, and recently-approved improvements for the North Redondo bike path. Horvath cited the relationships he built with constituents and regional bodies to work on solutions for public transit, parks and open space, and the city’s homelessness issues.
“These numbers give hope that the voters rejected the negativity and misinformation that my opponent put out there,” Emdee said.
“One never knows, right? What was it called last election — a ‘statistical anomaly?’ I’ll stick with ‘cautiously optimistic,’ and I’m grateful for everyone who voted,” Horvath said. “People have such varying ideas and opinions, and voting is one way to express them. I’m just hoping more and more people participate.”