More than 200,000 Los Angeles residents will have more than 15 candidates to choose from in a city council special election on Tuesday.
In California, the District 12 seat on the Los Angeles City Council and the Ward 1, 3, 5, and 7 seats on the Riverside City Council are up for election on June 4. The Los Angeles race is a special primary for a vacant seat, while the Riverside contests are their regularly scheduled general elections. In both cities, the council seats can be won outright on Tuesday if one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote. If none do, then Los Angeles is holding its special general election on August 13, and Riverside is holding its general runoff on November 5.
The District 12 seat in Los Angeles was vacated by Mitchell Englander, who resigned on December 31, 2018, in order to work in government affairs for the Oak View Group. Englander, the only Republican on the council, was first elected in 2011 and left office during his second term. Fifteen candidates are running for the remainder of his term in the special nonpartisan primary. The Los Angeles City Council has 15 members.
Riverside is holding an all-mail nonpartisan general election for the four city council seats. Only the Ward 1 incumbent, Mike Gardner, is running for re-election, and he faces two challengers. The other three elections are for open seats and feature between three and seven candidates each. The Riverside City Council has seven members, which means that a majority of the council could be new members following the election. The winners this year will receive an extended five-year term in office instead of four-year terms. This is due to the city’s transition to holding elections in even-numbered years beginning in 2022. Consequently, the Ward 1, 3, 5, and 7 seats will be on the ballot next in 2024 instead of 2023.
Los Angeles is the largest city in California and the second-largest city in the U.S. by population, while Riverside is the 12th-largest city in the state and the 58th-largest city nationwide.