Final Vote Tally Shows Councilwoman-Elect Zendejas Received Less Than A Third Of 1st Dist. Votes Cast Among Eight Ballot Candidates; $126,000+ Spent To Elect Her Produced 858 Votes; 1st Dist. Voter Turnout Was 13.42%
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(Nov. 16, 2019, 7:30 p.m.) -- The final official vote tally (Nov. 15) in LB's 1st Council district special election (Nov. 5) shows Mary Zendejas was elected to the LB City Council with 858 total votes, receiving less than a third of 1st Council district votes cast among eight ballot candidates.
Contributions to put Ms. Zendejas on the City Council through Dec. 2022 reached roughly $140,000 in two campaigns, Zendejas' own election campaign (with $111,000+ from contributors listed in our "Follow the Money" coverage below) plus a separate "independent expenditure" campaign run by the LB Firefighters Ass'n PAC and funded primarily by $30,000 in three $10,000 contributions from Mayor Robert Garcia (using his 2026 Lt. Governor campaign account), former 1st dist. Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez (using leftover sums from her 2019 state Senate campaign) and the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC (details below.)
MARY ZENDEJAS (N) 858 31.51% MARIELA SALGADO (N) 695 25.52%
MISI TAGALOA (N) 513 18.84%
RAY MORQUECHO (N) 209 7.68%
JOE GANEM (N) 162 5.95%
ELLIOT GONZALES (N) 149 5.47%
SHELBYRAE BLACK (N) 79 2.90%
SHIRLEY HULING (N) 58 2.13%
Among 20,999 registered 1st dist. voters, 1,964 cast vote-by-mail ballots, 834 cast precinct ballots, for total ballots cast of 2,818, amounting to "voter turnout" (ballots cast) of 13.42%.
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As of Nov. 5 (with the final figure not yet available), the Zendejas campaign had received at least $111,000 from the entities and individuals listed in LBREPORT.com "Follow the Money" coverage here, here, here, here, and here).
And in an action that effectively bypassed LB's voter-enacted Campaign Reform Act limit on contributions to a candidate's campaign, Mayor Garcia (using $10,000 from his "2026 Lt Governor" account, former 1st dist. Council incumbent Lena Gonzalez (using $10,000 leftover from her 2019 state Senate election) and the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC (using $10,000 of its members' contributions) gave $30,000 to the LB Firefighters Ass'n which then ran its own "independent campaign" supporting Zendejas.
As of Nov. 5, sums collected by the Zendejas campaign and the LBFFA PAC's "independent" campaign totaled at least $139,766.
As of Oct. 30, the Zendejas campaign had spent $97,991. As of Nov. 4, the LB Firefighters PAC had spent $28,766 (for mailings, canvassing and the like.) $97,991 + $28,766 = $126,757 spent to support Zendejas, amounting to $147 per vote cast for Zendejas.
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Second place finisher Mariela Salgado spent $26,338 (including $7,402 in non-monetary contributions) for $37.90 per vote she received.
Third place finisher Misi Tagaloa spent $77,200 (including $52,000 of his own money, $10,000 of which was a loan to his campaign) for roughly $150 per vote.
Fourth place finisher Ray Morquecho collected $39,988 in contributions and as of Oct. 30 had spent $29,445, receiving less than 8% of the vote at $141 per vote.
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Councilwoman-elect Zendejas isn't the first candidate elected with less than a majority of votes cast in the 1st Council district. In 2009, Robert Garcia (in 2005 a leader in LB's Young Republicans and until mid-2006 a Council office aide to LB Councilman Frank Colonna) moved from the 3rd district into the 1st district (after Colonna finished second in the 2006 Mayor's race to Bob Foster) when it was clear that 1st district Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal would seek Sacramento office and create a Council vacancy. Garcia changed his registered voter preference from Republican to Democrat, and when Lowenthal was elected to the Assembly, Garcia announced his 1st district Council candidacy (with support already lined up from local Dems.) Garcia collected roughly $100,000 in contributions and in April 2009 was elected with roughly 40% of the vote in a multi-candidate no-runoff special election.
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