Runoffs Rule the Night; Measure A Too Close to Call

With the majority of the votes counted, Patch is projecting a win in District 2 for current Councilman Bill Brand and runoffs in the mayoral and other council races. The results of Measure A are too close to call.

As of midnight, Brand had 55 percent of the vote, with about 460 votes left to be tallied. Challenger Michael Jackson, with 34.4 percent, would have to win at least 310 of those votes to force a runoff in District 2. Susan Kowalski took a distant third with 9.6 percent of the vote.

• Redondo Beach Election Results

• Measure A Results

Current Councilman Steve Aspel, who is finishing is final term representing District 1, will be in a runoff election for the mayor's post with 39.7 percent of the vote. Challenging him will likely be District 5 Councilman Matt Kilroy, who earned 28.3 percent. District 3 Councilman Pat Aust earned 21.7 percent of the vote, while newcomer Eric Coleman took home 10.1 percent. Kilroy and Aust both have two years remaining on their terms. About 1,600 provisional and vote-by-mail ballots remain to be tallied.

In District 1, Jeff Ginsburg, who earned 41.4 percent of the vote, will either face Jim Light (28.5 percent) or Kim Fine (24.6 percent). Dianne Prado earned 5.5 percent. About 360 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots will be tallied Monday.

Stephen Sammarco will be in a runoff for the District 4 council seat, with 40.8 percent of the vote. Challenging him will likely be Jan Jeffreys, who earned 31.7 percent of the vote; however, 18-year-old Julian Stern, with 27.3 percent, may pull an upset. More than 260 ballots remain to be counted.

Measure A is too close to call. As of midnight, only 383 votes separated the ayes from the nays, with the no votes leading 51.6 percent to the yes votes' 48.3 percent. About 1,600 ballots still need to be counted.

See below for our election night live blog, with editor Nicole Mooradian reporting from city hall and editor Matt Sanderson reporting from the field. Entries are in chronological order.

8:37 p.m.: I've finished updating the results on our Redondo Beach Election Results and Measure A Results pages. So far, only absentee ballots turned in before noon today in District 1's Precinct 1 have been counted.

8:45 p.m.: City Clerk Eleanor Manzano just released the vote-by-mail results for Precinct No. 2 in District 4. Measure A is neck-and-neck. I'll update the results pages shortly.

9:07 p.m.: All numbers are now updated! So far, they've counted four precincts—two from District 1 and two from District 4.

9:35 p.m.: Mayoral Candidate Steve Aspel stood outside HT Grill waiting for the early results in the mayoral race at his dual campaign party, hosted alongside District 1 City Council candidate Jeff Ginsburg. "He's the best candidate to fill the seat," Aspel said of Ginsburg. Apsel said he's esctatic tonight about his outlook in the mayoral race, and added that he spent most of election day relaxing and cleaning out his garage of campaign materials. "The last four months have been grueling," he said, noting he and his wife, Pam, canvassed tirelessly for two to three hours each day during his campaign.

10:10 p.m.: AES Southland President Eric Pendergraft watched the live feed from City Hall from the group's party at HT Grill, saying they've heard absentee ballot returns for districts one, two and four in Redondo Beach and are still waiting on district's three and five. "I think our strongest [returns] will be in District 5," he said. "We're still optimistic."

10:13 p.m.: Former Redondo Beach District 2 City Councilman Kevin Sullivan stood with Pendergraft at the AES campaign party at HT Grill, adding that he does not believe Measure A is sustainable. "It's not legal in the long run," he said.

10:21 p.m.: All vote-by-mail ballots from Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 that were turned in by noon today have been counted, and the results have been updated. No results from District 5 precincts have been announced yet.

10:27 p.m.: Redondo Beach District 1 City Council candidate Jeff Ginsburg watched absentee ballot returns get posted on the live feed at his joint campaign party with Aspel. "I've got a gut feeling it'll only get better," he said. It's been a great experience."

10:29 p.m.: Ginsburg said, if elected, he wants to bring some capital improvement projects to Riviera Village after having served on the BID for 10 years. To combat historic parking woes, Ginsburg said he wants to look at shuttle stop service for the village, as well as a bike corral.

11:15 p.m.: Although all precincts have reported in District 4, there are still about 260 provisional and absentee ballots left to count. Patch is projecting a runoff that involves Stephen Sammarco. It's not unclear whether he will face Jan Jeffreys or Julian Stern.

Measure A is losing, with only 48.4 percent voting in favor.

11:35 p.m.: With all precincts reporting—but with more than 400 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots left to be counted—Councilman Bill Brand appears to be headed for re-election in District 2.

Patch is projecting a runoff in District 1, with 360 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots remaining. The runoff will be between Ginsburg and either Jim Light or Kim Fine.

12:01 a.m.: At a campaign party at Splash in the Crown Plaza Hotel, District 1 City Council candidate Jim Light said he was not happy with how the "no" votes for Measure A were stacking up against those in favor, even though "several hundred" ballots still need to be counted. For his race, which appears to be heading into a run-off, Light said he's ready to keep going but admitted he "sees the writing on the wall."

12:04 a.m. Also at Splash, Redondo Beach District 2 City Council candidate Bill Brand declared his victory, adding that it's bittersweet, with fellow colleague Jim Light in a tight race for the District 1 seat and Measure A support trailing. "I figure AES just purchased a large portion of the waterfront," he said. "It was hardly a mandate. They should have walloped us by outspending us 10 to one."