Incumbent Councilman Jose Huizar Leads Race For Council Seat

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — As Los Angeles County primary election results come in, incumbent City Councilman Jose Huizar holds an early lead.

Huizar looks to hold on to his council seat in the 14th district and led over his closest competitor, former council member and County Supervisor Gloria Molina, 66% to 23%, with 67% reporting at about 9:15 p.m.

If he wins Tuesday's race, Huizar will not need to go on to the general election in May.

Huizar's election party headquarters was being held at a high school gymnasium in Boyle Heights. By 10:15 p.m., the gym began to look like a victory party, with enthusiastic supporters beginning to celebrate upon Huizar's arrival.

"I think the message is (that) it's about what a council member does," LA Area Chamber of Commerce's Ruben Gonzalez said. "It's not about rhetoric, it's not about accusations. It's not necessarily about campaigns. It's about, what are the concrete things a council member does to improve the community."

Voters told CBS2's Dave Bryan that the choice between the two contenders was a difficult one at the polling places. Some commented on what Huizar has managed to achieve in the community so far.

"(It was a) tough choice, yes, but I preferred this time Jose Huizar, because he's doing so many improvements in the community..." one voter said.

However, not everyone was as supportive of the incumbent councilman.

"It's an important race, (and) I really felt bad, because I think the issues were skirted," the voter said. "The calls that I received, the people didn't really know Jose's complete record."

For updated results in this race, and other municipal elections, visit the city clerk's election coverage page here.