The polls have closed, meaning the 2024 statewide primary is over — and the residents of Long Beach and South Bay area cities have chosen who should represent them in their local governments.
Now it’s just a matter of waiting to learn who the winners are.
See the latest election results.
Here is how the local races in Avalon, Lakewood, Paramount, Gardena and Compton were shaping up, as of 11:31 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, according to the Los Angeles County registrar’s office.
Avalon
Avalon Mayor Anni Marshall was leading handily with nearly 77% of the votes in her bid to win reelection against challenger Daniel Felts, who had about 23%.
The mayor, who has held the position for 10 years, represents the city of about 3,700 residents.
Incumbent councilmembers Lisa Lavelle and Yesenia De la Rose ran unopposed for a full four-year term.
Treasurer Oley Olsen also ran unopposed.
Lakewood
Two four-year seats on the Lakewood City Council were up for grabs this election, with both districts in the central part of town.
In the District 3 race, challenger Jeff Wood was in a comfortable lead with nearly 61% of the vote. Incumbent Ariel Pe was trailing with about 39%.
District 3 is bordered by Bellflower on the north and Long Beach on the south.
In District 4, meanwhile, business owner David Arellano had nearly 65% of the vote over appointed Councilmember Vicki Stuckey, who had about 35%.
District 4 is bordered by Cerritos on the north, a small area of Bellflower on the northwest, Long Beach on the south and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast.
Stuckey was appointed in 2022 to complete the term of retired Councilmember Diane DuBois.
Residents began voting for councilmembers in five different districts, instead of a citywide vote, in 2022.
Paramount
Current Mayor Isabel Aguayo, and Councilmembers Brenda Olmos and Vilma Cuellar Stallings faced three challengers in their citywide bid for reelection: teacher Yesenia Maria Cuarenta, small business owner Jose De Leon and university administrative coordinator Carmen Patricia Gomez.
In early results, the incumbents were in the lead. Olmos was leading the pack with 27%, followed by Aguayo at nearly 20%, Stallings at about 17%, Cuarenta at nearly 14%, Gomez at around 12% and De Leon nearly 10%.
Gardena
Incumbents Mark Henderson and Paulette Francis were leading in a race to retain seats on the Gardena City Council against teacher Aimee Midori Yamada, and first responder and veteran Anthony Dixon.
The top-two finishers will claim the two open council seats.
Henderson had 32% of the vote, followed by Francis with nearly 26%, Dixon with nearly 23% and Yamada with about 19.5%.
Compton
Appointed Mayor Deidre Duhart was essentially tied with challenger Jasper Jackson, with Fidel Marquez in third, in the race to represent District 1 on the City Council. District 1 is the northwest portion of the city.
Duhart had 41.28% of the vote and Jackson had 41.09%, while Marquez had 17.64%.
In the District 4 race, appointed Councilmember Lillie Darden was leading in the race against challengers Alysia Rivers, Terrance Cumby and Joel Estrada.
Darden had nearly 40% of the vote, followed by Estrada with about 26%, Rivers with about 28% and Cumby with nearly 16%.
Appointed City Clerk Vernell McDaniel, meanwhile, was trailing in her reelection bid against Compton Unified Board member Satra Zurita and business person Lynn Boone.
Zurita had nearly 41% of the vote, while McDaniel had around 31.5% and Boone had nearly 28%.
