James Johnson wins in Long Beach's 7th District

LONG BEACH - James Johnson unseated 7th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga on Tuesday night, ending her bid for a third term.

With all precincts reporting, Johnson had 52.9 percent of the vote and Uranga had 47.1 percent, according to unofficial final election results.

The total number of votes cast was 6,534 out of 25,281 registered voters, for a turnout of 25.8 percent. The 7th District includes California Heights, Bixby Highlands, Wrigley and the Westside.

The results don't include 353 vote-by-mail ballots that were dropped off at the polls and must be processed separately, nor do they include 398 provisional ballots, which are those cast by voters at the wrong polling places, City Clerk Larry Herrera said.

The eligibility of the voters who cast provisional ballots must be determined before the votes can be tallied, which Herrera said should be finished by early next week. Those votes could potentially change the election results, which showed Johnson winning by 374 votes, but they would have to be heavily skewed in Uranga's favor.

Johnson, a 32-year-old assistant city auditor, has focused his campaign on balancing the budget and fiscal responsibility.

"We've had deficits basically over the last eight years, in good times and in bad times. Something's wrong here," Johnson said last month. "I think with my financial background, I can right the ship."

Johnson and Uranga couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.

A Uranga victory would have made history in Long Beach, making her the first council member to win a third term after running as a write-in candidate in the primary election.

Uranga, 56, entered the race as a write-in candidate in the April 13 primary nominating election, when she and Johnson defeated three other candidates to advance.

Long Beach election code prohibits council members' names from appearing on the ballot for a third term. However, if a write-in candidate advances to a runoff election, then the candidate's name is placed on the ballot.

The only Long Beach official to successfully win a third term with a write-in campaign was former Mayor Beverly O'Neill in 2002.

Ninth District Councilman Val Lerch ran for a third term as a write-in candidate in April, but he failed to even make it to Tuesday's runoff.

Lerch's defeat by union- backed candidate Steve Neal strengthened the union contingent on the council. However, with Johnson's defeat of Uranga, who is the most pro-union council member, the political balance would seem to be mostly unaltered.

Johnson is more of a moderate whose campaign message has been to get Long Beach's finances under control. However, he did have one key labor endorsement, from the Port of Long Beach's longshoremen union.

That political balance will play an important role as the council enters another tough budget year that will require reopening city employee contracts to help eliminate an expected $18.5 million budget deficit. The council also is beginning talks to reform the unions' costly pensions.

paul.eakins@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1278