With Los Angeles County election officials whittling down the number of ballots remaining to be counted, the leads of Burbank City Council candidates Konstantine Anthony and Nick Schultz late this week showed little sign of fading.
Anthony and Schultz have led the race for the two open City Council seats since the first wave of results was announced on Election Day. With 17,448 votes as of this Tuesday, the most recent count available, Anthony’s place as a presumed council member-elect seemed unshakable.
The Democratic Socialist front-runner claimed victory during public comment at a council meeting early this month.
Meanwhile, Schultz continued a strong bid for the second open seat with 13,046 votes. The California deputy attorney general has maintained a roughly 500-vote lead over Tamala Takahashi, a small business owner and vice president of the Magnolia Park Merchants Association, after each ballot count update.
Schultz has stated repeatedly that he will not comment on the results of the election until all ballots are counted.
The two council spots the candidates are seeking are currently held by council members Emily Gabel-Luddy, who did not run for reelection, and Tim Murphy, who was in fifth place with 10,199 votes as of Tuesday.
Emily Weisberg, a challenger in the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education election, maintained a seemingly insurmountable lead with 32,286 votes. Current board members Armond Aghakhanian and Steve Ferguson appeared poised to retain their seats with 24,011 and 23,326 votes, respectively.
With 22,131 votes, current member Roberta Reynolds seemed on track to lose her place on the board.
Another ballot count update was expected on Friday after the Leader’s press deadline; countywide, there were an estimated 66,245 ballots left to count on Tuesday. The county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office is expected to certify election results by Nov. 30, and new City Council members will be sworn in on Dec. 14.
Figures available on Tuesday showed that voter turnout surpassed 75% in the county. Voter turnout was 67.46% in the 2016 general election and 68.02% in the 2012 general election.
