Powell, Burton, D’Errico slated to win Manhattan Beach council seats
Provisional winners Wayne Powell, Mark Burton and Tony D’Errico peruse the final vote counts with family and friends at the Joslyn Center Tuesday night. Photos
Wayne Powell, Mark Burton and Tony D’Errico are in the clear lead to claim seats on the Manhattan Beach City Council.
With all 10 precincts reporting and the majority of absentee ballots counted, a total of 4,973 ballots were tallied as of Tuesday night. Roughly 550 vote-by-mail ballots must still be counted. City Clerk Liza Tamura is expected to announce the final results on Friday.
Manhattan Beach City Clerk Liza Tamura announces the results of vote-by-mail and precinct ballots as they roll in Tuesday evening at the Joslyn Center.
Powell, running for re-election, secured a nearly 1,000-point margin as the lead candidate, winning 3,608 votes, or 28.8 percent of all votes. Burton followed with 2,691 votes, or 21.5 percent, and D’Errico came in third with 2,157 votes, or 17.2 percent.
Mark Lipps, in fourth place, claimed 1,898 votes, or 15.2 percent. Mitch Ward, a two-time Manhattan Beach councilman and mayor, trailed Lipps by a mere nine-point margin with 1,889 votes, or 15.1 percent. Viet Ngo scored 265 votes, or 2 percent of total votes.
According to City Manager Dave Carmany, the voter turnout at this election was disappointingly low. A total of 20.8 percent of registered voters in Manhattan Beach cast their ballots, a slight decrease from last year’s 21.4 percent.
Powell, whose mayoral term ended last month, said he looked forward to serving the Manhattan Beach community for four more years.
Projected winners Tony D’Errico and Wayne Powell look up at the ballot results.
“I’m very humbled and honored by the public trust that the wonderful community has instilled in me,” Powell said. “I would’ve been satisfied in any of the top three slots, so I guess my hard work has paid off.”
Both Burton and D’Errico said they were eager to get on the grind and serve the community, one they’ve gotten to know very well in the past few months.
“I just can’t wait to get to work more than anything else,” Burton said. “There’s so much I want to do and so much I want to get involved in. It was a great experience to get to meet everybody. The civic pride is just second to none.”
“The campaign trail is exhausting, but it has been so rewarding and enriching to meet so many residents and hear the issues,” D’Errico said. “I’m just excited. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Candidate Mitch Ward catches up with three-term Mayor and Councilman Steve Napolitano and photographer Brad Jacobson of the Easy Reader.
Mayor David Lesser, who with Mayor Pro Tem Amy Howorth were present at the Joslyn Center Tuesday night where the provisional results were announced as they rolled in, said he looked forward to working with the new councilmen but also to the conclusion of campaign season.
“What I’m most pleased about is that it was a real positive campaign,” Lesser said. “I’m very pleased because it sets a tone going forward in council.”
The new council members will be inducted at the March 19 City Council meeting.