Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes remained out in front of former Mayor Jim Dear in the race for the city's top elected post, according to the latest update from the Los Angeles County registrar's office, which came at around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Davis-Holmes had about 59.30%, while Dear had about 40.70%.
"I'm ecstatic," Davis-Holmes said Tuesday. "We worked hard, and the proof is in the pudding. We're not looking back -- we're moving forward."
Dear did not return requests for comment.
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Dear previously served as the city's mayor for two terms (2004-13) and a partial term from 2013 to 2015, when he resigned to run for city clerk. He was elected to that post in 2015 but was recalled by voters in 2017. He was defeated in a recall vote following months of skirmishes with city leaders and allegations of harassment, prompting the City Council at that time to unanimously censure him. Dear has repeatedly said the charges were false.
Davis-Holmes, meanwhile, became the city's first Black female mayor when she was elected in 2020, defeating rivals in a four-way contest that included then-Mayor Al Robles and Dear. Before that, she served 10 years on the Carson City Council.
Davis-Holmes has stressed issues such as clean energy initiatives, enhanced internet connectivity, expanded park spaces and increasing the housing stock for residents.
Her priorities included safety with a project that will include high-definition security cameras being installed at all city parks and entrances, along with speed trailers to monitor vehicular speed.
Outlining her agenda during the 2024 State of the City address in March, Davis-Holmes emphasized the city's commitment to clean energy initiatives, enhanced internet connectivity, expanded park spaces, and plans to bolster housing stock for residents.
"We're propelling Carson toward a future where sustainability, innovation and inclusivity light the way," she said, referring to Carson as the "Jewel of South Bay."
Among projects she unveiled were:
Dear, 72, would prioritize public safety and local government transparency and accountability.
He has stressed the need for public-private partnerships to boost the city's economic development and increasing law enforcement's budget.
In responses to the SCNG campaign questionnaire, Dear, 72, said his priorities, if elected, would be public safety and local government transparency and accountability.
"I am the only mayor candidate endorsed by the Los Angeles County Firefighters employee association," he said in the survey, "and the only mayor candidate endorsed by the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs."
He cited his past experience as mayor as a benefit should he be elected again.
His strategies for economic development, he said, include using public-private partnerships and "letting the free-market forces bring us the high-quality housing developers and housing builders that we had when I was the mayor of Carson."
In the race for the Third Council District, incumbent Cedric Hicks was well ahead of challenger Daniel Valdez, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Hicks had about 67.78%, while Valdez had about 32.22%.
Hicks was appointed to the City Council on April 19, 2016, and has been reelected twice, first on Nov. 8, 2016, and again on Nov. 3, 2020, for the newly formed District 3.
Hicks had been a longtime community services director, helping the city snag the 2015 All-America City award for supportive resident programs. Before that, Hicks had managed Carson's parks and recreation facilities for 15 years before accepting a job as Inglewood's assistant city manager.
He retired as the assistant city manager for Compton in 2016.
Valdez, 66, has served as a public works commissioner and planning commissioner, and is currently on the Mobile Home Park Rental Review Board in Carson.
He has said he was committed to engaging with developers to construct houses and condominiums up to 5 stories tall and would work to clear gang-related graffiti from the cement wall along Alameda Street.