By Tommy Chan
The Mirror Staff
NEWS
L.A. Mayor Garcetti Overwhelmingly Reelected
March 14, 2017
NEWS: The citizens of Los Angeles voted to determine the fate of the city.
Citizens of Los Angeles went to the polls on Tuesday, March 7 and determined the future of their city, electing incumbent L.A. Mayor Garcetti for a second term and passing several measures.
Racking up 80.87% of the votes, Garcetti has spent over $2 million in advertising to increase his power base and convey his effectiveness as mayor.
Garcetti campaigned against more than 10 candidates, including political strategist Mitchell Jack Schwartz, who placed second.
Los Angeles City Council District 3, which includes the San Fernando Valley and Van Nuys High School, will once again be represented by incumbent Bob Blumenfield, the council member since 2013. Blumenfield ran unopposed.
Blumenfield says he is dedicated to ensuring vitality in local neighborhoods and the entire city of Los Angeles.
In this general election, voters also determined the fates of Measures H, M, N, and S.
Measure H was passed, which will allow the city of Los Angeles to establish a sales tax for homeless service and prevention. 67.44% of the voters (379,005) voted to approve of the measure while 32.56% of the voters (182,969) voted against it.
Measure M, further regulating and taxing cannabis sales, passed with 79.36% of the vote while Measure N, a competing measure that was abandoned by the backers that got in on the ballot in favor of M, failed.
Measure S, which would have required a moratorium on development projects for two years, failed. It was supported and funded by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which wanted to stop the construction of highrise buildings near their headquarters in Hollywood.
While the organization attempted to justify their support of the measure by stating that these construction projects gentrify the local neighborhoods and increase house prices, many voters accused Executive Michael Weinstein of using the nonprofit’s money to pursue personal interests.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure S with 68.85% voting against it.
