LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Educator and community organizer Isaac Bryan has declared victory in the 54th Assembly District special election after an updated vote count pushed him over the majority needed to win without a runoff.
Bryan had 50.78% of the vote, according to figures released Friday by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office. Fellow Democrat Heather Hutt, a former state director for then-Sen. Kamala Harris, was second with 24.9%.
None of the other four candidates in the race had more than 10%.
Bryan had 49.62% of the vote according to semi-official results released Tuesday night and Hutt 24.61%.
"My name is Isaac Bryan, but my friends call me Mr. Assemblymember- elect," Bryan tweeted.
Hutt's campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment Friday night.
There are an estimated 280 ballots to be processed, according to Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan.
He issued a preliminary estimate Wednesday of 7,960 outstanding ballots to be processed, a figure subject to change based on the amount of vote by mail ballots received by Friday's deadline.
The special election was necessitated by Sydney Kamlager's election to the state Senate in a special election March 2, filling the vacancy caused by Holly J. Mitchell's election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in November.
The 54th Assembly District consists of Baldwin Hills, Cheviot Hills, the Crenshaw district, Century City, Culver City, Ladera Heights, Mar Vista, Palms, Rancho Park, Westwood and parts of South Los Angeles and Inglewood.
Bryan has advised Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Kamlager on youth development and strategies aimed at reducing the number of people becoming homeless.
Bryan co-chaired the campaign on behalf of Measure J, the charter amendment approved by voters in November requiring that a minimum of 10% of Los Angeles County's unrestricted general funds be spent on housing, mental health treatment, jail diversion programs and other alternatives to incarceration.
"Passing Measure J was a real win for Los Angeles, and for me, but the morning after our win, I learned that one of my siblings had been arrested and charged in San Diego for actions that are now treated with a public health approach here in Los Angeles," said Bryan, the founding director of the UCLA Black Policy Project.
"That's when I realized I had to run for state Assembly. The 54th Assembly District has the potential to lead the entire state of California."