5:57am | Incumbent Tonia Reyes Uranga and challenger James Johnson will meet in a run-off election this June to decide who will win the 7th District seat on the Long Beach City Council, after neither could gather the 50% of votes needed to win the election outright.
Johnson, currently the Long Beach Assistant City Auditor, received the most support on Tuesday with 45.0% of the vote, while Reyes Uranga – seeking a third term as a write-in candidate – received 30.7%. Challengers Jill Hill and Jack Smith received 18.0% and 6.7%, respectively.
Johnson ran on a platform of financial responsibility – and, with an economics degree from Harvard, expertise – and long term sustainability. He was raised in the 7th District before setting off for college. A political newcomer, Johnson cast himself as a fresh face in a climate of economic uncertainty and touted the highly-regarded work that has been done during his time with the City Auditor’s office. Critics say Johnson is too close to re-elected Mayor Bob Foster and other local politicians and that his election signals business as usual, not change.
Reyes Uranga is well known in the hard-working 7th District for her fierce support of environmental and neighborhood issues. She decided to seek a third term after initially stepping aside so her husband, Long Beach City College trustee Roberto Uranga, could run for the seat. But Roberto instead accepted a national job offer with the Association of Community College Trustees last October and Tonia decided to mount the write-in campaign.