L.A. Votes: Mount Washington turns out for mayor’s race

The mayor’s race was on the minds of voters Tuesday in Mount Washington, home to one of the most active voter precincts in Los Angeles.

Kate Amend, a film editor, wanted to cast a vote to make history.

“I voted for Wendy Greuel,� she said. “I’m excited to have a woman for mayor.�

Attorney George Terterian, 47, meanwhile, said he thought both mayoral candidates were good, but added: “I’m a bit disheartened that Wendy Greuel went very negative, though, and that sort of lost my vote for her.�

FULL COVERAGE: L.A.’s race for mayor

Technical writer Steve Zirl, 55, said he voted because the next mayor has a lot to do.

“We’ve had a pretty lackluster mayor the past few years, who is more interested in his own PR than in getting things done,� Zirl said. “I voted for [Eric] Garcetti, although I think both candidates would make wonderful mayors.�

Maya Ling Ho’o, 54, a manager in the garment industry, said she is a lifelong Mount Washington resident and has never missed an election. She walked into the precinct wearing a Garcetti pin.

PHOTOS: L.A. voters head to the polls

“I voted for Eric Garcetti, because I think he’s a good man,� Ho’o said. “I think he is genuine, and I think he has got a good vision.�

The propositions also brought out voters.

Zirl said he came out in support of Proposition D, which would allow about 130 medical marijuana shops to remain in the city and would increase taxes on pot sales. There are currently an estimated 700 pot shops in the city.

DOCUMENT: Proposition D

Zirl said he’s been disappointed with City Council members who want all pot shops to close.

“[I’m] hoping to get that one with 50%, so we have something on the books that lets patients who need medical marijuana get access to it,� he said.

Terterian came out to support Proposition C, a nonbinding measure that would voice the electorate’s support for a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court. The court ruled in 2010 that corporations and unions have a 1^st Amendment right to spend money on influencing voters, and ruled unconstitutional federal restrictions on their spending on elections.

DOCUMENT: Proposition C

“Corporations are not people, and money is not speech,� Terterian said.

Freyja Bardell, 39, said she came out to vote to make her voice heard.

“I believe that voting makes a difference for all the things that upset me about things that happen in my community and my neighborhood,� she said. “It’s a way that I can have a voice.�

For her, the most important race in her district was for City Council, where Ed Reyes is being termed out of his 1st District seat. Running to succeed him are Reyes’ chief of staff, Jose Gardea, and former state legislator Gil Cedillo.

The precinct at Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center had one of the highest turnouts in the March primary, where about one in four registered voters cast ballots.

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