LONG BEACH : Uranga Challenges 2-Vote Loss in Council Election
Tonia Reyes Uranga, whose apparent victory in the Long Beach City Council election last month was overturned when the city clerk’s office found several uncounted ballots, filed an election challenge Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Uranga, a community activist and former president of the Long Beach Children’s Museum, said she wants a judge to rule on some questionable ballots that led to her two-vote loss to contractor Mike Donelon.
“The whole election process was a mess, and I’m hoping the courts can unravel it,†Uranga said. Officials in the city clerk’s office have acknowledged that a mistake was made in counting the ballots, but insist that the current tally--2,936 to 2,934--is accurate.
Uranga’s six-vote margin of victory on election night was erased June 22 when some uncounted ballots were found during a recount, giving Donelon a one-vote win. His lead was increased to two votes after officials decided, during a court-ordered inspection July 1, to add eight provisional and absentee ballots to the tally.
Donelon’s win in District 7 was certified by the City Council last week, and he is scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday.
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