COSTA MESA CITY COUNCILUpdate: Allan Mansoor, Wendy Leece win

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor is assured of a return to the City Council, with running mate Wendy Leece all but assured of joining him on the dais after Tuesday’s election.

Click here for an election night photo gallery

Click here for complete election results and commentary

Mansoor was in front with 25.7%, and Leece was just behind him with 24%, with all 70 city precincts and most absentee ballots counted. Leece had an 852-vote lead over the closest competitor, Bruce Garlich, who gained 21.2% of the votes.

Mike Scheafer claimed 18.9%, followed by Mirna Burciaga with 7.1% and Chris Bunyan with 3.1%.

Two council seats, and the balance of power, were up for grabs. The Mansoor-Leece win means the city likely will move forward with a controversial plan to train police for immigration enforcement.

Some absentee and provisional ballots remained to be counted and those could change the vote counts, but it’s unclear by how much.

“It’s a lot nicer being on the winning side,” said Leece, who lost her last race for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board of trustees four years ago.

Some absentee and provisional ballots remained to be counted and those could change the vote counts, but it’s unclear by how much.

Leece and Mansoor largely ran on their support for the city’s plan to have city police trained to check the immigration status of people suspected of serious crimes. The proposal, which made Costa Mesa the first city to seek federal immigration powers, drew enthusiastic support and vehement protests.

Planning commissioner Bruce Garlich trailed Leece at 21.3% of the vote. Former City Councilman Mike Scheafer had 18%.

Mansoor said he would be pleased if Leece continued to outpace the competition. “Now that the election is over, we can return to upholding our laws and return to common sense.”

Garlich was among those gathered at City Councilwoman Katrina Foley’s house watching election results Tuesday night. When the absentee ballot figures rolled in, Foley said, “Whoa, it doesn’t look good.”

But Garlich and Foley said they would not lose hope so early and were eager to see the final returns from the voting.

“It’s too early to tell how this is going to turn out, so let’s wait and see,” said Garlich, who lost a race for the City Council two years ago by less than 40 votes.

All together, six candidates were seeking the two open seats on Costa Mesa’s council. The other two candidates — restaurant owner Mirna Burciaga and hairstylist and author Chris Bunyan — had 6% and 2.9% of the vote, respectively.

The election is considered pivotal for the city’s future. Mansoor supporters are convinced that his leadership — with Leece to cement his majority on the council if she replaces the termed-out Gary Monahan — is needed to stem a recent increase in crime and gang violence, and to remove blight on the Westside.

But backers of Garlich and Scheafer have said the council during Mansoor’s tenure as mayor has ignored residents’ input on key decisions and has created a hostile environment in the city, not least for Latino residents, estimated to be more than 30% of the city’s population.

“I’m surprised and concerned,” Scheafer said. “And again we’ll see our strength coming from people who cast their votes today, not the absentee ballots.”

Last December, Mansoor spearheaded the immigration proposal.

But Leece said it was more than the immigration plan that garnered votes for her and Mansoor.

“We really refined our message, we talked about improving public safety, improving infrastructure, finding more fields,” she said. “We’ve stuck with the basics, which is what we’ll do.”

— Daily Pilot reporter

Ana Facio Contreras

contributed to this report.