[Update: 8:45 a.m.] Results for the Malibu City Council race with 100 percent of precincts reporting showed a clear victory for Fire Captain Rick Mullen, former mayor Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner and Mayor Pro Tem Skylar Peak in Tuesday’s election.
The three, who ran as a slate, will fill three open seats after council members John Sibert and Joan House are termed out. Peak was running as an incumbent.
A total of six candidates were vying for the position:
- Mullen:2,678 votes, 23.8 percent
- Wagner:2,556 votes, 22.7 percent
- Peak: 2,266 votes, 20.1 percent
- Laureen Sills: 1,544 votes, 13.7 percent.
- Jennifer deNicola: 1,138 votes, 10.1 percent.
- Carl Randall: 1,068 votes, 9.5 percent.
Malibu local Henry Stern was victorious in his bid for State Senator for the 27th District. Stern, a Democrat who was hand-picked by outgoing Senator Fran Pavely to fill her seat in Sacramento, finished with 61.8 percent of votes cast, to Republican Steve Fazio’s 38.2 percent.
Assemblymember Richard Bloom earned over 75 percent of votes in the State Assembly’s 50th District. Democrat Bloom defeated his Republican challenger Matthew Gene Craffey 103,731 votes to 34,084.
Ted Lieu, U.S. Representative for the 33rd District, won reelection against his challenger, Republican Kenneth W. Wright. Lieu, a Democrat, won 66.3 percent of the vote, with Wright earning 33.7.
The results of various statewide propositions were known by Wednesday morning.
Californians voted “Yes” on Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana. They also approved Proposition 56 to enact a $2 cigarette tax. Proposition 58 passed, which promised to bring back bilingual education in California public schools. Firearm and ammunition sales will be more tightly regulated in California following a “Yes” on Proposition 63. Prop. 57, a reform of the prison system to allow parole consideration for nonviolent felons, passed.
California’s voters declined to repeal the death penalty, voting “No” on Proposition 62. Proposition 60, which sought to require actors in adult films to use condoms, was also defeated. Prop. 53, which would have required statewide voter approval before bonds over $2 billion could be issued or sold by the state, did not pass.
More information is available at lavote.net. Final numbers may not be available for up to 30 days.
Malibu City Council election results were too close to call by the time The Malibu Times went to print, though Rick Mullen, Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner and incumbent Skylar Peak — candidates running together as a slate — held strong leads going into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
With six of 10 precincts, plus vote-by-mail ballots, reported, Mullen was in the lead among the six candidates, with 23.9 percent of ballots cast in his favor. Wagner had earned 22.9 percent of votes and Peak was close behind with 19.7 percent. The three other candidates followed: Laureen Sills (13.6 percent), Jennifer deNicola (10.1 percent) and Carl Randall (9.8 percent).
A total of 3,454 Malibu voters elected to vote by mail this November. That number alone was nearly double the total ballots cast in the April 2014 midterm election, indicating overall turnout was significantly higher than usual.
On the national stage, Republican candidate Donald Trump won a decisive victory in the presidential race.
Trump was elected 45th President of the United States Tuesday, in a stunning race with results in key states coming in after midnight Wednesday morning. The businessman and reality television star was predicted to lose by several points to Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in projections leading up to the election. However, with wins in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Trump defied the odds to defeat Clinton. He was not as popular on the West Coast, losing California, Washington and Oregon.
Trump was soundly defeated in local polls, with rival Clinton earning nearly 70.3 percent of votes in Los Angeles County, to his 24.6 percent, with just over half of precincts reporting.
Malibu local Henry Stern was projected to win the race to fill the California State Senate seat vacated by longtime senator Fran Pavley. With nearly 30 percent of precincts reporting, Stern, a Democrat, held a 22.7 percent lead over Steve Fazio, his Republican rival. Stern had picked up 45,602 votes by counting at 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, compared to Fazio’s 28,718.
Look for updated election results at malibutimes.com or lavote.net.