December 14, 2024 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Runoff: Lawndale Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles and Democratic Activist Tina Mckinnor Locked in Tight Battle to Succeed Autumn Burke!

Hawthorne Councilmember Angie Reyes-English, Venice Community Officer Nico Ruderman trail in special election results

By Nick Antonicello

It wasn’t the results a small gathering of friends and supporters of Nico Ruderman expected, as Lawndale Mayor Robert Pullen Miles and Democratic organizer and activist Tina McKinnor were locked in a two-way battle to succeed former Assemblymember Autumn Burke, who had endorsed the Lawndale Mayor who also served as her district director. 

Here were the results as of Tuesday evening: 

Pullen-Miles – 8,083  –  37.2%

McKinnor      –  7,686   – 35.38%

Reyes-English – 3,056 – 14.07%

Ruderman       –  2,900 –  13.35% 

For Pullen-Miles, the assumed frontrunner throughout the contest saw his primary challenger Tina McKinnor surge in the final weeks with outside funding by Nurses and Educators fueling her candidacy and the crucial endorsement of the Los Angeles Times earned her a second-place finish, just 397 votes behind the Lawndale chief executive. 

McKinnor, a not-for-profit executive and Democratic Party organizer rolled out big endorsements such as US Congresswoman Maxine Waters, LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and California Senators Steven Bradford and Sydney Kamlager in her campaign’s final days. 

Mayor Pullen-Miles, who had the endorsement of his former boss, also secured the official California Democratic Party endorsement as well the support of US Congressman Ted Lieu, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn and several local officials from around the district including the Mayor of Inglewood, James T. Butts. 

The race will now go to a runoff, as Reyes-English and Ruderman have no chance of pulling past the front-runners and have been eliminated from contention for this unexpired term. 

For Ruderman, a first-time candidate and community officer with the Venice Neighborhood Council, the results were disappointing, but the first-time candidate focused on the important issue of homeless encampments, rising crime and other quality-of-life issues that just didn’t seem to resonate in many of the communities south of LAX. 

The results for Venice were not available at press time. 

Several of the CD-11 candidates for LA City Council were on-hand to support Ruderman who many recognize his efforts as the primary reason we have an open seat scenario with the exit of outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin who saw his reelection efforts dashed with a near recall attempt that collected 95% of the required signatures to qualify for the ballot. 

Bonin was expected to coast to a third-term until last summer when Ruderman and fellow Venetian Katrina Schmitt led a loose group of volunteers to successfully mount a recall challenge that exposed the political weakness of an incumbent who went from probable reelection to possible recall and eventually an early retirement from public office. 

Those council candidates in attendance at The Rose Café Tuesday this evening included Venetians Mike Newhouse, Traci Park and Jim Murez as well as Allison Holdorff-Polhill from the Pacific Palisades, a former school board aide to LAUSD member Nick Melvoin. 

The candidates had just returned from a ZOOM debate sponsored by a Brentwood community group that also included Greg Good, Mat Smith and Venice resident and attorney Erin Darling. 

Also on-hand was LA Councilman Joe Buscaino of CD-15 and a supporter of Ruderman’s bid for the state legislature. 

Buscaino, a retired police officer is a candidate for LA Mayor in the upcoming June 7th Primary. 

The mayoral candidate spoke briefly and was warmly received by those in attendance. 

Buscaino announced his campaign for mayor last summer in Venice when the beach encampments were at their peak and have since migrated to Centennial Park, the median just east of the Venice Public Library along South Venice Boulevard.

The author is a longtime Venetian and member of the Outreach & Oceanfront Walk Committees of the Venice Neighborhood Council. He can be reached at (310) 621-3775 or via e-mail at nantoni@mindspring.com

in Opinion
Related Posts

Letter to the Editor: Criticizing Israeli Policy Is Not Antisemitic

July 10, 2024

July 10, 2024

In the past several months, we’ve seen increasing protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza. We have also seen these protests...

Opinion: Toxic Exposure May Impact Veterans’ Health Even Today

April 29, 2024

April 29, 2024

By Cristina Johnson  Military service members spend years in hazardous environments unknowingly, often developing fatal illnesses decades after their service....

If You Have a Loved One Experiencing Severe Mental Illness, We Can Help

February 15, 2024

February 15, 2024

By Lisa H. Wong, Psy. D Many families across Los Angeles County know what it’s like to watch a loved...

New Program Can Help Protect Southern California Homes in the Event of an Earthquake

May 13, 2023

May 13, 2023

Residents Have Until May 31 To Apply For Seismic Retrofit Grants By Janiele Maffei, Chief Mitigation Officer for the California...

Column: Install at LAX Tiny Homes From The State Grant

April 7, 2023

April 7, 2023

By Clark Brown On March 16  Governor Newsom announced in Sacramento, his first stop on his State of the State of...

Column: SB 9 Ended R-1 Zoning, but It’s Not Meeting Goals

March 11, 2023

March 11, 2023

By Tom Elias More than a year after it took effect, the landmark housing density law known as SB 9...

Column: The Inevitable Conversions Begin Multiplying

February 25, 2023

February 25, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s a phenomenon from New York to Dallas to Fresno and Los Angeles, one that seemed inevitable...

Column: The Fantasy World of California Housing Policy

February 20, 2023

February 20, 2023

By Tom Elias If you’re looking for sure things among bills under consideration in the state Legislature, think of one...

Column: State Usurping Key Powers From Cities

January 28, 2023

January 28, 2023

By Tom Elias All over California last fall, hundreds of the civic minded spent thousands of hours and millions of...

Column – A California Positive: Kids Swarm Extra Classes

January 24, 2023

January 24, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s become a cliché, the shibboleth that California has lousy public schools and most of the kids...

​​Column: No One Very Pleased as New Rooftop Solar Rules Improve

December 9, 2022

December 9, 2022

By Tom Elias, Columnist Only rarely does the California Public Utilities Commission, long known as the least responsive agency in...

Column: Will New Political Players Offer More Effective Local Government for Los Angeles & Venice?

December 5, 2022

December 5, 2022

Bass, Park could become unlikely allies in fighting homelessness, rising crime and the quality-of-life issues that plague both Angelenos and...

Column – Gas Gougers Beware: California Is Onto You at Last

November 11, 2022

November 11, 2022

By Tom Elias It has taken more than 50 years of on-and-off gasoline price gouging, but at long last California...

$87,581,047.01: Candidate Rick Caruso on Pace to Smash All Spending Records in His Bid to Become Mayor of Los Angeles

November 4, 2022

November 4, 2022

Caruso overwhelming Bass nearly 10-1! By Nick Antonicello According to the LA Ethics Commission as of October 31st, billionaire developer...

“Ten Takes” to Watch as CD-11 Hopefuls Park & Darling Close out the Campaign in a Mad Dash to the Finish Line!

November 4, 2022

November 4, 2022

By Nick Antonicello And after some sixteen months of posturing, positioning and intensive campaigning be it door to door, shaking...