Stacey Armato has won a seat on the Hermosa Beach City Council, giving the council a full, five-member roster for the first time in more than six months.
About 8:30 p.m., City Clerk Elaine Doerfling announced a count of 2,023 for Armato to 791 for opponent Trent Larson, giving Armato nearly 72 percent of the total. Larson, who was watching the ballot count unfold in City Council chambers, thanked the ballot inspector and counters for their efforts.
In a victory-party speech, Armato recalled her entry into city politics nearly three years ago, when former council member George Schmeltzer approached about heading a committee opposing Measure O, which would have lifted Hermosa’s ban on oil drilling in the city’s tidelands. She agreed, proving instrumental in organizing to defeat the measure.
After signing on to the effort, Armato quickly realized that Schmeltzer and the core of city activists had bigger plans for her.
“[Schmeltzer] comes running back, and says, ‘I forgot, I’m supposed ask you, will you run for city council too?’” Armato said.
The seat claimed by Armato had been vacant since Sept. 1, when former council member Nanette Barragan resigned to pursue a seat in Congress. The six-month vacancy occasionally frustrated city business. When former council member Michael Divirgilio was unable to attend a fall meeting, the three remaining council members were unable to reach a needed vote total on several agenda items.
Armato thanked the team behind her get-out-the-vote effort, which included weekly precinct-walking sessions and phone banks. Her campaign deposited some 450 yard signs throughout the city.
Among the volunteers Armato thanked was Ben Donohoe, a 15-year-old Loyola High School student who devoted multiple weekends to helping Armato’s campaign.
“I’ve always been interested in politics, and this just seemed like a good opportunity,” Donohoe said.
The deadline to submit ballots in the all-mail special election was 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, but voters had been able to turn them in for weeks. Doerfling’s count of 2,814 total votes included only those ballots that had been processed and verified. Final, certified results will be available within two weeks, and the vote total is expected to grow, although turnout in special elections is traditionally lower. Voters cast 3,756 scheduled November 2015 election.
In her victory speech, Armato promised to leave the city “cleaner, greener and safer,” and focused on improving the efficiency and tenor of city government.
Supporters were confident that Armato would be a success.
“It’s about time we had a logical council,” said Dennis Jarvis, owner of Spyder Surfboards. “As a business owner, I’m stoked.”
