Mayoral Candidate Katrina Foley is leading in election results with candidate Sandra Genis trailing behind her.
Live election results below thanks to a partnership with the Reynolds Journalism Institute. CLICK HERE to view live results for every Orange County race.
In District 1, candidate Don Harper is in the lead with about 43%. Candidate John Stephens is following behind with about 42%.
In District 2, candidate Loren Gameros leads with about 50% of the vote. Candidate Ben Chapman is behind Gameros with about 30% of the vote.
In District 6, election results are indicating a lead for candidate Jeffrey Harlan with about 48% as candidate Jeff Pettis trails with about 20% of the vote.
This election 15 candidates are running for four seats on the Costa Mesa city council. Democrats have been looking to keep a majority of their seats on the Council.
The panel shifted from being a majority Republican to Democrat in 2018.
That’s the year Costa Mesa first utilized a voting district election system moving away from its previous citywide voting system. Elections were also historic in the city that year because it was the first time the public directly elected it’s mayor, as opposed to the majority of the City Council making the decision to fill the post on an annual basis.
The change in system added two seats to the council. Democrats won all of the spots up for grabs that year with voters electing Council members Andrea Marr in district three, Manuel Chavez in district four and Arlis Reynolds in district five.
The mayor is elected at large for a two-year term. Council members serve a four-year term.
This is the first election where residents in districts one, two and six will get to elect their own council members after the switch away from an at large voting system in 2018.
Around 37% of registered voters in the city are Democrats, about 32% are Republicans and 25% are no party preference voters, according to county data.
City staff in May projected a $30 million deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The deficit has drawn the current council criticism for not building up reserves for the city from candidates looking to replace incumbents.
The city’s finance and pension board is now projecting a $250,000 surplus following close to $11 million in department cuts, layoffs and furloughs.
Voters will also decide the fate of Measure Q , which legalizes retail cannabis shops in Costa Mesa and the city would be able to tax, regulate and profit off of marijuana sales.
The measure has received about 66% of votes in support of it in election results.
City staff estimated that if approved the measure could bring in between $1.4 million to $3.1 million. Cannabis sales would be taxed between 4% and 7%.
A majority of the current council has spoken in support of the measure, saying it will not only diversify the city’s revenue stream but will bring an end to the numerous unlicensed pot shops in the city that have been selling cannabis products untaxed and unregulated.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC Reporting Fellow. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.