Jose Ugarte leads Estuardo Mazariegos by 156 votes in L.A. 9th District council race

The race for Los Angeles City Council’s 9th District seat remains extremely close, with Jose Ugarte holding a narrow lead over Estuardo Mazariegos by 156 votes, according to the latest tally from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder.

As of Tuesday night, Ugarte has 19,200 votes compared to Mazariegos’ 19,044. Tuesday was the final day for counting mail-in ballots, but the number of remaining ballots is unknown. Due to the Veterans Day holiday, the next update on the vote count will be released Friday.

The 9th District covers South L.A. neighborhoods, the Convention Center, and USC. The seat is open because the current councilmember, Curren Price, is term-limited and facing charges of embezzlement and conflict of interest, which he denies. Price has endorsed Ugarte, whose platform includes protecting residents from federal immigration enforcement.

Mazariegos, supported by the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, has a background in community organizing and is campaigning on improving quality of life, affordable housing, and reallocating funds from policing to basic services.

The Mazariegos campaign has alleged irregularities involving ballots collected during Ugarte’s canvassing efforts, sharing images of sealed and unsealed ballots and accusing the Ugarte campaign of improper handling. The Registrar-Recorder’s office has forwarded these complaints to the district attorney’s office for review.