Hilton Unofficial Winner of Special Election

Decisions on Council Vacancies Delayed

By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter

The unofficial election returns show Jawane Hilton, pastor of City on the Hill Church, has won the Carson City Council seat left vacant when Mike Gipson was elected to the state assembly.

To fill the vacancy, the city hosted a special election on June 2, with six candidates on the ballot. However, the margin of votes between Hilton and second-place finisher Jesus Alex Cainglet was close.

The city clerk is delaying the certification of the election and will announce the date of when the winner will be sworn in. Some provisional ballots still need to be counted. The clerk’s office made no further comment on the reason for the delay and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder also refused to comment on why a count of provisional ballots might be subject to delay.

Special Election Results

The city clerk’s office gave this unofficial tally:

• Jawane Hilton, 2135 votes, 36.7 percent

• Jesus Alex Cainglet, 1994 votes, 34.2 percent

• Rita Boggs, 799 votes, 13.7 percent

• Stephen John Randle, 356 votes, 6.1 percent

• Emanuel Chuma Obiora, 320 votes, 5.5 percent

• Joseph Gordon, 221 votes, 3.8 percent

Candidates’ Support and Finances

Although Carson council elections are nonpartisan, Hilton received support from many Democratic leaders including Assemblyman Mike Gipson, Rep. Janice Hahn, Sen. Isadore Hall III and Council member Lula Davis-Holmes. His campaign was highly visible, well-financed and relied heavily on mailings and phone banks in the days immediately before the election.

Campaign financial records show that labor organizations, along with two Democratic candidates’ organizations, supported Hilton, while mostly ignoring other candidates. Gipson for Assembly 2016 donated $10,000 and Steven Bradford for Senate 2016 contributed $1,500. Various labor organizations contributed a combined $6,000. In addition, Watson Land kicked in $2,500.

Cainglet, the candidate with the second-best funding, also got $2,500 from Watson Land. However, the region’s Democratic leadership ignored him. The remaining candidates were self-funded or operated with much smaller contributions from individuals.