Patrick O'Donnell, John Goya leading Suja Lowenthal in Assembly race


A 70th District Assembly race that pitted two Long Beach City Council members against each other saw one with a strong lead in early election returns Tuesday.

Councilman Patrick O’Donnell was leading Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, both Democrats, as was Republican John Goya, in early returns.

With vote-by-mail ballots counted, typically more than half of the total cast, O’Donnell had 39.07 percent, or 7,111 votes; Goya had 34.53 percent, or 6,284 votes; and Lowenthal had 26.40 percent, or 4,805 votes.

The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to a November runoff.

Although it was a three-way race, O’Donnell and Lowenthal’s campaigns and committees supporting them focused on each other, often slinging mud rather than addressing the issues.

The two candidates or the political organizations supporting them attacked O’Donnell and Lowenthal’s voting records on the council, despite that both candidates usually voted the same way. For example, a group called Parents and Teachers for Putting Students First, an organization supporting Lowenthal, attacked O’Donnell for his vote on a land swap involving the Los Cerritos Wetlands. They failed to mention that Lowenthal also supported the land swap.

Lowenthal, in turn, accused O’Donnell’s supporters of making a similar error. For example, she was criticized for taking a city stipend for her car, but her opponent wasn’t held to the same type of scrutiny for taking a stipend himself.

On the council, Lowenthal represents the downtown District 1, while O’Donnell’s District 4 includes Los Altos and surrounding neighborhoods.

If either Lowenthal or O’Donnell are elected in November, a special election will be held to fill the new vacancy on the council. That election will most likely be in April or May of next year.

Contact the writer: 562-221-9608 or


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