Democratic Club
By Mary Larson
LW contributor
The 4,301 registered voters living in the west half of Leisure World will vote this month for the representative on the Seal Beach City Council. The election is being held because none of the candidates running in the 2022 General Election to replace termed-out Sandra Massa Lavitt received 50%+1 of the votes.
The LW Democratic Club supports Mariann Klinger in this District 5 runoff election. Her previous work experience and education will serve her well as a member of the Seal Beach City Council.
In the 2022 November election, 1,394 Leisure World eligible residents did not vote for any of the candidates running in District 5. The degree to which these residents decide to cast a ballot on Jan. 31 could determine who will represent Leisure World on the Seal Beach City Council for the next four years.
This will be an all-mail in ballot election. Unlike in recent elections, there will be no vote centers for in-person voting. Combined Voter Information Guides and mail in ballots will be mailed to eligible voters sometime between Jan. 3-21.
This will be an historic election for a number of reasons:
• For the first time ever, there were three registered Democrats and one registered Republican running in the 2022 General Election to represent LW’s District 5 .
• In that election, the three Democrats combined got 1,520 votes and the Republican got 1,162 votes.
• It was the first time “concerned citizens” from outside Leisure World and Seal Beach threw their support into the District 5 election.
• It was the first time for a need for a runoff between the two top vote-getters in District 5.
• The winner in this runoff will be the only Leisure World resident on the Seal Beach City Council.
• Many important decisions effecting Leisure World will be on the City Council’s agenda during the winner’s four-year term.
The city of Seal Beach had 25,242 residents as of 2020. The City Council is composed of five members elected by district to serve four-year terms. District 5 is the only district entirely located within Leisure World.
For more information about Klinger and her campaign, call 562-596-0450 or email democraticclubsblw@ gmail.com.
••• Democrats are also reminded that Mary Tromp, immediate past president of the LW Democratic Club, is one of the 24 candidates running in an upcoming Democratic Party sponsored election. She is currently already a member of the Party’s state-wide governing body and is running for re-election. The LW Democratic Club is supporting her re-election. People can call 562-412-0898 for more information about the election.
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For more in-depth reporting on issues, Democrats and supporters can subscribe to the club’s free electronic newsletter. People can call 562-296-8521 or email democraticclubsblw@gmail.com to sign up. The club asks for people to include their party affiliation, phone number, street and email address.
