Los Angeles City Council District 13 Primary Results: Dark horse Sam Kbushyan Hangs Tough with Frontrunners John Choi and Mitch O'Farrell
In the Los Angeles City Council District 13 race, dark horse candidate Sam Kbushyan, who was ignored by nearly all media, is keeping pace with frontrunners Mitch O'Farrell and John Choi in a competitive race for one of California's most prized political seats. Past CD 13 council members have made strong runs for mayor and have served in the state legislature.
Sam Kbushyan
With more than 50 percent of votes counted, Kbushyan, who came out strong from the start, sits in a second with 2,126 votes and 16.1 percent. Frontrunner Choi leads him with 2,201 votes and 16.6, and O'Farrell has 2107 votes with 15.95 percent.
Choi is the favorite of big labor unions, and O'Farrell is a former aide to District 13 Councilman Eric Garcetti, who's running for mayor.
Kbushyan is a little known community activist, but he's beating frontrunners Matt Szabo, a former deputy mayor under Antonio Villaraigosa, and Alex De Ocampo, an executive for billionaire Haim Saban's charitable foundation.
All of them have raised major money, and Choi, Szabo, and De Ocampo recently moved into District 13 to try to land the plum seat. Kbushyan, by comparison, raised a lowly $59,432.
The CD 13 race will be a squeaker, so get ready for a long night.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.
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