Burke Declared Winner in 2nd District

With all the ballots finally counted, election officials Thursday declared Yvonne Brathwaite Burke the winner--by less than 1% of the vote--in the race to become the first African-American elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

But Burke’s opponent, state Sen. Diane Watson, repeated her vow to challenge the results by filing a lawsuit, possibly today, alleging voting irregularities. The district attorney’s office is investigating the balloting, but election officials have said they have found no evidence of voter fraud.

The final tally, more than two weeks after the Nov. 3 election, showed Burke winning by 2,583 votes out of 412,699 ballots cast in the 2nd District, which includes South-Central Los Angeles and part of the Westside. Burke had led by 775 votes when the polls closed.

Burke, 60, an attorney and ex-congresswoman who was appointed to the board in 1979 but was defeated for election a year later, wasted no time in positioning herself to move back into her old job. She will be sworn in Dec. 7.

On Thursday, she toured her new office in the County Hall of Administration with retiring Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. She named her campaign manager, Herb Wesson, as her chief deputy. “I’ve lost close elections . . . and I know it’s difficult for the loser,� Burke said, “but I would hope that everyone in this district would come together.�

“Take care of the potholes� was the advice to Burke from Hahn, who was legendary for his attention to basic constituent services.

Supervisor Deane Dana, who ousted Burke after a bitter 1980 campaign, issued a statement welcoming her to the board. “She will bring a breadth of experience that will be tremendously valuable to both the residents of the 2nd District and Los Angeles County.�

Watson campaign officials said they were undecided about whether to seek a recount.

County Registrar-Recorder Charles Weissburd, citing state law, denied Watson’s request to count thousands of “provisional� ballots that were rejected because they were cast at the wrong precincts. Watson has said she believes she could overtake Burke if those ballots were counted.