Race for Antonovich county seat remains in limbo

The latest round of vote-counting released by the Los Angeles County registrar shows an outsider candidate maintaining his lead over a state senator in a close contest for a runoff spot in the race to replace retiring county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

The outcome of the primary election has been in limbo since June 7. Out of eight candidates, Antonovich’s chief of staff, Kathryn Barger, finished first by a comfortable margin, winning about 30% of the vote. But the second spot remains in question.

Darrell Park, an entrepreneur and former White House Office of Management and Budget staffer, was second in the initial vote count, by a margin of about 400 votes, with state Sen. Bob Huff third. Barger and Huff are Republicans, as is Antonovich; Park is a Democrat.

The county registrar has been counting the outstanding provisional and late vote-by-mail ballots since election day. With the latest count released Friday, Park still held just over 15% of the vote and Huff just under 15%, with Park now ahead by 1,661 votes.

The registrar’s office is expected to certify the results July 1.

This was Park’s first run for elected office and he beat out several more experienced candidates who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars more, including Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander, who had widely been expected to land a spot in the runoff.

Park said Friday he’s awaiting the rest of the vote count, and that he’s “really excited� about the current numbers.

“It’s evidence that every single person’s vote matters,� he said.

Antonovich has held the seat for 36 years and is stepping down at the end of the year because of term limits passed in 2002. A second county seat, being vacated by Supervisor Don Knabe, is also up for grabs in November. U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) will face off against Steve Napolitano, a former Manhattan Beach councilman and aide to Knabe.

[email protected]

Twitter: @sewella