District 1 Councilmember Mary Zendejas has narrowly avoided a November runoff in her reelection bid against challenger Anthony Bryson after the Los Angeles County registrar’s office released the final ballot tally on Friday afternoon, June 26.
Zendejas needed a majority of the votes — 50% plus one — to win the June 2 election outright.
Zendejas finished well ahead of her other challengers, but her 3,678 votes represented 50.21% of the total — just barely over the majority threshold.
Bryson, a community organizer and activist, finished with 1,300 votes, or 17.75%.
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan certified the election results on Friday.
Mary Zendejas, Long Beach’s incumbent First District Councilmember, could be headed for a November runoff against challenger Anthony Bryson.
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Mary Zendejas, Long Beach’s incumbent First District Councilmember, could be headed for a November runoff against challenger Anthony Bryson.
Six candidates vied for the District 1 seat, which represents much of the downtown area. The incumbent maintained a relatively stable lead over her challengers since election night, but Zendejas’ margin continually thinned with each update from the registrar’s office, inching her slightly closer to heading to a runoff against Bryson, who finished in second place.
But that won’t happen.
After Zendejas and Bryson, real estate agent and small-business owner Deb Kahookele was next with 12.82%, while Long Beach Continuum of Care board co-Chair Tamika Wagner-Osio had 12.04%, trucker and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary member Brock Goleman had 3.78% and retired laboratory technician Lori Logan had 3.40%.
District 3
Kristina Duggan is the incumbent candidate for Long Beach’s Third City Council District in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Duggan)
Ronald Sampson is a candidate for Long Beach’s Third City Council District in 2026. (Courtesy of Ronald Sampson)
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Kristina Duggan is the incumbent candidate for Long Beach’s Third City Council District in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Duggan)
Incumbent Councilmember Kristina Duggan won her bid for reelection outright, with 63.98% of the votes. Challenger Rebecca Hinderer, a restaurant owner, trailed with 25.95%. Design engineer Ronald Sampson and independent writer Brian Cochrane received 7.86% and 2.21%, respectively. The Third District includes Belmont Shore, Bixby Village, Naples and Alamitos Heights.
District 5
Megan Kerr is a candidate for Long Beach City Council District 5 in 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Tara Riggi is a candidate Long Beach’s Fifth City Council District. (Courtesy of Tara Riggi’s campaign)
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Megan Kerr is a candidate for Long Beach City Council District 5 in 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Incumbent Councilmember Megan Kerr won her second term on the City Council with 53.96% of the vote, while challenger Tara Riggi, a Realtor who also serves on the California Heights Neighborhood Association, had 46.04%. The Fifth District runs east and west from the Orange County border to the Los Angeles River, and includes most of the Long Beach Airport.
District 7
Long Beach City College Trustee Vivian Malauulu won the race for District 7 outright with 74.12% of votes.
Challengers Dameon Gordon, a homeless services case manager, and Long Beach Homeless Coalition president Jamies Shuford trailed with 19.05% and 6.83% of the vote, respectively. The Seventh District is mostly consolidated on the west side of the Los Angeles River and 710 Freeway, and includes Arlington, the upper and lower Westside, Wrigley Heights, North and South Wrigley, and the Port of Long Beach.
Long Beach City College Trustee Vivian Malauulu. (Courtesy photo)
James Shuford is a candidate for Long Beach’s Seventh City Council District in 2026. (Photo courtesy of James Shuford)
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Long Beach City College Trustee Vivian Malauulu. (Courtesy photo)
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District 9
Incumbent Councilmember Jodi Ricks-Oddie won her reelection bid outright with 67.97% of the vote. Challenger Sequoia Neff, a business owner, had 32.03%. District 9 is the northernmost district in the city and includes the neighborhoods of College Square, Starr King, Hamilton, McKinley and Powell.
Joni Ricks-Oddie is a candidate for Long Beach City Council District 9 in 2026. (Photo courtesy of the City of Long Beach)
Sequoia Neff is a candidate Long Beach’s Ninth City Council District. (Courtesy of Sequoia Neff’s campaign)
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Joni Ricks-Oddie is a candidate for Long Beach City Council District 9 in 2026. (Photo courtesy of the City of Long Beach)
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LBUSD District 1
Incumbent Board of Education member Maria Isabel López won her bid for reelection with 76.90% of the vote, while challenger Deborah Lisa Betance, a retired Long Beach Unified School District educator, had 23.10%. District 1 represents campuses in the Bixby Knolls and North Long Beach areas.
LBUSD District 5
Diana Craighead, candidate for LBUSD Board in District 5. (Courtesy of Diana Craighead)
Maureen “Quinn” Flaherty is a candidate for the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education’s Fifth District in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Maureen Flaherty’s campaign)
Sara Socheata Pol-Lim is a candidate for the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education’s Fifth District in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Sara Socheata Pol-Lim)
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Diana Craighead, candidate for LBUSD Board in District 5. (Courtesy of Diana Craighead)
Incumbent board member Diana Craighead won this race with 55.11% of votes, while education specialist Maureen “Quinn” Flaherty had 33.09%, and Sara Socheata Pol-Lim, an independent contractor, had 11.80%. District 5 represents East Long Beach and Lakewood schools.