---
[ POLITICS ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022)
# How Serious Is Kenneth Mejia’s Victory?
December 08 2022
Written by Tim Deegan.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
DEEGAN ON LA—Could the election of an unknown, untried, self-promoting, self-proclaimed radical revolutionary as the incoming City Controller be seen as a bellwether for the state of LA politics today?
What powered that victory?
In a citywide race, Kenneth Mejia got [more votes](https://results.lavote.gov/#year=2022&election=4300) (513,190) as a city controller candidate than Karen Bass did for mayor (509,852).
Bass, herself, got [more votes](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-25/los-angeles-mayor-election-voting-record) than any mayoral candidate in history. A syllogism suggests that Mejia got more votes than any mayoral candidate in history because he got more votes than Bass.
This is intoxicating stuff for the politico neophyte and his backers. Hallucinations of Mejia running for mayor himself in four years can’t be avoided, except for the truism that twenty-four hours is a long time in politics and that he has a lot to prove of himself as an officeholder. An incumbent Mayor Bass would be very hard to beat.
But a test of strength for his voters will be reflected in a special election on April 4 to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of then council president Nury Martinez (CD6), who was swept up in city hall scandal centering on a leaked tape recording showcasing her and council colleagues Gil Cedillo (CD1) and Kevin De Leon (CD14) as racists.
Cedillo was spared the humiliation of being ousted from his council seat by the scandal when he lost the primary election in June to Eunisses Hernandez, long before the damaging tape leaked. De Leon is still refusing to resign and is facing what will be a third attempt to recall him. Previous recall efforts did not have the frisson of his racist comments.
De Leon continues to draw his $218,000 salary, plus benefits and perks. Mejia ran on a platform that included defunding the police. Maybe he will find a way to defund De Leon while waiting for voters to unseat him. De Leon is currently on the city payroll, but not doing his job, until December 2024.
The far-left radicals that helped make Mejia an officeholder may have a chance to fill two more seats (CD6-formerly Martinez) and CD14-currently De Leon) and that’s when we’ll know exactly how hard the winds of change are blowing.
There’s no doubt that momentum favors the far left but, unlike the midterm elections in November, there are no major issues like control of Congress, a mayor’s race or the Roe v. Wade tailwind that created a surge in voters.
Primary elections are usually quiet affairs, and special elections even less noticeable. Election fatigue may also have an effect. But, the door knockers and social media teams that helped power radical left candidates into office (Hernandez in CD1 and Soto-Martinez in CD13) may do it again in April and truly shift the balance of power in the city council away from the old guard.
The ease of voting by mail (in the midterms in LA, over 80% of the votes were by mail), is a good incentive that makes the process of voting much easier. And, higher than usual turnout: forty-three percent of [eligible LA voters](https://results.lavote.gov/#year=2022&election=4300) casts ballots in the recent election.
Soon, we will know who the special election candidates are and get a sense of what organizational support they have. The filing window for special election candidates is from December 5 to 12. At press time, there were already one dozen announced prospective candidates. By January 4 they must submit their nominating petitions. Then, it's a ninety-day sprint to the finish line,
In April someone will be elected. It’s the post analysis of that event that will solidify, or challenge, the notion that the far left has seriously arrived at the table.
*(Tim Deegan is a civic activist whose Deegan on LA weekly column about city planning, new urbanism, the environment, and the homeless appear in CityWatch. Tim can be reached at* [*timdeegan2015@gmail.com*](mailto:timdeegan2015@gmail.com)*.)*
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Email
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33349-l-a-county-faces-a-government-shake-up)
### [L.A. County Faces a Government Shake-Up](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33349-l-a-county-faces-a-government-shake-up)
WESTSIDE - Currently larger than 40 states in terms of population with roughly 10 million residents, Los Angeles County…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33346-before-we-ask-god-to-judge-us-the-jewish-people-must-judge-ourselves)
### [Before We Ask God to Judge Us, the Jewish People Must Judge Ourselves](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33346-before-we-ask-god-to-judge-us-the-jewish-people-must-judge-ourselves)
Yom Kippur demands more than personal repentance. At a defining moment for Jews everywhere, it asks whether we have tru…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33372-the-greater-israel-delusion-may-undo-israel)
### [The Greater Israel Delusion May Undo Israel](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33372-the-greater-israel-delusion-may-undo-israel)
ANNEXATION - The vision of “Greater Israel” draws on maximalist readings of biblical verses, especially Genesis 15:18–2…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/world-watch/33366-israels-political-map-is-being-redrawn)
### [Israel’s Political Map Is Being Redrawn](https://mail.citywatchla.com/world-watch/33366-israels-political-map-is-being-redrawn)
NETANYAHUISM - The next Israeli election may be about something larger than Benjamin Netanyahu. For the first time in a…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33347-la-stop-the-war-on-cars-they-arent-going-away)
### [LA, Stop the War on Cars. They Aren’t Going Away](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33347-la-stop-the-war-on-cars-they-arent-going-away)
LA TRANSPO - For anyone traversing the San Fernando Valley, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Los Angeles is sp…
---
## [ POLITICS ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33352-she-can-skip-congress-she-cant-skip-accountability)### [She Can Skip Congress. She Can't Skip Accountability](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33352-she-can-skip-congress-she-cant-skip-accountability)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33339-from-democrat-to-independent-one-voters-break-with-las-left)### [From Democrat to Independent: One Voter’s Break With LA’s Left](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33339-from-democrat-to-independent-one-voters-break-with-las-left)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33286-one-city-15-mini-mayors-los-angeles-is-governing-itself-into-chaos)### [One City, 15 Mini Mayors: Los Angeles Is Governing Itself Into Chaos](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/33286-one-city-15-mini-mayors-los-angeles-is-governing-itself-into-chaos)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/32722-californias-homeless-disaster-is-exploding-which-governor-candidate-has-the-courage-to-stop-it)### [California’s Homeless Disaster Is Exploding Which Governor Candidate Has the Courage to Stop It?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/32722-californias-homeless-disaster-is-exploding-which-governor-candidate-has-the-courage-to-stop-it)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/32762-tim-gaspars-political-problem-the-more-voters-learn-the-worse-it-gets)### [Tim Gaspar’s Political Problem: The More Voters Learn, the Worse It Gets](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-election-2022/32762-tim-gaspars-political-problem-the-more-voters-learn-the-worse-it-gets)