By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
COMPTON — Mayor Emma Sharif appears to be headed to a runoff after voting in the city’s primary election June 2.
The county provided its most recent update early June 3, with results showing Sharif as the top vote getter against a field of six challengers.
Sharif received 3,012 votes, nearly 42% of the vote, followed by Councilman Andre Spicer, who received 1,227 votes, totaling 17% of the vote, and Omar Bradley Jr., who received 1,182 votes, totaling 16%.
Reached by phone June 3, Sharif said “Residents are looking for someone honest and truthful with them and who will represent them in a manner that is conducive to conducting public business on their behalf.”
Sharif said her top priorities between now and November are to focus on infrastructure improvements, to address the deficiencies outlined in recent audits, and to continue providing transparency to the residents.
“I am very grateful for the support I have received and am looking forward to continuing the work we have started,” she said.
Compton school board President Micah Ali is elated with the community’s support of Measure CPT to finance the construction of a new Dominguez High School.
Residents supported building new schools, with 6,700 yes votes recorded against 4,765 no votes.
“The early returns from yesterday’s election reveal a deeper truth that goes beyond simple winners and losers, offering a shared lesson for us all,” Ali said. “What these initial results clearly show is that the people of the Compton Unified School District vociferously stand behind their students and the construction of a brand new Dominguez High School.”
Days before the election, Ali was blindsided when U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters announced her opposition to the bond measure
in her voter ballot guide to vote no.
“By turning out for Measure CPT, our community has proven that investing in education is a true testament to our shared values and our commitment to the next generation,” Ali said.
Waters did not respond to requests for comment on why she publicly came out against Compton’s bond, while being silent on bonds recently passed by Compton Community College and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
In other election results, Compton City Clerk Satra Zurita is poised to win a second term as the city’s official record keeper after securing 4,479 votes, totaling 63% of the vote over her challenger, Lynn Boone, who received 2,622 votes.
“I want to thank all of the Compton voters who supported my campaign and efforts to bring more transparency to the city clerk’s office, as the residents have consistently asked for,” Zurita said.
City Treasurer Brandon Mims received 3,907 votes, leading challenger Maxwell Burke, who received 2,831 votes.
Council District 2 will have a new council member after Andre Spicer declined to run for reelection and instead set his sights on the mayor’s seat.
Bennie Tenson is the top vote-getter with 373 votes, 31% of the vote, followed by Anthony Perry with 277 votes, 23%. Skyy Fisher was third with 167 votes, followed by Alin Hamade, Jace Dawson and Darrell Carter rounding out the bottom three.
District 3 Councilman Jonathan Bowers received 1,124 votes, over Compton Cowboy Randall Hooks, who received 994 votes.
Former City Councilwoman Tana McCoy and former Compton school board Mae Thomas were on the ballot to represent the seat being vacated by Ayanna Davis, who is running for the state Assembly.
McCoy landed in the top spot after receiving 1,134 votes over Thomas, who received 923 votes.
School board member Alma Taylor Pleasant cruised to another four-year term after securing 744 votes over challenger Tonya Craft-Perry, who received 330 votes.
Compton school board member Davis was the number one vote getter in the race to replace termed-out 66th District Assemblyman Mike Gipson. Davis secured 18,781 votes over Republican Lydia Gutierrez, who received 9,635 votes. In third was Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, who received 6,203 votes.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
