Garcetti, Greuel in dead heat for L.A. mayor

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L.A. mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti greets supporters at the Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday night. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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L.A. mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel and some supporters take the stage during an election night gathering at the old Pacific Stock Exchange. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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L.A. mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti greets supporters at his election night party at the Hollywood Palladium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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L.A. mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel greets supporters during an election night gathering at the old Pacific Stock Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Former L.A. County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti greets supporters of his son, L.A. mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti, at an election night party at the Hollywood Palladium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Mitch O’Farrell, a candidate for Council District 13, greets supporters at his election night party at the St. Felix Bar in Hollywood. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Mike Feuer, right, a candidate for city attorney, gets a hug from his friend Leon Alkalai on election night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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L.A. mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel is flanked by her son Thomas, 9, and her husband, Dean Schramm, as she monitors election returns at the old Pacific Stock Exchange in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporters of L.A. mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel gather at the old Pacific Stock Exchange in downtown Los Angeles for an election night gathering. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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John Choi, a candidate for Council District 13, hugs his mother, Myung Choi, on election night at Mohawk Bend Restaurant. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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“Yes on D” campaign manager Nam Le, left, claps during an election night gathering at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood as the medical pot measure takes an early lead. John Grant, center, and Rick Icaza, both with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, also show their enthusiasm. The measure would limit the number of pot shops in the city to about 130. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporters of Proposition D celebrate its early lead at the Lucky Strikes bowling alley in Hollywood. The measure would limit medical marijuana dispensaries to those that existed before the adoption of a failed 2007 moratorium on new pot shops. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Betsy Richardson casts her ballot at Los Angeles City Fire Station No. 88 in Sherman Oaks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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John Monahan is the first to cast his vote at the UFCW Local 770 hall in Harbor City. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Barbara Meijers walks out of the Voyager Motor Inn in Van Nuys after casting her ballot Tuesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Paul Maes walks away from the polling booth to turn in his ballot as he carries his dog, Rocko, next to a leaping dolphin at the Cetacean Society building at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Jay Goldfard of Encino walks past empty voting booths after bringing his mail-in ballot to Los Angeles City Fire Station No. 88 in Sherman Oaks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Where to hang the flag? Poll workers Esperanza Gaytan, left, Mathew Klempa and Barry Copilow, holding the flag, try to decide on the right spot at Allesandro Elementary School in Silver Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Deborah Murphy tries to control her dog Fiona while voting at Allesandro Elementary School. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A sign hangs from the wheelchair of Marcelo Nuno Aceves as he casts his ballot at the Hollenbeck Park Recreation Center in the Boyle Heights. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Cindy White casts her vote for Wendy Greuel at Sinai Temple on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti and wife Amy Wakeland hug before casting their ballots at Allesandro Elementary School in Silver Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Wendy Greuel watches as her son, 9-year-old Thomas Schramm, submits her ballot at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Studio City. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti, with wife Amy Wakeland, casts his ballot at Allesandro Elementary School in Silver Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Wendy Greuel watches as her son, Thomas Schramm, places an “I Voted” sticker on her jacket. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti speaks to reporters after casting his ballot in Silver Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Wendy Greuel, with husband Dean Schramm, answers questions outside her polling place in Studio City. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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City Atty. Carmen Trutanich jokes with his daughter, Kristin, and her son Nathan, 14 months, before he casts his ballot in Harbor City. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Esperanza Gonzalez checks her ballot after voting at the Hollenbeck Park Recreation Center in Boyle Heights. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

By Laura J. Nelson

May 21, 2013 10:51 PM PT

The latest round of election results that trickled in Tuesday night showed City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel in a dead heat in the race to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.

With 8% of precints reporting, Greuel had 50% of the vote and Garcetti had 49.9%.

Of the 171,998 ballots counted, 160,471 were mailed in before election day. Candidates in some city races, including council seats, had early leads of 10 points or more. But with the vast majority of ballots yet to be counted, all races remained up for grabs.

Polls closing Tuesday night marked the end of two years of campaigning for Greuel and Garcetti in their quests to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

After defeating six other candidates in the March primary, the two candidates continued to rely on large, unregulated spending by outside groups, a topic that also dominated the debates and advertisements that bombarded Angelenos in recent weeks.

At a party at a nightclub in downtown Los Angeles, Greuel supporters had said her slim lead was the first step toward victory. Garcetti supporters at a party at the Hollywood Palladium said they were confident the race would turn their way.

In the race for the city’s top lawyer position, former state Assemblyman Mike Feuer held an 18-point lead over incumbent Carmen Trutanich, leading the race 59% to 41%.

Lawyer Ron Galperin led former City Councilman Dennis Zine 52% to 48% for the city controller position.

L.A. Elections: See more election returns

In the race to replace outgoing City Councilman Ed Reyes in the 1st District, former state Legislator Gilbert Cedillo led the race against rival Jose Gardea—who served as Reyes’ chief of staff—55% to 45%. As more votes came in from the 1st District, Gardea closed the gap slightly from results earlier in the night.

Cindy Montanez, formerly in the state Assembly, held 46% of the vote in a field of six candidates to fill the council’s 6th District seat. The position representing the San Fernando Valley has been empty since former Councilman Tony Cardenas was elected to Congress in the fall.

In the district that covers much of South Los Angeles, state Sen. Curren Price (D-Los Angeles) had 55% of the vote, compared with 45% for Ana Cubas, a former aide to Councilman Jose Huizar.

In the 13th District, which spans neighborhoods including Hollywood, Echo Park and Silver Lake, former Garcetti staffer Mitch O’Farrell led rival John Choi 53% to 47%.

The ballot also included three separate measures that would regulate medical marijuana in Los Angeles. The measure with the most votes will win, but only if it receives more than 50% of the vote. If none of the three receives majority approval, they all fail.

About 64% had voted yes on Measure D, which would shrink the number of pot shops in Los Angeles to about 130.

laura.nelson@latimes.com

ALSO:

Mount Washington turns out for mayor’s race

Turnout appears small as L.A. votes for new mayor

Follow the money: Special interest groups give big to Garcetti and Greuel

Times staff writers Maeve Reston, Seema Mehta and Marisa Gerber contributed to this report.