SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Final Vote Tally Confirms Alarcon’s Council Victory

Former mayoral aide Richard Alarcon was confirmed Wednesday as the winner of last week’s Los Angeles City Council race in the northeast San Fernando Valley, as election officials said a final vote count slightly widened his slender victory margin over ex-city Fire Capt. Lyle Hall.

After tabulating more than 900 ballots not counted on Election Day, city election chief Kristin Heffron telephoned Alarcon at his Mission Hills home to say he had beaten Hall by 234 votes out of nearly 19,000 cast. In the preliminary count last week, Alarcon led by just 164 votes.

The new vote count reaffirmed Alarcon, 39, as the first Latino elected to the council from the Valley. He succeeds Councilman Ernani Bernardi, 81, who is retiring from his 7th District seat after 32 years on the council.