Ortiz, Pemberton come out on top in special election

Horacio Ortiz Jr. speaks with a supporter during his campaign party on election night, which was held at his restaurant in Montebello. (PHOTO BY ALEX DOMINGUEZ)

This story has been updated. Editor Eric Pierce contributed to this story.

DOWNEY - A Dorothy Pemberton and Horacio Ortiz Jr. were elected to the Downey City Council on Tuesday, capping a tumultuous election season and bringing a semblance of stability to City Hall, at least for the next year.

Both Pemberton and Ortiz jumped out to early leads Tuesday and maintained them throughout the night.

Results are not yet official, pending confirmation from the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder.

At the time of writing, Ortiz held a comfortable lead in the race for the District 1 (southeast Downey) seat. Ortiz collected 754 votes (or 51.54%), ahead of Elvira Meraz, who mustered 587 (40.12%) votes.

Ramon Casas Jr. trailed far behind with just 8.34% of votes cast.

“We’re still early on the results, but I’m pretty confident on where we’re at,” Ortiz said Wednesday morning. He called his campaign “a team effort.”

“I want to do right by my city,” said Ortiz. “This was the place where I was born and raised all my life. This is my home, and I want to make sure I take Downey to a new direction, and I’m pretty excited where Downey is heading.”

Ortiz and his family own the chain of El Pescador restaurants, with Ortiz managing the Montebello location. He chairs Downey’s planning commission and was notably the lone commissioner to vote against controversial sports bar Ojos Locos.

The District 1 seat was vacated last year after then-councilwoman Blanca Pacheco was elected to the state Assembly. Timothy Horn has been filling in on a temporary basis.

Dorothy Pemberton speaks with former mayor Rick Rodriguez and her campaign manager Hans Fritz at her campaign party held at her home. (PHOTO BY ALEX DOMINGUEZ)

In District 3 (northwest Downey), Pemberton captured 54.69% of votes cast, ahead of Gil Legaspi (36.21%) and Ernesto Valle (9.1%).

Pemberton and Legaspi, both real estate brokers, raised tens of thousands of dollars each to fund campaigns that turned increasingly hostile over the past several weeks.

“It took a village,” Pemberton said of the results, “and I thank God for the outcome.”

Pemberton led the recall of former Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez, who was booted from office in January over allegations that she failed to disclose her criminal record ahead of her 2020 election.

Pemberton will now finish the remainder of Alvarez’s term, which expires in 2024.

In a statement posted to social media Wednesday, Legaspi said he intends to challenge Pemberton again next year.

Both Ortiz and Pemberton will need to seek re-election in the 2024 General Election if they choose to continue on the council.

Turnout for Tuesday’s special elections were extremely low with only around 14% of 31,742 eligible voters casting a ballot.