Assembly District 62 election heads to runoff

INGLEWOOD – Lawndale Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles was stunned last night as political strategist Tina McKinnor is hot on heels to replace Autumn Burke as the areas next Assembly member.

Pullen-Miles currently works in the district office and was supported by Burke, and the entire Inglewood City Council. He received 37% of votes as of the night’s last count.

McKinnor received 35% of the vote, with 397 separating the two.

McKinnor is a former operational director for the California Democratic Party and chief of staff to several Assembly members.

Hawthorne Councilwoman Angie Reyes-English received 14%, and Nico Ruderman finished with 13%.

Pullen-Miles and McKinnor will face each other in June.

In the meantime, Inglewood residents should be asking the candidates how they feel about the state of our school district, do they support returning it to local control? What are their thoughts on strengthening renter protections, and how will they fix the issues in the unemployment office? What are their thoughts on public safety, and how they will work with legislators on police reform?

These are things that will be in their purview as a state official, and somehow they managed to get this far without being asked their thoughts on any of it.

Ballots were sent to all voters in the district which stretches from Venice on the north, Lawndale on the south, the unincorporated Westmont and West Athens areas on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Tuesday was the deadline to vote or submit ballots.

Turnout was 7.78%.

The district stretches from Venice on the north, Lawndale on the south, the unincorporated Westmont and West Athens areas on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

The district also includes El Segundo, Hawthorne and Inglewood; the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista and Del Rey, and the unincorporated communities of Del Aire, Lennox and Marina del Rey.

All four candidates on the special election ballot are also on the June 7 ballot for the full two-year term in the redistricted 61st Assembly District, along with environmental consultant James Arlandus Spencer, a Republican.

City News Service contributed to this article