Council Candidate Lamar ‘Encouraged’ by Early Voting Numbers

One day after his opponent ran out to an early lead in the District 3 election, candidate Brandon Lamar appeared to remain optimistic when contacted by Pasadena Now.

Lamar trails incumbent John Kennedy 823 (62.49%) to 494 (37.51%).

More election results are scheduled to be released on Friday according to the county registrar’s office.

“I have enjoyed this entire experience of campaigning. Running against an incumbent, I am encouraged by the early voting numbers shown so far. It is a definite sign that people power is most important,” Lamar said.

Kennedy did not declare victory when Pasadena Now reached him late election night.

Instead, the incumbent said that Lamar ran a respectable campaign and praised him as a “change agent.”

‘But,” he added. “In the end, I think the voters demonstrated that they preferred my programs and policies. My goal has always been to create one Pasadena for all.”

Lamar, chairs the city’s Human Relations Commission. Lamar is also a board member with the nonprofit Pasadenans Organizing for Progress, an executive board member with the Pasadena NAACP, and a member of Leadership Pasadena and Black Los Angeles Young Democrats.

According to the registrar’s office, there are still hundreds of thousands of ballots that need to be counted across the county, including vote-by-mail ballots received on election day, provisional ballots, write-in ballots and damaged ballots.

These ballots are counted during the 30-day period known as the official election canvass. Ballots also require additional review to verify voters are eligible to vote and write-in ballots were cast for qualified candidates.

California state law requires the county registrar to complete and certify results within 30 days. This provision of the law recognizes the complexity of completing the ballot count and conducting a thorough audit of the election results to ensure accuracy.

“My focus has been to engage the community and build a foundation that would amplify our voices,” Lamar said when reached by email. “With about 11,000 registered voters in District 3, only a little over 1,200 has voted. It’s a proven fact that we all have to do a better job at engaging and building trust with neighbors in order to grow voter turnout. This is our right and we have to use it. I’m encouraged.”