Portantino wins race for 25th district state Senate seat

Democrat Anthony Portantino came out on top in the state Senate race in the 25th District Tuesday night.

The former state Assemblyman received 139,116 votes, or about 59%, compared to Republican L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who had 97,878 votes, or roughly 41%, with all precincts reporting.

Early Tuesday night, during his election night party at the Armenian Cultural Foundation in Pasadena, Portantino said he was hopeful that he would maintain his lead.

“The night is young. We just got the first round of results,” he said. “I like the trend, I feel very positive … I’m cautiously optimistic that it will remain throughout the night.”

Once his victory was assured, Portantino on Wednesday issued a statement through a spokesperson:

“Wow! What a night. Ellen, Bella and Sofia join me in expressing our sincerest appreciation to everyone who walked a precinct, made phone calls, posted or tweeted a positive message, financially contributed, endorsed and sent well-wishes [and] positive thoughts about our campaign for the state Senate. Collectively and collaboratively, your dedication and efforts made a difference and we won,” according to the statement.

“I also want to take a moment to extend my personal gratitude to Supervisor Mike Antonovich for his long and distinguished service to the County of Los Angeles and the residents of the 5th District. There is much for all of us to appreciate in his work.”

Portantino went on to say he’s “honored to have been trusted by friends and neighbors” in the district and is looking forward “to working to the best of my ability to meet those challenges and continue to make a positive difference.”

Just 3 miles away from the center on election night, Antonovich was hosting his own event at Cafe Santorini in Pasadena. Antonovich’s run for the seat came after he termed out in his position as a Los Angeles County supervisor.

At that time, Antonovich said it was too early to declare any winner in the state Senate race. He said the broad range of support he has received may lead to a victory.

“I’ve had many leading Democrats’ support, along with Republicans and independents,” he said. “You can’t make any predictions right now — we’ll have to see how the vote will come out.”

At a candidate forum held last month, the two candidates held differing views on the controversial 710 Freeway extension, which would close a gap between the 10 and 210 freeways.

Antonovich said that he is waiting for the completed environmental report on the project and won’t make a decision on the extension until all the documents are finished.

“Until the plan is completed, you can’t make a judgment until you see what the facts are,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re shooting from the hip and that’s the wrong way of doing business.”

Portantino said he is “150%” opposed to the project, which he called a “boondoggle,” adding that the documents that are needed to make a call on the extension are already available to the public.

“It’s a $20-billion hole in the ground that doesn’t solve a transportation problem,” he said.

Also, Los Angeles County and the state are facing a growing homelessness issue, and the two candidates had differing opinions at the forum on how to address the problem.

Portantino said there has to be a dedicated revenue stream to fund projects aimed at helping homeless people and giving them the support that they need on a statewide level. Additionally, he would seek to change the housing element, which requires cities to identify low-income housing. Portantino said he would incentivize cities to follow through and build that housing.

Antonovich said there are various types of homeless people — those who are “economically deprived,” those who are addicted to alcohol or drugs and those suffering from mental illness. His approach to addressing the issue would be to offer housing to those who cannot afford it and offer longer-lasting programs for those who need medical treatment.

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Andy Nguyen, [email protected]

Twitter: @Andy_Truc