The early results in the 2022 Gardena elections have Mayor Tasha Cerda and City Clerk Mina Semenza, both running unopposed, taking 100 percent of the vote as expected. The hot race for City Council has incumbent and Mayor Pro Tem Rodney Tanaka in first place with a handy 32 percent of the vote at the time of writing. But the other incumbent, Art Kaskanian, looks set to lose his seat to Wanda Love. Love currently has 29.5 percent of the vote, to Kaskanian’s 27.5. A win for Love would mean that Gardena would have a majority-women of color council. Love took to social media to say, “This is not the final count. But I feel good with this margin. Thank you, to all who believed in me and trusted me with your vote. Now WE got work to do.” On June 10, Love posted “I’m currently still holding the WIN by 51 votes. These numbers are not a surprise to me. To my supporters, We Got This! I’m confident and have faith in the work I have put in, the votes you have cast and most of all, the favor of my God that follows me. They have until the end of the month to count all the ballots and certify the election. However, this should be the biggest jump in numbers. There are more ballots to be counted, and the numbers may continue to change, but I don’t think it will be a drastic change.” Guy Hajime Mato is leading the City Treasurer race with 37.8 percent of the vote, to Louis Enriquez’s 36.8, and Kathleen Susan Evans’ 25.4 Visit results.lavote.gov for all of the information.
