Election Battle: Broberg Increases Lead from 12 to 14 Votes

With the first round of provisional ballots tallied Friday, LCUSD governing board incumbent increased her lead over challenger by two votes.

On Tuesday, with all 15 precincts reporting, veteran board member Broberg earned 1,578 votes, with Blumenfeld, a 20-year-old Princeton junior, earning 1,566 votes. Only 12 votes separated the two. Friday's updated tally, according to the Los Angeles County Registar-Recorder/County Clerk, shows a 14-vote lead for Broberg, with her latest total being 1,764 votes, and Blumenfeld's being 1,750.

Candidate , who unofficially secured a win Tuesday, picked up 218 votes in Friday's tally, bringing her to 2,039 or 31.38 percent of the vote. Candidate has earned a total of 944 votes, or 14.53 percent.

Broberg, whose grandchildren attend , and served on the board from 1995-2003, and then returned for another stint in 2007, told Patch that she congratulates Mutari on a "sound victory'' and added, "She will be an important asset to the school board and our community.''

She pointed out everyone will have to wait until all the provisional ballots are counted to see who snares that second seat, but she profusely thanked everyone who worked on her campaign, she said.

Additional tally days will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday all at 1 p.m. And the last day of election updates will be Nov. 21 at 10 a.m.

The ballot counting process is open to the public. If you wish to observe the process, you may go to 12400 Imperial Highway, Norwalk, CA 90650. Counting will be on the 3rd floor, Room 3001. You must check in and will be issued an observer’s badge and guidelines.

Blumenfeld, who graduated from in 2009, has said he would consider a recount if he finishes mere votes behind Broberg.

While folks might think Blumenfeld is the youngest LCUSD board candidate to ever run, the La Cañada Valley Sun reported Friday that in February 1975, then 19-year-old Occidental College student Steve Rice ran in a field of five. He promised voters creative decision making and to pay more attention to the elementary school sites.

According to the , Rice, the 1973 LCHS valedictorian, went on to Harvard Law School and now works as a business trial lawyer in Irvine. Rice, the youngest candidate in La Cañada school board history, did not win a seat.

To read all of election night's coverage, click here.