John Lee appears to have won the race to represent the northwest San Fernando Valley on the L.A. City Council, bringing an unofficial end to a contest that reflected a changing part of L.A., but not enough to flip a traditionally conservative seat on a mostly Democrat dais.

Update: LA City Council recognizes John Lee as winner in San Fernando Valley special election

With 100% of precincts counted, the final tally Tuesday night showed Lee with 16,724 votes, and opponent Loraine Lundquist with 15,395 votes, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. And that was enough for Lee to claim a victory.

“I feel great,” Lee said as a group of supporters cheered him on at his Porter Ranch headquarters. “We’re celebrating tonight and tomorrow we’re going to work. We’ll start talking about how to bring this community together. We’re realizing that we have the same goals and we need to start working towards those goals.”

Lundquist said her team was still waiting to receive the final results.

“I want to say congratulations to John Lee,” she said. “He’s run a really good race. At the same time, we’re going to wait until all the ballots are counted. We have a lot of provisional ballots, absentee ballots that do need to be counted.”

The area has been the most Republican stronghold in a liberal city for the past several decades. A Lundquist win would have flipped that seat on the 15-member Los Angeles City Council, making it an all-Democrat body.

The seat to represent Council District 12, which encompasses Porter Ranch, Granada Hills, West Hills and Chatsworth, has been traditionally occupied by Republicans, including Councilman Hal Bernson, his top aide Councilman Greig Smith, who eventually passed it to Englander, his chief of staff.

But with the emergence of Lundquist, who is a Democrat driven by strong stances on social and environmental justice issues, the political dynamic in the district has been in a state of change, potentially disrupting the path for Lee.

There are roughly 169,000 registered voters in CD 12. The number of Republicans in the district has decreased from 37% of registered voters to 24% this year while Democrats remained around 44% of voters, according to the L.A. County Registrar’s Office.

Just under two hours to go before the polls close in the #LACity Council District 12 Special Vacancy Election. Based on our random, non-scientific tracking of turnout, approximately 9.4% of voters in the District had voted as of 6 PM. — Dean Logan, RR/CC (@LACountyRRCC) August 14, 2019

City Council aide Lee ran against Lundquist, an astrophysicist and sustainability professor at Cal State Northridge.

If the results hold up, Lee will serve out the rest of former Councilman Mitchell Englander’s term, which ends in December of 2020. Englander stepped down last year to take a job with the Oak View Group, a global sports and entertainment advisory firm. He was the only Republican councilman on the City Council.

Lundquist, whose campaign focused on the environment and homelessness, has garnered endorsements from local U.S. Reps. Katie Hill and Brad Sherman, Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, State Sen. Henry Stern and several Los Angeles councilmembers.

Lee, on the other hand, received endorsements from business groups and the union that represents LAPD officers. Shortly after leaving Englander’s office, Lee worked as a consultant representing developers and businesses.

During their campaigns, both candidates said alleviating homelessness would be among their top priorities if they win the seat. But their views varied when it comes to tackling the humanitarian crisis the city has been grappling with.

Lee emphasized the need to focus on advocating for state funding related to mental health and drug addiction. He said he would work with developers to identify appropriate locations to build affordable housing.

Lundquist, meanwhile, said that she would aim to spend public funding for homeless housing and programs available from voter-approved measures. It was important to find legal assistance for families that are on the edge of eviction, Lundquist said during a recent forum, adding that it would be cheaper for the city to provide legal counseling to those families.

Both candidates agreed that it was necessary to close the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, which released more than 100,000 metric tons of methane during the 2015 gas leak that forced many families to flee their homes.

Lundquist has called for the immediate shutdown of the Aliso Canyon site while Lee said he would stick to the California Energy Commission’s proposal to slowly phase out the site within about a decade.

Still, both candidates expressed opposing views on Metro’s plans to build an 18-mile rapid bus line that would run across the north end of the Valley.

Lee opposed the line, saying it would hurt homeowners of single-family homes and worsen traffic in the area. Yet Lundquist expressed support of the line, which, she said, would alleviate heavy traffic and improve air quality.

On Tuesday night, nearly 70 supporters filled Lee’s office nested in a shopping district in Porter Ranch. A group of people was sitting at tables eating fried chicken and pasta. As the first results came in, showing Lee’s slim lead over his opponent, the crowd chanted “John Lee.”

Andre Van Der Valk, 72, vice president of the Chatsworth neighborhood council, said he had to vote for Lee since Lee is deeply connected to the Valley.

“He knows the people, and he knows the area,” he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, voters trickled in and out of the Chatsworth High School auditorium, a polling location.

It’s election night in the Valley. @LoraineForLA calls local residents to vote before polls close at 8 p.m. She’s running for LA City Council District 12 against @JohnLeeCD12. pic.twitter.com/8gOuJahjSL — Pierce Singgih (@piercesinggih) August 14, 2019

One of them, Victor Haro, an 18-year-old student at Pierce College, said he supported Lundquist, whose passion for environmental issues resonated with him.

“She’s passionate about the environment, especially with climate change and global warming,” he said.

At @JohnLeeCD12’s campaign office. Election results come in soon. “This last month we’ve been able to get our message out and voters learned more about who I am and who my opponent is.” pic.twitter.com/Q1KiUdDb9I — Pierce Singgih (@piercesinggih) August 14, 2019

Another voter, Chris Bornhauser, 61, a retired LADWP employee, supported Lee because of his experience in politics and public service.

“He has the only support from firefighters and police,” he said. “Those guys work hard and he wants to do right by them. I’m not sure with her socialist agenda if that’s the way to go.”