It was a steady and slow morning in the north San Fernando Valley, where voters were heading to the polls to elect a representative to the Los Angeles City Council after months without one.

Turnout wasn’t hitting presidential election-level numbers, but it was clear Tuesday that those who did vote were tuned in and eager to tap a leader who would represent a diverse area from Pacoima to North Hills.

• PHOTOS: Election Day – May 16, 2017 – in the San Fernando Valley

Shadow Hills Presbyterian Church hosted a polling place. Poll workers at the two precincts there saw only about 20 percent of the turnout they saw during the presidential election in November.

It was slow and steady, officials said.

“This is the easiest (election) I’ve ever worked,” said Candy Culley, a troubleshooter for the Los Angeles Election Division.

By 9:30 a.m., she’d seen 16 voters at the polls at Shadow Hills, and about the same number in nearby Stonehurst.

• RELATED STORY: Election 2017: 2 LA Council seats up for grabs, LAPD discipline on the ballot

Most Los Angeles voters, election officials said, appear to have mailed in absentee ballots for the citywide election, which includes one other City Council seat, two Los Angeles Unified School District seats and a charter measure.

Still, election officials in Shadow Hills — a distinctly equestrian area in the district — were enthusiastic.

“It’s fantastic, said Denise Maybee, an election volunteer at the church off Sunland Boulevard. “But there’s no comparison to the presidential election.”

• RELATED STORY: LA City Council candidates raking in dollars, but it’s a challenge to stand out

The race for Council District 7 is needed to fill the seat left by Felipe Fuentes, who vacated it in the middle of his term, prompting a field of nearly two dozen contenders before the March election narrowed it down to two: Karo Torossian and Monica Rodriguez.

Issues in the district range from concern over a proposed bullet train route to the need for more support from City Hall.

“We all hate the bullet train,” said Richard Rogers, 60, of Shadow Hills. “What a silly thing.”

• RELATED STORY: ELECTION 2017: LAUSD school board results will affect San Fernando Valley

In the heavily minority community of Pacoima, within L.A. Council District 7, morning turnout was oven more sluggish than in horse country.

By 11 am, 16 voters had cast their ballots at one of two precincts at Pacoima Community Center. A major election would be 100 plus.

“Small election, not too many people,” said Stella Menendez, a troubleshooter for the L.A. Election Division. “But we are getting people, 15 percent.”

That, of course, was still early in the day. There was hope that when voters start getting off of work, they will begin trickling in.

“I voted for Monica (Rodriguez),” said Delmy Amaya Ramirez, 64, of Pacoima. “She’s very good.”

“The most important issue is jobs.”

Ari Morales, 32, was looking at experience as an important factor in his vote.

“The most important issue, besides my vote, is the candidate who should represent our city, Monica Rodriguez,” he said. “She has more experience than the other candidate.”