Travis Allen garnered more than 55 percent of the vote to win the seat for the newly drawn 72nd State Assembly District over Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar last Tuesday. Allen claimed 72,167 votes to Edgar’s 57,836. Since the passage of Propostion 14, the race pitted the two Republicans against each other, as they were the two top vote earners in the June primary. Ironically, it was Edgar who won by a big margin in the primary election. However, Allen won the endorsement of some former primary challengers, who were prominent members of the Vietnamese community and may have swung that important demographic in Allen’s favor.
Edgar said the voting lines seemed to indicate that having two Republicans on the ballot led many Republican’s to simply vote for Allen as his name was listed first on the ballot. He said the data seemed to indicate that the vote was split where more Democratic districts went to him. Still, Edgar said he enjoyed the campaign and did not rule out making another run in the future.
“I thought it was one of the best experiences I have ever been through,” Edgar said.
For now, Edgar said he will refocus his energy on the Los Alamitos City Council. He said the new council members might give them a chance to make some positive changes for the city.
“I’m excited about what’s to come, going forward,” Edgar said.
He noted that he feels that he and returning council members Warren Kusumoto and Gerri Graham-Mejia should be able to work with newly elected members Dean Grose and Richard Murphy. Whether he makes a run for re-election to the council in 2014 or seeks another office, Edgar has not decided, but he likes the opportunities he has to continue to try and serve the community.
“I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem,” Edgar said.
