Laura Lothian appears to be the next La Mesa City Council Member.
As of press time Wednesday, Lothian had a significant 1,451 vote lead over her nearest challenger, Patricia Dillard, in the Nov. 2 special election.
Lothian and five other candidates were running to fill a council vacancy left by former council woman Akilah Weber, a Democrat who was elected to the State Assembly earlier this year.
Lothian is a Republican.
The real estate agent ran on a pro-business platform.
In an August interview with The La Mesa Courier Lothian suggested the needs of the business should be a priority in the community.
“My opinion on governing and individual liberties and pro business hasn’t changed,” she said. “I’m still that person who [believes] the businesses are the lifeblood of any community. People forget sometimes that our parks our fire departments our school and our hospitals are all funded by business and businesses keep getting stomped on in this state and I think there is an overflow not getting the support they need all the way to the city level.”
Later, in an October interview with The East County Californian she elaborated on ways to improve the climate for local businesses..
“The parklets, public spaces being used by restaurants and retail for outdoor dining and shopping, have been a godsend for businesses struggling to make up for all the lost income they suffered from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s forced shutdown of their businesses,” Lothian, who serves on the Board of Directors for the La Mesa Village Association, said.
In 2020 Newsom mandated that businesses across the state scale back operations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic.
“It is so hard to get things done and it is killing the entrepreneurial spirit and people from improving their homes. I would like to bring government back to basics like infrastructure, safety, zoning, filling potholes and providing a clean, litter and graffiti-free environment,” Lothian said.
She believes the city “needs to focus on La Mesa and La Mesans and their needs,” rather than expending energy and resources on global issues.
According to her most recent campaign filing, Lothian raised $41,578.47 in donations this year.
According to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters 7,947 of 39,348 registered voters cast their ballots. As of Wednesday morning 2,000 ballots had yet to be counted.
The eventual winner of this special election will serve through November 2022
—Staff
