Voters in Los Angeles and San Francisco Face Tough Choices

Eleven candidates fought it out in yesterday's primary for LA's 15th City Council District, which runs in a thin line from Watts down to San Pedro. Janice Hahn held it from 2001, until she resigned early this year to take Jane Harmon's seat in Congress. There will be a January run-off between two candidates who offer contrasts in several ways. Donna Littlejohn, staff writer for the Daily Breeze, has more on the race and the run-off between Assemblyman Warren Furutani and LA police officer Joe Buscaino.

In San Francisco yesterday, the race for Mayor was another test of what's called "ranked-choice voting," in which voters pick their top three choices and the outcome can be unpredictable. Last year in Oakland, for example, the candidate with the most first-place votes ended up losing. In San Francisco, Ed Lee, appointed when Gavin Newsome became Lieutenant Governor, got the most first-place votes yesterday, but did not get more than 50 percent.  Rachel Gordon covers politics or the San Francisco Chronicle.