By JEFF CLEMETSON
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, La Mesa City Council swore in its newest member, Laura Lothian.
Lothian was elected to the council seat is a Nov. 2 special election to replace Dr. Akilah Weber who vacated her City Council seat to run for a state Assembly seat, which she won in 2020.
“Congratulations, welcome Council member Lothian,” said La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis.
“Hello everybody, Laura Lothian, very excited to be here,” she said in a brief statement. “Bare with me, it’s going to take a couple of meetings to get my sea legs but I’m looking forward to working with all of you for the next 12 months.”
Because Lothian was elected to fill a seat that is up for reelection, she will again be on the ballot in 2022.
“I’m looking forward to doing wonderful things for La Mesa,” Lothian added.
Lothian won the special election with 38.43% of the vote. The crowded field of six candidates included Mejgan Afshan, who received 21.67% of the vote, Patricia Dillard (20.36%), Jim Stieringer (10.95%), Kathleen Brand (6.84%) and Michelle Louden (1.76%). Of the 39,348 registered voters in the citywide election, only 11,686 voters cast ballots.
Lothian, who was endorsed by the county Republican Party, is one of many conservatives to win office in special elections across the country. She ran a campaign centered on reducing government regulations, especially ones created in wake of the COVID pandemic.
To read more about La Mesa’s news City Council member, visit her La Mesa Courier candidate profiles at bit.ly/3raSNBp and bit.ly/3xjA6MU.
— Reach editor Jeff Clemetson at jeff@sdnews.com.
