Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas pulled far ahead of attorney Grace Yoo in his race to represent a Koreatown-to-Crenshaw district on the Los Angeles City Council, setting the stage for a return to City Hall after an 18-year absence, partial returns showed Tuesday.

In L.A.’s Silver Lake-to-Sherman Oaks district, urban planner Nithya Raman held a smaller but significant lead over City Councilman David Ryu, in a contest that has drawn nationwide attention from progressives looking to pull City Hall further to the left, according to the partial results.

The two sets of candidates were competing for the two seats just as L.A.’s political leaders confront a massive budget shortfall, a lingering pandemic and a frustrating homeless crisis.

Ridley-Thomas, 65, said he was “tremendously heartened” by the results, saying voters showed that they want someone in a “position of responsibility who knows what he’s doing and has demonstrated it over and over again.”

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