Following the 2011 restructure of the 9th District, the area has expanded deeper into South Los Angeles. However, it maintains a small portion of downtown. One polling location situated within the district is located in the lobby of downtown L.A.'s O Hotel at 8th and Flower Streets. Though the area is relatively small with just two write-in booths, it maintained a regular flow of voters for Tuesday's primary election.

One of those voters was Ron Cobb, an entrepreneur and downtown resident for more than 26 years. He was also very vocal about his support of a woman taking over the mayoral spot from current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He voted for Wendy Greuel for mayor and Terry Hara for city council.

"The way I see it, Jan Perry doesn't have a chance and I really wanted to support the women this time around," he said.

In addition to the two spots, he also voted for Mike Feuer for city attorney. 

In terms of community concerns, his biggest issue revolved around the proposed half percent sales tax increase to which he is firmly against.

"L.A. taxes are already ridiculously high," he said. "I can't really see a logical reason to raise them."

Similarily, Lucia Chavez had similar tax concerns regarding the election. The college student is aware of the benefits of the tax increase but, like many others, she simply can’t afford the extra cost.

“On one hand I have trouble with it because I’m very cheap and I don’t have much money right now,” she said. “So for me, in terms of emotion I’m all for it but in terms of practicality, I’m against it.”

Though admittedly she wasn’t aware of all of the candidates' platforms, she did make the decision to vote for the Los Angeles Times endorsee, Eric Garcetti, for mayor.

Additionally, she voted for Mike Feuer for city attorney and Ana Cubas for the 9th District city council seat, which will be vacated by Perry.

Polls for the election close at 8 p.m. and until then, there’s plenty of time for voters to make their voices heard.

“I voted for [Ana Cubas] mainly because I see someone like myself,” she said. “I think it’ll be a great thing to have someone who looks like me and really respects my interests in council.”

 

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on the LA election here.

Reach Contributor Courtney Fowler here follow her on Twitter here.