With all 113 precincts accounted for, Carolyn Ramsay and David Ryu won the top two runoff spots for District 4 last night in the L.A. city council election primaries. Missing the top four by just seven votes, District 4 candidate Teddy Davis fell to fifth place out the fourteen candidates. Supporters, friends, and family alike at his headquarters, however, saw his clean campaigning as a personal victory in the tough election.

“Teddy doesn’t want to be a politician, he wants to be a public servant,” said lifelong friend Henry Capanna. “Some of these candidates rolled into campaigning like it’s their birthright, but he ran for the position because he wanted to make a difference in the community that he grew up in.”

A Los Feliz native, Davis had a passion for politics even as a child, according to his sister Vicki.

“Instead of having pop stars on his wall, he had pictures of all the different presidents hanging in his room,"  she said. "He ran for every office in school, for Halloween he would dress as political figures, and in high school he was voted most likely to run for political office."

An encounter with President Clinton during his teen years caused a spark in the young politician, and many in his close circle say they saw the potential of a great leader from then on. Through his experience as an ABC News Correspondent, an assistant to the Governor of California, an aide to the Mayor of Los Angeles and an Unruh Fellow at the University of Southern California, Davis positioned himself as politician knowledgeable of the field from multiple perspectives.

Voters know Davis as the candidate who rejected campaign funds from developers and walked door-to-door throughout the district. These aspects of his campaign won over Mary Button, a District 4 resident and supporter of his campaign for over nine months. 

“After initially hearing about him, Teddy knocked on my door one day and won me over," she said. "Then I went to a bunch of the debates, and I felt that he articulated his plans the best of the group. I eventually worked the telephones, helping get his name out there to voters.”

In a crowd of 14 candidates, Davis’ “man-of-the-people” attitude separated him from his many opponents. He rejected developer money to show residents of District 4 that he understood and supported their concerns about overdevelopment in their neighborhoods.

“As a councilmember, one has the responsibility to listen to the people he or she represents and deal with the day-to-day issues of the local community," Capanna said. "Teddy’s door-to-door tactic throughout this campaign wasn’t simply to get his name out there; he did it because he wanted to know what matters to the people of this district and help make their voice heard.” 

With those intentions, how could the public argue with a candidate like Davis? Well, although a native to District 4, Davis was an outsider in the race from the beginning.

The two candidates in the coming runoff, Carolyn Ramsay and David Ryu, were powerhouses in the race, with both the political and financial backing to keep them ahead. Ramsay had early support from current District 4 Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Meanwhile, Ryu had over three times the campaign funding than Davis with nearly $370,000, the most out of any District 4 candidate. Ryu’s intense funding, however, barely guaranteed him the top spot; in the end, Tomàs O’Grady only trailed him by a mere 61 votes. 

Regardless of the results of May’s runoff, Davis noted at his campaign party last night that the eventual winner will have to face tough choices to benefit the district in years to come.

“I think the choices we make really do matter for the future we’re going to have as a shared society," Davis said. "Here in L.A., I feel a real connection to these communities, and I think we need stronger fiscal management to take care of the basics."

Supporters of Davis remain confident in the young politician, and hope that he’ll try again to run for political office. Tatiana Acosta, Campaign Coordinator for the Teddy Davis campaign, saw firsthand the qualities Davis possesses that spark this very hope.

“Teddy understands the basics of how city government works and he’s honest, that’s in my opinion one of his best qualities," she said. "He’s not going to make promises he can’t keep, and he’s not going to scheme his way to the top. We need someone like that in office.” 

 Contact Staff Reporter Alana Bracken here and follow her on Twitter here.