West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico, candidate Lauren Meister and candidate Lindsey Horvath led a tight race for West Hollywood City Council as of Wednesday afternoon — a result that could lead to the end of Mayor Pro Tempore John Heilman’s long tenure on city council.

Incumbent John D’Amico and newcomer Lauren Meister won seats. (photo by Jon Viscott)

D’Amico received 1,892 votes, Meister received 1,750 votes, Horvath received 1,692 votes and Heilman received 1,664 votes, according to the unofficial final results — which do not include some mail-by-vote ballots or provisional votes.

According to the West Hollywood City Clerk’s Office, there are approximately 700 more votes to be counted, which will be tabulated during the next few days. Officials said the final results would be certified on March 16.

“I’m going to wait until all the votes are counted on Thursday,” Heilman said in a statement. “I love the city of West Hollywood. I certainly hope I will prevail on Thursday, but if not, I will stand by to congratulate the new council members and assist them in any way I can to improve West Hollywood.”

Heilman has been a city councilman since the city was created 30 years ago.

“I am very proud of the positive, issue-driven campaign I ran, and clearly my message resonated with the voters,” Horvath said in a statement. “While as of Tuesday night’s vote count, I am in third place, it is too early to declare victory. With hundreds of ballots outstanding, and not a huge gap between those of us in the top four positions, it is clear to me that anything could happen after the remaining votes are counted. At this point, I would like to congratulate all of the candidates on their efforts, but I know it is going to be a very long week for every one of us.”

D’Amico said he was, so far, pleased with the outcome of the election.

“The headline has to be that reasonableness and ethical standards motivate the voters of West Hollywood,” he said Wednesday morning. “I could not be happier that Lauren Meister has joined our council. The outcome of the final race will be known on Friday and I look forward to helping move our West Hollywood forward.”

Meister said she was hopeful the results hold.

“To be honest, I was very cautious and it wasn’t until they read the 11th precinct [out of 11] that I felt really good about the win, because anything can happen,” she said. “We had an upbeat campaign, we talked about the issues, and I think the community responded positively.”

Meister, during the past two decades, has been a member of the city’s public safety and planning commissions, along with president of the West Hollywood West Residents Association.

“[The election] was about parking, traffic and housing affordability,” she said. “I think parking was the one issue that resonated the most among the residents.”

Of the remaining candidates, Joseph Guardarrama (1,525) and Larry Block (826) received the largest number of votes. There were a total of 12 candidates.

Filing papers are due this Friday for candidates declaring to run in the special election slated for June 2 to replace former city councilman and current Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang.

“Right now, I can’t tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” said Guardarrama, referring to whether he will enter the special election. “There are a lot of different options that I need to weigh. Running for office is not something you decide lightly. You have to weigh all your options. This is not a run-off, it is a brand new election.”

Block said he was pulling papers to run, but he is also waiting to officially declare for the special election.