Lujan, Storing leading in La Puente council race

More early reporting, this time out of La Puente:

In early election returns Tuesday night, two incumbents were leading against two challengers in the race for a pair of open City Council seats.

Mayor Louie Lujan and Councilwoman Lola Storing, both seeking third terms, appeared to be winning against former City Councilwoman Renee Chavez and businessman David Argudo, a newcomer to local politics.

Storing could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

"I'm happy at the possibility of returning to the council for another four years," Lujan said.

"I think all the candidates worked really hard," he said. "We all had individual messages but for the most part, I don't anticipate this being a change election."

Lujan is currently under investigation by the District Attorney's Office over alleged campaign finance violations. He said what role, if any, the investigation played in the campaign was always up to voters.

Lujan is also mulling a run for state Assembly and said if re-elected to the council, he would continue to explore that option.

Argudo, co-owner of JDL Financial in La Puente, ran for City Council in 2007 but lost to Councilman John Solis by just 27 votes. He said he decided to run again to bring change to the council.

Chavez also ran for council in 2007 but as an incumbent. She lost, finishing 94 votes behind Solis.

She also ran unsuccessfully on the Democratic ticket for the 57th Assembly District seat in 2006. At the time, she was trying to fill the seat being vacated by her husband, Ed Chavez, who was being termed out.

Both Argudo and Chavez did not return calls seeking comment.

There are 14,098 registered voters in La Puente.