SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Democrat Felipe Fuentes won a special election to the California State assembly following a five-way race.Fuentes, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor and City Council aide, will represent the northeast San Fernando Valley. The election was held to replace Richard Alarcon, who left the assembly in March to return to the Los Angeles City Council; Alarcon recently addressed the grand opening of Pacoima Development Federal Credit Union, which serves a largely underserved area.

The winner will serve through November 2008. Complete results from all precincts show Fuentes with 50.86% of the vote, eliminating the need for a runoff if the tally stands.

"This was a very competitive race in which a runoff election was a possibility given the number of candidates involved, so to have a credit union friend emerge triumphant is a great victory for the movement," Bob Arnould, League executive vice president of government affairs, said.