Stephen Box and His Gang on Wheels

Los Angeles Fourth District City Councilmember Tom LaBonge held onto his seat in the city election Tuesday.

Leading up to the election it looked like LaBonge was in trouble after the Daily News and L.A. City Workers endorsed Box and the Los Angeles Times endorsed O'Grady. But LaBonge, who has served District 4 since 2001, easily won after .

Stephen Box's strongest supporters are cyclists, who, like him, wish for safer streets and wider bike lanes. Two days before the election, supporters turned out for a Tour de Box event. There were rides meeting in various parts of the district, but the cyclists that gathered at the North Hollywood Red Line station were an eclectic group; one was from Burbank, another Toluca Lake, and another from the eastside.

On election night, Box's supporters stopped by his campaign headquarters on two wheels. Food trucks, who were perhaps his biggest fans outside of the bike community, fed the attendees of his election party. Sweet E's bake shop dropped off two boxes of cupcakes and baked goods. It was clear as the night progressed that Box's followers would support him indefinitely, regardless of the results of the election. The humble election night party (Corona and Tacate were the beverages of choice), held in a Hollywood Rent a Car, was a gathering of like minds. Bike activists, neighbors, friends, writers, and Angelenos who wanted a new voice in city hall. 

"He would have been great," a supporter said on Tuesday night. "He is great."