San Fernando city residents cast their ballots in the March 5 primary to choose a new city councilmember to fill a seat that has been vacant since the death last October of Cindy Montañez, a longtime San Fernando public servant, leading environmentalist and former state legislator.
Meanwhile in Glendale, numerous candidates hoped to hold their seats against several challengers on the Glendale City Council, Glendale Unified School District Board and Glendale Community College Board.
The L.A. County registrar’s office released its first post-election day update on Wednesday, March 6. Ballots are still being counted. In some races, the final results may not be known for several days or weeks.
Here’s a look at where the races stood in San Fernando and Glendale shortly after 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
San Fernando
The winner in this three-way race will win outright and serve on the five-member San Fernando City Council, becoming a major voice in local issues.
Victoria Garcia, a construction law attorney, continued to hold onto her lead with 41.6% of the vote. Sylvia Ballin, a former council member and former mayor of San Fernando, had 32.6%. Sean M. Rivas, who was appointed by the mayor to the San Fernando Planning Commission, had 25.8%.
Garcia, who ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2022, said Wednesday evening that she was “cautiously optimistic” about her chances of winning a seat this time.
“I’m excited about the position I’m in. It’s definitely easier to be leading, but I do know that a lot of our residents mail in their ballots. I’m not sure how that might change” the results as more ballots are counted, she said.
If elected, Garcia said the first thing she wants to do is work with the city manager and police chief to hire more personnel to address public safety.
“I believe we have the budget for (it). I heard from a lot of people that safety is their primary concern,” she said.
Ballin said in an interview Wednesday…
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