Three city council seats in the City of San Fernando were up for grabs this past election on Nov. 8. The five candidates in the race were councilmember Sylvia Ballin, Mayor Mary Mendoza, Joel Fajardo, who has previously served on the council, Mary Solorio and Victoria Garcia.
California residents have various ways to vote which include in-person early voting as well as day-of voting and by mail. The mail-in ballots may be counted if they are postmarked no later than Nov. 8 and received by the county no later than seven days after the election. This makes the process of counting the ballots a little longer, but it ensures that registered voters are given an opportunity to vote in a manner that is secure, convenient and easy.
As the votes have been counted since Nov. 8, the top two vote-getters have been Joel Fajardo and Mary Mendoza. The third position was briefly held by Sylvia Ballin, but Mary Solorio has taken the lead and as of Tuesday, Nov. 22 is ahead by 140 votes. This lead given the small number of ballots left to count is insurmountable. There are two more dates for the ballots to be counted and reported, Nov. 29 and Dec. 2. Certification of the election by the county will occur on Dec. 5.
The newly elected city council members will be sworn in on Dec. 5 at the regularly scheduled council meeting. At that same meeting, the council members will vote for the mayor and vice mayor as well.