Newcomers due for Palmdale Council
Bettencourt, Ohlsen, Alarcon lead in early balloting
PALMDALE — There will likely be only two new faces on the City Council, as early election results show the Palmdale City Council’s single incumbent in the race leading her opponents.
Three Council districts were on the ballot in Tuesday’s election: District Three, with incumbent Laura Bettencourt; District Four, where incumbent Juan Carrillo did not run for Council, but instead set his sights on the new Assembly District 39; and the newly created District Five.
This will be the first election in which the office of mayor is not on the ballot. During the decennial redistricting process, earlier this year, the Council voted for a five-district format, with the mayor’s position held by the council members.
Previously, the mayor was elected by voters, citywide, while members of the Council are elected by only those voters within their district.
In District Three, Bet
tencourt had 839 votes, or 48.14%, with mail-in ballots counted. Former Palmdale Water District director Dave Gomez was in second place, with 494 votes, or 28.34%. Social services provider Marcos Alvarez followed, with 410 votes, or 23.52%.
In District Four, business owner Eric Ohlsen was in the lead, with 716 votes or 44.75%, followed by union representative V. Jesse Smith, with 455 votes, or 28.44%, and healthcare worker Getro F. Elize with 429 votes, or 26.81%. He said he was no longer running for the office, but it was too late to remove his name from the ballot.
In the newly created District Five seat, voting rights attorney Andrea Alarcon was leading, with 880 votes, or 62.68%. She was followed by business owner Erika Alverdi, with 286 votes, or 20.37%, and healthcare executive Mario Moises Melara, with 238 votes, or 16.95%.