Imperial Irrigation District Div. 1

Percentage of ballots counted Juanita Salas 45.17% Alex Cardenas 54.83% Tally up to date as of June 5 at 9.59 p.m.

Imperial Irrigation District Division 5 Director Norma Sierra Galindo had the lead on her four challengers in Tuesday’s election, based on votes tallies available before press time.

As of 9:59 p.m., Galindo led the contest with 482 votes (38 percent of the vote), with Carlos Zaragoza following her with 320 (25 percent) and Jim Horn with 289 (22.88 percent). The other two challengers, Luis Castro and Ruben Casarez, had 103 and 69 votes, respectively.

At the time of the report, 82 percent of the votes were counted. Despite leading the pack, Galindo will likely face either Zaragoza or Horn in a run-off in November as no candidate is close to surpassing the 50 percent plus one mark to win the seat outright.

The results are unofficial, and it’s expected the county Elections Department will declare official results in coming weeks.

Galindo who led the race couldn’t be reached before press time. but in a response a questionnaire published in the Sunday’s Imperial Valley Press she emphasized the challenges the agency is facing, especially those pertaining to water.

“I am determined to continue to protect our water and our institution,” she wrote. “IID must be strong and united so that we’re not vulnerable to outside interests that threaten our way of life. Our rates could go up, and we lose our water.”