Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/district-elections/)
The Anaheim City Council this week narrowly approved a plan to dismiss all appointees to city boards and commissions so as to create more equal representation under the city’s new district-based electoral system.
Hopes that Santa Ana would give voters a chance to transform the city’s electoral systems were dealt a blow this week when the City Council voted down a proposal. But activists signaled that they would take up the cause.
The new council majority, led by Mayor Tom Tait, is planning on rolling back a number of measures pushed through in recent years by the previous majority.
Newly elected Anaheim City Councilman Jose F. Moreno, the first Latino on council in many years, brought the crowd to its feet during his swearing-in speech. Then he found out he’s serving a shortened term.
After years as the Anaheim City Council’s underdog, Mayor Tom Tait is now leading a four-member majority that promises to focus more on community services and less on subsidies for the city’s tourism industry.
Anaheim City Councilman Jordan Brandman’s lead over challenger Jose Moreno in the race for the District 3 council seat has dropped to just 61 votes, as the county Registrar of Voters continues to count vote-by-mail and provisional ballots.
John O’Neill, Thu-Ha Nguyen, Stephanie Klopfenstein, and Kim Nguyen will serve on the next Garden Grove City Council. Councilman Steve Jones will be the next mayor.
Regardless of who wins the District 6 seat, either Rickk Montoya or Kim Nguyen will be the city’s first-ever Latino council member. While the two Democrats have similar stances on the issues, the community is divided over their candidacies.
With a week to go until the election, The Walt Disney Company’s spending on Anaheim City Council races has blown past the record it set in 2014 and is approaching the $1-million mark, according to the most recent campaign finance filings.
Establishment candidates advocate more police and a continuation of tax subsidies for resort businesses, while others say such policies are ruinous.