POMONA >> The unofficial results of Tuesday’s elections show Pomona will have a new mayor and a new councilman representing District 1 come December — but the results of two other races are too close to call.
If the results hold up, Pomonans will be dumping their incumbents in favor of new faces.
In unofficial tallies, challenger Tim Sandoval defeated Mayor Elliott Rothman for the mayoral seat by a wide margin. Sandoval received 61.35 percent of the ballots cast, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website.
Rothman received 38.65 percent of the votes cast.
Rubio Gonzalez clinched the 1st District seat with 57.42 percent of the votes. The outcome of the District 4 and District 6 races is far less clear.
District 4 challenger Elizabeth Ontiveros-Cole received 38.22 percent of the vote, while Councilwoman Paula Lantz clocked in with 22 fewer votes, or 37.59 percent of the vote. Remington Allen Cordova received 24.20 percent of the vote.
The race for the District 6 seat has challenger Robert Torres leading with 43.68 percent of the vote followed by Councilwoman Debra Martin, who garnered 42.19 percent of the vote. A total of 73 votes separates the top two candidates. Trailing behind was George Okekenweje with 14.14 percent of the vote.
It’s estimated that more than 1 million ballots from Tuesday’s election remain uncounted, according to a statement from Dean Logan, Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk, released Wednesday afternoon. Those include mostly vote-by-mail and provisional ballots.
The outstanding ballots will be “processed, verified and tallied during the official election canvas period,” the statement reads.
The county has 29 days from the day of the election to canvas and certify the results of the election, Pomona City Clerk Eva Buice said.
At this point, plans call for swearing in the successful candidates some time in December, Buice said.
Sandoval said Wednesday that one of the first things he plans to do after the election is meet with City Council members to identify the goals each would like to achieve.
Then they can determine “how do we work together and move forward,” he said. “I’m excited about that.”
Sandoval also intends to begin working on the city’s homeless problem and how to address that situation.
“That’s a grave concern for residents and businesses,” he said.
Sandoval is considering meeting with neighboring mayors so they can get to know each other and start talking about regional issues, he said.
Councilman-elect Gonzalez said changes on the City Council will be good for the city and will bring new opportunities for Pomona.
“A lot of doors are going to be opened,” he said.
Gonzalez is already working on various projects related to homelessness, gangs, along with park programs and revitalization, and he plans to tackle other problems as soon as he’s sworn in.
Among those goals is improving alleys and sidewalks. Neglected alleys make them targets for illegal dumping, he said. Sidewalks are also in need of attention.
“First, let’s improve the sidewalks so we at least have a semblance of a city,” he said.
Another issue he plans to address is sex trafficking, Gonzalez said, but added he realizes this is an issue that is complex and will take more time to resolve.
District 4 Councilwoman Paula Lantz acknowledged this is the tightest race she’s run. It’s possible that provisional ballots and other votes not counted Tuesday night could change the result of the election, but, “at this point, Elizabeth has won as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
Ontiveros-Cole could not be reached for comment.
Martin said Wednesday she was not conceding adding additional ballots could change the final results in her race.
During the last four years, Martin said, she has worked to revitalize parks in her district with the support of volunteers groups and grant dollars to cut the use of tax dollars. She’s also worked to make improvements to city streets and taken on other projects, but some voters unfamiliar with her work were swayed by a dozen mailers that contained lies about her.
“All I know is I’ve done my best,” Martin said. “I ran an honest and clean campaign.”
Torres could not be reached for comment.
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