Initial voting results for the November General Election Tuesday night showed Santa Clarita residents showed support for incumbents Bill Miranda, Laurene Weste and Marsha McLean to return as members of the city of Santa Clarita City Council.
The initial round of early voting results was announced by 9 p.m. According to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, Weste led the polls with 20.43% (15,071) of the votes, Miranda in second with 19.65% (14,497) of the votes and McLean in third with 17.69% (13,051) of the votes. It was not immediately known how many ballots remained to be counted.
“It’s just wonderful to see the city of Santa Clarita residents vote for me in such high numbers off the bat,” Weste said. “I love my community, and I will do everything I can to keep us the very best community.”
Weste noted there were several “battles” for the city to face including homelessness, public safety and ensuring conservation of water.
Although the final results of the City Council race are yet to be determined, Weste said she’s thankful to live in a wonderful city and that people are there for each other.
Miranda said of the initial voting results on Tuesday night that he was glad to be in the top three in the nine-candidate field.
“The biggest thing with campaigning is face to face,” Miranda said. “I think it was very important for me to do a lot of meet and greets.”
He also noted the city should focus on public safety. He said the city in tandem with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station can continue to keep crime low and keep residents safe.
McLean stated she was “very pleased” so far with the early voting results, and that she hopes that it holds up.
“I just do my best to get my name out there and my platform,” McLean said. “That’s all I can do and hope that the voters think that I’ve done a good job and will continue to do a good job.”
Following the top three candidates in the polls Tuesday night were Denise Lite with 14.49% (10,688) of the votes, Jeffrey Malick with 8.63% (6,370) of the votes, Selina Thomas with 8.12% (5,988) of the votes, David Barlavi with 7.34% of the votes and Douglas Fraser with 2.53% (1,870) of the votes.
Kody Amour’s name was on the ballot, but he pulled out of the council race in September. Amour received 1.12% (829) of early votes.
This year’s election was highly contested with nine candidates running for three open seats on the City Council.
The Registrar-Recorder’s Office has 30 days to verify the results of the election, which will then be certified by the Secretary of State no later than Dec. 16.
“Thank goodness we have elections and that elections are free,” Miranda said. “That we stand by the results of the elections, whether we like them or not.”
Following the November election, the City Council will transition from at-large voting — or voting for City Council members as a whole across the city of Santa Clarita — to by-district voting, meaning voters will decide on candidates who live in their specific district and will represent their immediate community, starting with the 2024 election for two seats.
Council members will continue to serve staggered four-year terms, and three district seats will be up for election once again in November 2026 in a by-district fashion.
According to an agreement that was reached earlier this year between the city and the group of litigants who sued to force the change in voting system, the five districts’ boundaries will be determined before the 2024 election.
