Early results in the race for Santa Ana City Council show incumbents leading the race for their respective council seats, while a newcomer holds a wide lead for mayor, according to unofficial results as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 9 per the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
In Ward 2, incumbent Nelida Mendoza leads with 52.8 percent of the vote, while challenger Benjamin Vasquez has 47.2 percent.
Ward 4’s Phil Bacerra has 58.2 percent, while Amalia Mejia holds 41.8 percent.
David Penaloza, the incumbent for Ward 6, has 58.7 percent of the vote, while opponent Manuel Escamilla stands at 41.3 percent.
With current mayor Vicente Sarmiento running for Orange County supervisor, the mayoral seat is up for grabs.
Valerie Amezcua—who is endorsed by several officials including Bacerra, Penaloza, Mendoza, and Councilwoman Thai Phan—holds the lead in the mayoral race with 40 percent of the vote.
Jose Solorio follows with 28.8 percent of the vote, and Sal Tinajero and Jesse Nestor trail with 22.8 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, two measures that would place term limits on city officials and school board members are overwhelmingly poised to pass.
Measure H—which would limit trustees on the Santa Ana Unified School Board to three four-year terms and prohibit them from serving again once that time is up—has 86.5 percent YES votes and 13.5 percent NO votes.
Under the district’s current policy, there are no term limits for school board members.
Measure X, which would impose a limit of four two-year terms for mayors, and three four-year terms for councilors has 74.5 percent YES votes and 25.5 percent NO votes.
The measure would also end the city’s eight-year “cooling off period,” which allows candidates to run for office after terming out.
Under the city’s current policy, there is a 12-year term limit for councilors and an eight-year limit for the mayor.
Measure X’s term limits would apply to anyone elected in and after 2012, including current councilors.
The measure would also make other changes to the city’s charter by requiring a two-thirds council majority to approve the annual budget, implementing gender-neutral language in the city’s charter, banning the council from modifying ordinances between first and second readings, expanding the application of the city’s Code of Ethics, and making “other minor updates,” according to the ballot measure.
Lastly, Measure W—which would restructure business license tax rates to a flat fee per business and provide a “tax holiday” for unlicensed businesses or those with past-due taxes—has 63.1 percent YES and 36.9 percent NO votes.
