Bell resident George Castillo voted at the Grace Lutheran Church. (Video by Helen Jeong)
The final tallies are in for the Bell city election.
Residents overwhelmingly voted to recall Mayor Oscar Hernandez, as well as council members George Mirabal, Lorenzo Velez, Teresa Jacobo, and Luis Artiga.
Ali Saleh, Nestor Valencia, and Violeta Alvarez, will fill the council seats formerly held by Mayor Oscar Hernandez, George Mirabal and Lorenzo Velez.
Saleh received 1,355 votes, Valencia finished in second with 1,242 votes, and Alvarez finished in third with 1,220 votes.
Lorenzo Velez lost his bid for reelection. Lorenzo, the only former councilmember not charged with the misappropriation of public funds, landed in sixth place with 613 votes.
Ana Maria Quintana will replace former councilman Luis Artiga, who resigned amid the city’s corruption scandal. Quintana has 1,305 votes, 44.21 percent of all votes cast.
Voter Gilbert Zamorano said he participated in the election because his family has been hurt by higher taxes. (Video by Helen Jeong)
Miguel Sanchez, who passed away on Friday from unknown causes, is in second with 683 votes. Donald Tavares is in third with 503 votes.
Danny Harber is in the running to replace indicted councilwoman Teresa Jacobo with 1,468 votes.
Voters who came to the polls this evening were surprised by the number of people who came out to cast their ballots. According to candidate Nestor Valenica, a total of around 3,200 people casted ballots.
“I didn’t think there would be as many people voting as there are,” said voter George Castillo.
Voter Gilbert Zamorano said he participated in the election because his family has been hurt by higher taxes.
“My relative used to have a big supermarket here and they gradually shut down and went out of business,” Zamorano said.
