LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Voters in dozens of Southland cities, school and water districts will head to the polls today to choose city council and district board members, while residents of Palmdale will cast ballots in an election that was almost scrubbed because of a dispute over the way municipal leaders are chosen.
Palmdale’s election had been called off by a judge hearing a lawsuit challenging the city’s at-large election system, but an appeals court cleared the way for the election to go forward.
The results of the election will be tabulated, but must be presented to the Court of Appeals for certification.
City officials have been working to ensure residents that the election is indeed a go.
“Despite the many unsuccessful attempts to stop our election and create mass confusion with our residents, we are taking every opportunity we have to let people know that this election is on and that the constitutional rights of our residents have been preserved,” Palmdale spokesman John Mylnar said.
Palmdale residents will be choosing a mayor, council members and members of the boards of the Palmdale, Westside and Antelope Valley Union High School districts, along with the Antelope Valley Community College District and Palmdale Water District.
Other cities holding elections today include Baldwin Park, Hawthorne, Montebello, Lynwood, Hermosa Beach, West Covina and Maywood.
Voters in a handful of cities will also decide the fate of ballot measures, including:
- Measure A in Hawthorne, which would extend the mayor’s term of office from two years to four years, beginning with the 2015 election
- Ordinance 1044 in Santa Fe Springs, which would increase the 20-cents-per-oil-barrel tax charged to well operators to an amount ranging from 41 cents to 52 cents
- Measure B in Hermosa Beach, which would restrict after-midnight hours of some downtown businesses, drawing strong opposition from some pier-area nightclubs and restaurants.
Polls will be open until 8 p.m.
