As was reported on Run-Off election night, District H was too close to call as provisional and mail ballots needed to be counted. Karla Cisneros led Isabel Longoria by 12 votes. By the end of the week, it looks like incumbent Council Member Karla Cisneros was re-elected by 16 votes.
The outcome of the runoff had remained in some doubt after the Dec. 14 election, when unofficial results showed Cisneros leading Longoria by 12 votes: 5,283 to 5,271. After the addition of 40 provisional and mail ballots, however, Cisneros’ lead widened to 16.
Longoria announced it on Friday after pushing the County Clerk to ensure a complete and timely count by releasing the names of individuals who needed to cure their provisional ballots.
As a local expert with experience on the ballot board told me, when a race is this close, provisional and mail ballots do not move the needle much in either direction. Usually, the ballots left to be counted end up being split between the two candidates.
Bottom line: Your vote matters. I mentioned on Facebook on election night that either candidate, or either of us reading this, probably know 20 people who did not vote last Saturday. And that’s just sad, as much as we remind people in various ways to go vote.
Congrats to Council Member Cisneros. And congrats to Isabel Longoria. Let’s hope those that sent a message to the incumbent with their vote experience some change from it.
In District B, a trial date has been set to decide whether a candidate with completed prison sentence should be eligible to run and serve in office. The third-place candidate sued to remove and replace that candidate. Because of this delay and trial, and because of election schedules, it could be that the District B election will not be held until May 2nd. The people spoke in November, yet, Democracy is still delayed.
