Barron Keeps 1-Vote Lead in Garvey School Recount

Gilbert Barron remained the winner last week after a recount of the Nov. 5 vote for a seat on the Garvey School District Board of Education.

Incumbent Raul (Tony) Garcia originally appeared to have won the election by one vote, but the official tally, which included some previously uncounted absentee ballots, later showed that Barron had beaten him by one vote, 517 to 516.

Garcia requested a manual recount, which was done Thursday and produced no change in the outcome, a county registrar-recorder office spokeswoman said.

Three of the five board seats were at stake in the district, which serves 7,100 students in kindergarten through eighth grade in parts of Monterey Park, Rosemead and San Gabriel.

Barron’s victory leaves intact a majority on the new board that has criticized the district administration and the old board for ignoring parental concerns and failing to encourage more parental involvement in the district.

The new majority, which will be seated for the first time next week, consists of Barron, his running mate, Virginia Gutierrez, and board member Robert Miranda, who was not up for reelection but who supported them in a bitter race against Garcia and board President John Nunez. Incumbent Carl Van Winkle also was defeated.

The others on the new board are newly elected member Judy Chu, who ran as an independent, and incumbent Jim Smith, who was not up for reelection.