OXNARD : Mayor’s Challenger Fails to Make Ballot
Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez will run unopposed on the November ballot after his only challenger failed to submit the required 20 signatures of registered Oxnard voters with his nomination papers.
Antonio De La Cerda, a 24-year-old television producer, submitted 22 signatures with his election papers, but only 14 turned out to be of registered Oxnard voters.
The other signatures were of people who are not registered to vote or of voters who live outside of Oxnard.
De La Cerda acknowledged that he procrastinated, trying to gather signatures at the last minute before Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline.
“I started gathering signatures at 1 (p.m.), and I got them in there around 4:30 (p.m.),” he said. “I thought I had enough. I asked everyone if they were registered, but I guess they weren’t.”
De La Cerda said he is considering entering the race as a write-in candidate.
Lopez is running for his second consecutive term as mayor. He served on the Oxnard City Council for 14 years before becoming mayor.
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