ANAHEIM : Local Advisory Panel Vote Deemed Valid
A neighborhood council election that sparked allegations of voting irregularities was upheld this week by city officials.
The election of Concepcion Perez and Delia Varela to the Patrick Henry Neighborhood Council, which advises the city on how to spend federal development grants, was contested earlier this month by some neighborhood residents.
Their main contention was that a significant number of those who voted were ineligible because they did not live within the council boundaries.
Christopher K. Jarvi, director of Anaheim’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, said Tuesday that an investigation found no evidence of irregularities.
Jarvi said that his department checked the addresses of 52 voters and found that at least 48 of them are residents of the Patrick Henry area. “We felt it was a valid election,” Jarvi said.
During the investigation, city officials suspended elections for the other three neighborhood councils. Those may now proceed. To help avoid similar situations in the future, however, the City Council on Monday established rules that apply to all four neighborhood councils.
Voters will now be required to show proof of residence and to put their names on a sign-in sheet, Jarvi said.
“We’re going to make sure it’s done properly,” Jarvi said.
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