Results of Crescenta Valley Town Council election announced
Three incumbents have recaptured their posts as members on the Crescenta Valley Town Council, following an election that wrapped up on Saturday.
Another incumbent and two newcomers will serve in the three alternate seats that were up for grabs.
The council’s nine regular members advise the Los Angeles County Supervisor’s office and other governing bodies on local issues but do not have legislative power. Three alternates are selected to fill in for absent council members.
Harry Leon, business owner and current president of the council, took the lead with 33.5% of the 478 votes cast, according to statistics provided by Sophal Ear, the council’s corresponding secretary.
“My goal is to make La Crescenta a better place to live and raise a family,” said Leon, who has served as council president for the past three years. In a phone interview, he said his priorities are public safety and reining in high-density development.
Fellow incumbents Donna Libra, a Realtor, and Aram Ordubegian, an attorney, took 23.2% and 21.3% of the votes, respectively.
Leon, Libra and Ordubegian will serve three-year terms.
Of the alternates, newcomers Ted Yu received 12.3% of the votes, and Ruben Gonzalez garnered 2.9%. Jeffrey Rodriguez, who served as alternate last year, received 6.7%. They will serve one-year terms.
This year’s election saw a dip in voter turnout. Last year, 567 votes were cast, which was considered a high volume at the time.
Ordubegian, the council’s current vice president, plans to advocate on behalf of local residents and businesses to L.A. County officials, according to his candidate statement.
As an unincorporated area, La Crescenta is under the jurisdiction of the county.
“It has unfortunately become obvious to me that unless we ‘pound the table’ for our concerns and needs, the county will deal with other more ‘squeaky wheels,’” Ordubegian wrote in his statement filed with the town council.
An engineering professor, Yu said in his candidate statement that he would like to tackle technology issues facing the city, including self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and energy.
Things like smart street poles and data-driven urban technology “offer so many ways to improve our lives, but we need to understand the trade-offs when evaluating [this] technology,” he said in his statement.
All newly elected members will be sworn in by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger at the council’s regular public meeting on Dec. 19.
During the same meeting, officers will be selected, Leon said, adding that he plans to run for his fourth term as president.