Primary Election Day results released projected winners for the local races in Imperial County
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) has candidates in three divisions competing for a spot on the board - CBS 13 on your side's Vanessa Gongora reports
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Primary Election results that were released last night at 8 p.m. represented the ballots that were turned in by mail before election day. Throughout the night, all precincts were counted and the results have been updated.
The Imperial County Registrar of Voters, Linsey Dale, says though candidates may have an idea if they won or not by looking at the number of votes, it's not definite until the election is certified.
"Candidates can look at the results, but we don't certify until all ballots are counted and accounted for. We do have 30 days to certify but I anticipate it won't take us 30 days to complete," said Dale.
The Mayor of El Centro, Tomas Oliva says he genuinely cares about the voter turnout rate.
"In some numbers that I've seen, voters turnout is really low right now, it's unfortunately expected," Oliva says. "If you're doing your homework and you've tracked elections, it's expected but I don't want that to be the forever model."
Oliva says the races he's interested in right now is the District Attorney and the IID race.
"When it comes to the IID, our water rights, our electricity bills is going to be determined on this. We've had groups, farmers argue and take IID to court to establish that they were rightful owners of the water, based on an interpretation that they put together," Oliva said. "It didn't work, right? So since then we have seen farmers actively engaging and putting up candidates to run so that perhaps by winning election and winning seats on the IID board, they can take that over again."
Oliva says that's why it's important that people pay attention to who they're voting for, making sure why they're running and what they are going to stand for.
As of this morning, for Imperial Irrigation District 1, Alex Cardenas is in the lead with 475 votes and Andrew Arevalo has 402 votes.
"I'm beyond proud of everything I accomplished with the support of my family, friends and the community. I'm a better person because of the challenges I endured and the obstacles I overcame," says Arevalo. "At the end of the day, I stood up for what I believed in and followed my convictions until the very end and that's worth celebrating."
For Imperial Irrigation District 2, Gina Young Dockstader leads with 296 votes. Ramon Castro has 173 votes. Don Campbell has 162 votes and Maria Nava-Froelich has 122.
Ramon Castro says if he comes out on top, it's going to be scary but he's ready to take on this responsibility.
"It's a lot of work and something I'm ready to take on but that's actually what scares me the most is the fact if we actually win and the responsibility that comes with it, which I take very seriously," says Castro.
For Imperial Irrigation District 5, Karin Eugenio leads with 382 votes and Norma Galindo right behind her with 366 votes.
Be sure to watch our newscast on NBC at 5/6 p.m. and CBS at 6 p.m. for more updated results.
