By Jim Tortolano/Garden Grove Journal
The long election year finally comes to an end Tuesday when voters all across the nation – and in Garden Grove, Stanton and Westminster – finish casting their ballots for offices high and low.
In this area, attention will be focused on the three city council races, elections for two local school boards and a pair of ballot measures.
Although there was some voting done earlier, most of the ballots will be cast between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. in polling places across the area; private homes, schools, churches and more.
In Garden Grove, voters will pick a new mayor and fill two seats on the city council. The same will be the case in Westminster, while in Stanton, two council seats are up for grabs.
Three spots on the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education will be filled, as will three on the Westminster School District.
Voters in Garden Grove will decide the fate of Measure Y, a proposed increase in the hotel visitor’s tax from 13 to 14.5 percent. In the Coast Community College District, which includes Westminster and parts of Garden Grove, voters will accept or reject Measure M, a bond issue for modernization of Coastline Community College, Golden West College and Orange Coast College.
Many in education will be watching the statewide returns for Proposition 30, which would raise taxes to help fend off projected cuts in education.
Here are the lineups of candidates for key local elections.
• Garden Grove mayor:
Bruce Broadwater, Myke Cossota, Sherry Runnells Williams and James Ybarra.
• Garden Grove city council (two seats):
Zack Barrett, Kris Beard (incumbent), Phat Bui, Steve Jones (incumbent), Josh McIntosh, Jennifer Nguyen, John O’Neill and Chris Phan.
• Westminster mayor:
Al Hamade, Penny Loomer, Ha Mach, Tamara Sue Pennington, Tri Ta.
• Westminster city council (two seats):
Diana Carey, Sergio Contreras, Khai Dao, Tyler Diep (incumbent), Al Krippner, Charlie Nguyen Mach Chi, Helen Rutkowski.
• Stanton city council: (two seats):
Al Ethans (incumbent), Sou Moua, Bryan Palomares, Carol Warren (incumbent).
• Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education: (three seats).
Bao Quoc Nguyen (incumbent), Kevin Nguyen, Linda Reed-Paulsen (incumbent), George West (incumbent), Linda Zamora.
•Westminster School District: (two seats):
Jamison Power (incumbent), Jo-Ann Purcells (incumbent), Amy Walsh.
Also of interest to local voters are races in the Huntington Beach Union High School District (which serves part of Westminster) and the Savanna, Magnolia elementary districts and Anaheim Union High School District, which serve part of Stanton.
Results of the election will be posted Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning at the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ website (www.ocvote.gov) and at the Journal’s website (www.ggjournal.com).
I really do Love the Garden Grove Journal — but dismayed that this is the SECOND time (at least) that you have not only spelled my name wrong — this time you actually CHANGED the order of my name.
My first name is: SHERRY
My maiden name is: RUNNELLS
My last name is: WILLIAMS
You consistently spell my maiden name with only one “L”. Maybe not a big deal to most, but I am proud of my family name I like it to be spelled correctly! I have sent you an email in the past advising you of the correct spelling, but I never got a response so I do not know if you did not get it, ignored it or the correction was just never made.
In your October 31 article “Soon, voters will decide 2012 races”, you have actually rearranged my name into the wrong order.
PLEASE use my correct name and the correct spelling: SHERRY RUNNELLS WILLIAMS.
I would greatly appreciate it.
Sherry Runnells Williams
We (that is, I) am very sorry. Being busy is no excuse for being sloppy. I have fixed (I hope) the spelling in both the PDF and the article posting, and I am planning on running a correction in the print edition. And Sherry, feel free to come by the office and give me a few slaps with a wet noodle.