Unofficial Election Day results show BP wants to keep most of current local officials
By Brooklynn Wong
Though the results will not be finalized for some time, we now have a solid idea of what Buena Park voters asked for on Election Day. The votes are in, and what they wanted, largely, was more of the same.
The City Council will have only one new face—that of Connor Traut, who has been a Trustee and President of the Central School District with deep Buena Park roots. He handily defeated Adonay Gutierrez.
Traut will serve in District 5, which covers western Buena Park and the city’s border with La Palma. This is only the second election in which Buena Park has had a by-district system, so the city has been phasing into the system and previously had no representative from District 5. This election completes the phasing over into this system, so now for the first time there will be a representative from each of the five districts.
In addition to District 5, the District 1 and 2 spots were up for vote.
Buena Park’s system is staggered, so not every position will ever be up for vote in one election. Voters will decide on Districts 3 and 4 in 2020.
In a very tight District 1 race, incumbent Mayor Virginia Vaughn narrowly held off Sunny Park and Val Sadowinski. District 1 is 41% Asian-American, as well as heavily Latino, but Vaughn has been heavily supported by the districts Korean community and held off her challengers, despite their popularity within the community.
And in District 2, current Council Member and former Mayor Beth Swift beat Ian Macdonald and Jae Chung.
So when the new Council takes office, your Buena Park City Council will be made up of Vaughn, Swift, Fred Smith—the District 3 representative who will be around for at least two more years, Mayor Pro Tem Art Brown—the District 4 representative, and Traut.
In Buena Park, City Council Members are elected for four-year terms, and there is no directly-elected Mayor. Instead the Council chooses one of their own as Mayor perennially.
In the Buena Park School District, Rhodia Shead beat out Joe Pak for Governing Board Member for Trustee Area 1.
As for regional and statewide races, here are results of note:
-Republican Young Kim defeated Democrat Gil Cisneros to take over retiring Representative Ed Royce’s seat in the 39th Congressional District
-Gavin Newsom becomes Governor of California
-Eleni Kounalakis will become California’s first female Lieutenant Governor
-Incumbent Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) held off Republican Alexandria Coronado for State Assembly in the 65th District
-In the special election for the 32nd state Senate District, where Democrat Tony Mendoza held the spot before resigning over sexual harassment allegations, Democrat Bob Archuleta defeated Republican Rita Topalian
-Longtime District Attorney Tony Rackauckas will be replaced by Todd Spitzer
