Tuesday, Apr. 14 was an election day for many Arcadians. Even through the difficulties of the coronavirus epidemic, the election was still held to determine who would be city council members in districts one and four with a majority of the ballots being sent in by mail. 

Many residents could probably spot lawn signs of different candidates on the grass of homes and businesses signalling their support for each candidate. But whether or not you or your family voted, the new city council members will have a greater effect on how the city will be run rather than just being names on signs. So let’s take a look at these districts and see how the election went.

District one is a long stretch of the city which incorporates areas such as First Avenue Middle School, Highland Oaks Elementary School, and goes up into the foothills. In district one we had two candidates running, namely, incumbent April Verlato and real estate agent Yuli Sira. 

Verlato’s campaign when she ran in 2016 was notable for emphasizing limits be put on larger lots and houses and stressing historical preservation in Arcadia. Her campaign this year echoed that as her website cited her accomplishments of implementing the first historical preservation ordinance as well as being Arcadia’s mayor and a member of different PTAs in AUSD. Verlato is also an attorney who maintains her own practice. 

Her opponent, Sira, is a real estate agent from Coldwell Banker who has also served on a PTA and has had years of volunteer experience with local safety departments such as the “Monterey Park Police Department, Monterey Park Fire Department, as well as El Monte Police Department” according to the digital publication Arcadia’s Best. 

Sira pointed out specific issues in our community other than crime and safety, including the problem of frivolous lawsuits by the city of Arcadia. She argued that this behavior of “litigating unnecessary lawsuits” is harmful to the decision making of the community and serves only to enrich lawyers. She stated, “We could not survive the last 28 years the way the city has been run lately.” 

District four covers a large area of land from south of Santa Anita Park to approximately Longley Way Elementary School. District four had incumbent Peter Amundson running against local attorney Paul Cheng. 

Amundson’s website focused on issues in Arcadia such as public safety, protecting taxpayers, and “hometown values”. Amundson also focused on the theme of “One Arcadia” which his website describes as “collaboration with the School District and leaders of Arcadia [sic] diverse community.” He listed accomplishments such as putting in over 500 hours working with Arcadia’s youth. 

Cheng also focused on policies and issues which face Arcadia today. Cheng campaigned on ideals such as preserving Arcadia’s goals in urban development, analyzing and addressing traffic issues, and encouraging citizen participation. Cheng has also been critical of crime and cannabis within Arcadia, citing how larger unoccupied homes can easily become magnets of crime without ample responsibility to take care of them. 

Like Sira, Cheng has also been critical of the current city council, saying to Arcadia’s Best that “the Incumbent claims a spotless record and that Arcadia needs no improvement… The status quo is the reason why in January 2019 the city was considering letting go of over 13 police officers, 9 firemen, and closing the fire station.” 

According to the City of Arcadia’s website, the tentative winners are April Verlato, with 60.6% of the votes, and Paul Cheng, with 64.5%. 

Photo courtesy of ARCADIAWEEKLY.COM