The filing period for local elections — including the Tehachapi City Council, school board and directors of special districts — opened Monday, July 18. The deadline for most offices is Aug. 12, although it could be extended by three days if incumbents don’t file for reelection.
As of Tuesday morning, the Kern County Elections Office had not published an official list of seats up for election, but information about the election is online at kernvote.com.
The county office handles filing for all offices except the Tehachapi City Council. The Tehachapi City Clerk is in charge of filing for city offices. The city deadline is Aug. 11 (because City Hall is closed on Fridays).
City Council
Three seats on the City Council will be filled in November. These are the seats in District 1 (incumbent Phil Smith), District 4 (incumbent Joan Pogon-Cord) and District 5 (incumbent Susan Wiggins).
Individuals can use an interactive tool available on the city’s website to find their district, liveuptehachapi.com/352/City-Council-Districts.
After the City Council meeting July 18, Wiggins said she intends to run for election. Smith and Pogon-Cord were not as decisive. However, two people at the meeting said they intend to run for City Council. Madison S. Bennett, 24, said she will run for the District 4 seat and Angie Cortes, 20, said she plans to run for the District 1 seat.
The city elects by district and only registered voters within a given district may vote for candidates running from that district.
School board
The school board recently completed a process to change its election method to by-trustee area voting. This means that individuals must live in an area with a seat up for election — and only other residents of that area may vote.
Areas 2, 4, 5 and 6 are expected to be up for election this year, although the Kern County Elections Office has not yet responded to an inquiry to confirm it had accepted the map approved by the school board and the County Committee on School District Reorganization.
Three trustees on the seven-member board are not up for election this year. Tyler Napier, Tracy Kelly and Jackie Wood can remain on the board at least until their terms are up in 2024.
During the redistricting process, the board instructed demographers to create draft maps without considering the impact on incumbents’ ability to run for reelection. Because of redistricting, board President Nancy Weinstein and Vice President Jeff Kermode do not live in an area with a seat up for election this year. Trustee Rick Scott previously announced that he did not intend to run for reelection. And Trustee Joe Wallek cannot run for reelection because he lives in a newly-created district that is currently represented by Wood, Weinstein said.
With no incumbents, there are at least three efforts underway to encourage and possibly support candidates for election to the four seats.
Todd Morrison, chair of the Tehachapi Association of Teacher’s Political Action Committee, said last week that the association plans to send postcards to all registered voters in the districts with open seats to let them know about the election, deadlines and hopes to raise interest in the election.
At least two other groups are working to find candidates, and two individuals have said they will run.
Paul Kaminski, a retired school administrator who also ran for the board in 2020, said he plans to file for the Area 6 seat next Monday. And Cassandra Sweeney, a parent of three who previously worked as a special education paraprofessional at Tehachapi High School, said she plans to file for the Area 2 seat.
Gail Purdy, who was active in the recent campaign to either keep the school board at seven members or allow the community to vote for a reduction, said she is part of a small group of individuals trying to get candidates. She said they plan to go door-to-door next week in the areas where no candidates have emerged to provide information and try to interest people in running. Anyone who would like information may contact her by email, putting “School Board” in the subject line. Her email is epurdy0046@yahoo.com.
And a loosely organized group of parents who first connected on the Facebook page “Reopen Tehachapi Schools” is trying to field candidates for the open seats. An offshoot of that group, “Tehachapi Parents for a Better School Board,” is being developed. An involved person said that parents are seeking candidates who will be advocates for the community's perspective, listen to constituents and hold the district's administration accountable.
Healthcare and water districts
Among special districts with seats up for election are the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District and Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District.
On the healthcare district board, three four-year term seats held by board President Mike Nixon, Treasurer Duane Moats and Secretary Christine Sherrill are up for election, along with a two-year term seat currently held by Carl Gehricke, who was appointed in October 2021 to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of long-time board member Dr. Sam Conklin, who died last year. Director William Steele is not up for election this year.
There are no divisions in the healthcare district. The top voters in each election will win the open seats.
The water district has five divisions, but voting is at large. This means that candidates must live in a division with an open seat but voters throughout the district can vote in all races.
Seats up for election this year are Division 1, Division 3 and Division 5. Incumbents are Kathy Cassil, James Pack and Robert Schultz, respectively. Pack has said publicly that he does not intend to run for reelection.
Division 1 is a territory that includes a portion of Golden Hills and the city of Tehachapi as well as rural areas to the north and east. Division 3 includes areas mostly south of Highline Road and Division 5 includes an area roughly described as Brite Valley and the southern portion of Cummings Valley. These descriptions are approximate. Check with the Kern County Elections office or the district for precise information.
Directors Jonathan Hall (Division 2) and Rick Zanutto (Division 4) and were elected in 2020 and have two years remaining on their seats.
Community services districts
The following community services districts have seats coming up for election Nov. 8:
Bear Valley Community Services District - This district has a five-member board elected at large, meaning there are no specific director seats within the district. Three seats are up for election this year. These include seats held by board President Greg Hahn and Terry Quinn. Hahn was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in March 2018 and ran unopposed in November 2018 for a four-year term. Quinn was appointed in the fall of 2018 and announced his intent to run for reelection at the board’s July 14 meeting. Jay Carlyn, who resigned earlier this year, held the third seat to be filled in November. Seats held by John Grace and Charles Jensen are not up for election this year.
Golden Hills Community Services District - This district has a five-member board elected at large, meaning there are no specific director seats within the district. Seats held by John Buckley and Marilyn White are up for election this year. Both were elected in 2014 and reappointed in 2018 because there were no challengers. Seats held by David Benham, Joe King and David Shaw are not up for election this year.
A Golden Hills resident, 23-year-old Connor Harris, has announced his intent to run for the board.
Mountain Meadows Community Services District - This small district provides road maintenance services and has not had an election in at least 20 years. Vacancies on the five-member board have been filled by appointment by the Kern County Board of Supervisors.
Information about which seats will be up for election this November has not yet been released by the county Elections Office.
Stallion Springs Community Services District - This district has a five-member board elected at large, meaning there are no specific director seats within the district. Seats held by Ben Dewell, Barry Leslie and Neil Record are up for election this year. Directors Teresa Sasnet and Leslie Wellman are not up for election this year.
Other candidates?
Candidates for local office are asked to contact Tehachapi News so your information can be included in future articles. Send email to editorial@tehachapinews.com or directly to freelancer Claudia Elliott (claudia@claudiaelliott.net).
Claudia Elliott is a freelance journalist and former editor of the Tehachapi News. She lives in Tehachapi and can be reached by email: claudia@claudiaelliott.net.
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