Rocha/ Macias Win 2007 Election

[athena]

Mayor elect Joe Rocha defeated incumbent Mayor Diane Chagnon in the municipal election. Although voter turnout is very low, Mr. Rocha won most of the precincts, which gave him a substantial lead up until the absentee ballots were counted. Mrs. Chagnon did gain some ground during the counting of the absentee ballots, but it was not enough to secure her re-election. Our sincere congratulations to Mayor elect Joe Rocha for winning a hard fought campaign.
City councilman elect Uriel Macias was elected by an overwhelming majority to win his first term as a councilman. He received more votes than any other candidate running for city council, including incumbent Angel Carrillo who was successful in being re-elected. Our work is not over yet, as mayor-elect Rocha's council seat becomes available since he will be the new mayor, and there are two years left on his council term. If the precedent set by the previous election is of any indication, we can expect Robert Gonzales to be appointed since he finished third in the amount of votes received for city council candidates, behind Macias and Carrillo.

[athena]

Rocha to take over as mayor
By Alison Hewitt Staff Writer



• Photo Galleries: Election day around the Valley | Pasadena and Whittier
AZUSA - Councilman Joe Rocha won Mayor Diane Chagnon's seat, pushing her off the council, after the city's election results came in Tuesday night.

Rocha won with 54 percent of the vote to Chagnon's 46 percent, according to unofficial results. His election leaves a vacant seat on the council.

In the crowded six-candidate race for City Council, incumbent Angel Carrillo (25 percent) and former city Treasurer Uriel Macias (29 percent) won the two open seats. Carrillo was appointed in 2005 as the third-highest vote getter after Chagnon jumped from her unexpired council seat to the mayor's chair.

The new council will have several options to fill Rocha's open seat, but if history repeats itself, third-place council candidate Robert Gonzales may not have lost. Chagnon also expressed interest in the slot.

"I'm very proud of my time as mayor, and tonight I'm looking at it as, God has a plan for me, and it doesn't involve being mayor of the the city," Chagnon said. "Of

course, there is an open seat, and if the council wants to appoint someone with 13 years of experience, that's their option."
Chagnon fought hard to keep her seat, raising more than all the other candidates combined, according to the most recently submitted campaign finance statements.

There appeared to be some early traces of tension in the mayoral race in December, when Rocha was accused of stealing donated turkeys and Chagnon was accused by two of the city's Human Relations commissioners of undermining the commission. The city manager said both accusations appeared to be unfounded.

Despite these signs of a tough race, Chagnon and Rocha were careful not to speak ill of each other.

Nevertheless, Rocha pushed aside the idea that Chagnon would be on his list for possible appointees to the council's fifth seat.

"Last time, when Mr. Macias ran for mayor and lost \, everyone agreed - he ran for mayor and not City Council, and that's why he wasn't appointed \, and I think we would follow those rules again," Rocha said.

The remaining council candidates - Gonzales, Eddie Alvarez, John Dierking and Andrea Cruz - were on Rocha's short list for possible additions to the council.

The candidates made downtown development a key issue in the race. The challengers accused the current council of ignoring resident's wishes in redeveloping the area, and criticized the council for failing to bring a brand-name grocery store to Azusa. Rocha, Carrillo and Chagnon touted the progress in bringing new stores and restaurants to town, and the soon-to-begin and long-awaited construction on "Block 36," at Azusa and Alameda avenues.

Rocha said he suspected that campaign contributions also played a role in his election, since Chagnon accepted donations from city developers and he didn't. However, Carrillo, who also accepted donations from local developers, said his election proved that Azusa residents knew their council's votes couldn't be bought.

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[sparticus]

What a great victory for Azusa. It sends a message that our city is not for sale to anyone. I feel we will have an honest mayor who will do what is best for the entire city. Now is the time to heal our battle scars of a hard fought campaign and unite the city to move forward for a better Azusa. Those candidates that did not receive enough votes to win should consider applying for the two city commissions that will be created under our new mayor. They will be a Traffic & Safety and Economic Development Commissions. This way we can still have these fine people still involved and contributing their thoughts and ideas for the betterment of our city.

[beautifulhome1]

Wow our former Mayor is desperate!!!!! I pray she has nothing to do with politics for any city/state, etc.... She got what she deserved....nothing. Keep it that way.