Westminster Councilwoman Kimberly Ho held a commanding lead over Councilman Tai Do late Tuesday night for a seat in the just-created District 3.
Planning Commissioner Carlos Manzo also took a comfortable lead in District 2.
Over the past two years, Westminster’s City Council dais has been a stage for drama, rancor and a recall battle.
The 2020 election process, too, endured some disruption as, for the first time, candidates ran within districts rather than at large.
Faced with the threat of a lawsuit claiming violation of voters’ rights, Westminster drew up a map last year splitting it into five precincts.
Continuing the tumult, the new voting system resulted in foes Do and Ho vying for a seat in the same district.
Ever since his election in 2018, Do has stirred the pot – hurling accusations of corruption at Ho, Mayor Tri Ta and Charlie Nguyen, who tend to vote in sync.
Ho’s four-year term was up this year, so to stay on she needed to run for reelection.
However, Do could have kept his citywide seat for the next two years without running yet in his district, but then he would not be able to run again until 2024. Even if he loses to Ho, he can finish out his at-large term.
Three newcomers competed in District 2: Manzo; city traffic commissioner NamQuan Nguyen; and retired project manager Trung Ta.
See the latest election results.
Manzo was endorsed by City Councilman Sergio Contreras, who is not running again – instead focusing on his bid to unseat Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do.
As does District 3, District 2 has opponents with history. Manzo advocated for the ultimately unsuccessful effort to recall of the council majority. He ran in the special election earlier this year to replace Ho if she lost her seat.
NamQuan Nguyen is supported by Lan Quoc Nguyen, an attorney who represented the three targeted council members during the recall process.
Do ran in the special election to take Ta’s position as mayor should the recall attempt prevail.
As with most Orange County cities, Westminster faces an economic crisis heightened by the coronavirus. In that arena, the next City Council will need to deal with what some call a self-inflicted wound.
Despite the city manager’s warnings of impending bankruptcy, the council in August rejected a chance to put a measure on the 2020 ballot to extend the 1% sales tax scheduled to “sunset” in 2022.
Contreras, Ho and Nguyen passionately argued for the proposal, which needed at least four “yes” votes. But Ta and Do, better known for butting heads. joined forces to defeat it.