CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — This year's race for the Chula Vista City Council District Four seat is currently too close to call even though a top contender, former City Councilwoman Andrea Cardenas, resigned from that same seat two weeks ago before pleading guilty to felony grand theft.
For longtime voters like Chuck Sales, dramatic elections in Chula Vista over the past few years have left him feeling disillusioned.
"Disengaged in politics for quite some time now," says Sales. "I don’t have a lot of faith in the system."
Many voters like Sales say they're ready to replace former City Councilwoman Andrea Cardenas. She gave up the seat two weeks ago in the middle of a fraud scandal. Last week Cardenas pleaded guilty to felony grand theft for illegally taking unemployment money and COVID relief loans.
"Dishonest politicians are not a rarity, and they’re going to show up at any level," said Sales. "It’s kind of surprising with Chula Vista. Because even though it’s the biggest suburb out here, it’s still kind of a small town. I consider it small-town politics, when you get someone pulling stuff like that."
According to city rules, you can't be on the city council if you're convicted of a felony. But since a judge can still reduce Cardenas' felonies to misdemeanors before the Nov. general election, she's still on the ballot.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the top three contenders were fewer than 200 votes apart, so the race is still too close to call.
At the time, teacher and school trustee Cesar Fernandez was in the lead with 22% of the vote, just ahead of businessman Rudy Ramirez. Cardenas was just 75 votes behind Ramirez, and if she ends up in the final two by the final vote count, Cardenas will be on the ballot for the general election.
"I guess that kind of indicates what voters are like, too," said Sales. "Are they really paying attention to what’s happening?"
We're expecting updates on the outcome of this race on Thursday. Follow this link for live election results from around the San Diego area.
