By Brian Hews
The Norwalk City Council election got much tighter on Thursday afternoon after more and 600 late ballots were counted by election officials at city hall.
Challenger Enrique Aranda now trails incumbent Mayor Cheri Kelley by 33 votes after the tally was conducted.
A spokesman for the Aranda campaign told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper that the candidate has not made a decision if a formal recount will be requested over the next couple of days.
Top vote getter was Councilman Mike Mendez who ended up with 1,918 votes to runner up Kelley who garnered a total of 1,879. Aranda, who trailed after election day by 65 votes cut Kelley’s lead in half after Thursday’s tally.
Norwalk-La Mirada School Board Member Darryl Adams ended with 1,531 votes, challenger Candy Martinez had a total of 867 votes and Brian Macinas finished in last with 305 votes.
If Aranda requests a formal recount, it could cost his campaign up to $5,000 to $10,000 per day for the exercise.
