Curtis, Spence elected to City Council

 

 

Dave Spence retained his seat on the La Cañada City Council, and will be joined by Planning Commissioner Jonathan Curtis following Tuesday’s vote.

Mayor Steve Del Guercio, whose term ends in May, did not seek reelection, leaving two seats up for grabs.

Preliminary results early Wednesday morning showed Curtis received the most votes -- 2,007. Spence received 1,933 votes while newcomer Joe Layton came in third with 974 votes.

The three candidates watched the election results roll at City Hall Tuesday night before heading off to parties at local venues.

Spence, who has served on the council for more than 20 years, chose Los Gringos Locos to celebrate his win.

“I’m very pleased and I’m relieved,” he said. “It’s nice to know that the community respects my work and my efforts to make La Cañada a better place to live.”

Curtis celebrated with his family and friends at Taylor’s Steakhouse.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s been a long journey.”

“The great thing about [the campaign] was getting to meet a lot of people I hadn’t met and getting their input and their thoughts,” he added.

Layton, a 24-year-old account, stayed at the Council Chambers to watch the results with his fiancée and his father. He said the campaign taught him a lot and he plans to remain active in the community.

“I think it was a good decision even if the results didn’t necessarily reflect it,” he said. “I got a much deeper look into how everything works and I think it further instilled how I want to become more involved in the community.”

About  14,900 residents are registered to vote in La Cañada. With 2,887 ballots cast, voter turnout was at just above 19%. The City Council election two years ago drew more than 30% of registered voters.

-- Tiffany Kelly, Times Community News