Preserve ASNC Candidates Prevail in Saturday's Elections

A total of 402 ballots were cast in Saturday's Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council (ASNC) Elections, which largely saw a slate of candidates with the stated goal of preserving the board defeating a slate that aimed to put it back to business.

All 12 members of the Preserve ASNC slate were elected to the board on Saturday, making up more than half the 21 candidates to win seats in the election.

The opposing Back-2-Business Slate saw 6 of its 12 members elected to the board, each of whom earned seats for which they ran unopposed.

The two candidate slates were formed following a contentious year for the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, which saw allegations overs fraudulent accounting and an attempt by Hermon residents to from a new board distinct from the ASNC.

The Back 2 Business Slate, led by Hermon resident Joseph Riser, was formed with the stated goal of restoring civility to the contentious board, which for months had its meetings overseen by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) due to ongoing in-fighting.

The Preserve ASNC was formed to counteract Back-2-Business Slate, which it saw as attempting to undermine the board given its affiliation with several Hermon residents who supported the formation of a Hermon Neighborhood Council.

Voters seemed to show a preference for the Preserve ASNC Slate, as it swept every head-to-head race against Back-2-Business opponents.

The elections were just as contentious as the board's meetings. Mount Washington and founding ASNC member resident Eliot Sekuler criticized Riser for running for Sycamore Grove's geographic representative seat, despite not living in the neighborhood.

In return, Back-2-Business candidate David Lyttle accused Preserve ASNC candidates of being "paranoid."

Former ASNC Treasuer and Hermon Resident Mark Legassie accused Preserve ASNC candidates of encouraging voters to lie about their stakeholder status so they could vote for Monterey Hills candidate Judy Knapton.

Three candidates who were not affiliated with any slate--Andrew Ptashnik, Paul Jacques and Brittany Wolfson--also earned seats on the board.

Election Results:

Hermon Representatives (2 Elected)

Andrea Moran (Back to Business) elected with 102 Votes
Judy Shane (Back to Business) elected with 87 votes

Montecito Heights Representatives (2 Elected)

Roy Payan (Preserve ASNC) elected with 45 votes
Martha Benedict (Preserve ASNC) elected with 32 votes

Monterey Hills Representatives (2 Elected)

Judy Knapton (Preserve ASNC) elected with 74 votes
Darius Adle (Preserve ASNC) elected with 67 votes
David Lyttle (Back to Business) not elected (received 25 votes)

Mount Washington Representatives (4 Elected)

Andrew Ptashnik (No Slate) elected with 30 votes
Valerie Harragin (Preserve ASNC) elected with 55 votes
Andrea Jayasekera (Preserve ASNC) elected with 64 votes
Paul Jacques (No Slate) elected with 30 votes

Sycamore Grove (2 Elected)

Sergio Vidal-Echeverria (Back to Business) elected with 27 votes
Joseph Riser (Back to Business) elected with 12 votes

Retail, Wholesale and Services (1 Elected)

Alfred Buhler (Back to Business) elected with 242 votes

Faith Based Organizations (1 Elected)

Margaret Barto (Preserve ASNC) elected with 184 votes
Alexander Bowman (Back to Business) not elected (received 162 votes)

Environmental (1 Elected)

Nina Zippay (Preserve ASNC) elected with 256 votes

Education and Youth (1 Elected)

Brittany Wolfson (No Slate) elected with 202 votes

Recreation, Culture and the Arts (1 Elected)

Ariel Van Zandweghe (Preserve ASNC) elected with 177 votes
Lily Feliciano (Back to Business) not elected (received 166 votes)
Zoey Goetsch (No Slate) not elected (received 12 votes)

Healthcare and Seniors (1 Elected)

Annie Sakamoto (Back to Business) elected with 264 votes

Community Non-Profits (1 Elected)

Terry Saltzman (Preserve ASNC) elected with 203 votes
Clifford Moseley (Back to Business) not elected (received 151 votes)

At Large

Jack Fong (Preserve ASNC) elected with 177 votes
Teresa 'Teri' Bonsell (Preserve ASNC) elected with 160 votes
Tony Torres (Back to Business) not elected (received 152 votes)
Arthur Jaramillo (Back to Business) not elected (received 137 votes)