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Politics & Government

City Council Election Round Up

A look back at John Capoccia, Chris Koerber and John Harabedian's campaigns, and what they had to say in the hours after they were elected.

Sierra Madre’s City Council race on Tuesday as seven candidates ran for three seats (two four-year seats and one two-year seat).

Incumbent MaryAnn MacGillivray, who served on the council for a total of 12 years and was once mayor of Sierra Madre, was ousted by newcomers John Capoccia and John Harabedian. Only 37 votes separated winners Capoccia and Harabedian, and 180 votes separated MacGillivray and Capoccia.

Chris Koerber ran against Colin Braudrick for the two-year seat . Koerber received the most votes out of all of the candidates: 1,403.

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Capoccia and Koerber had been campaigning with similar ideas: they both recommended a “no” vote on Measures 12-1 and 12-2, the Utility Users Tax increase extension. Harabedian was for the tax measure.

Voters on Tuesday.

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The election results are still uncertified, but will be finalized next Tuesday. There are still 87 provisional ballots and 103 vote-by-mail ballots that remain uncounted.

Nancy Shollenberger will return as City Clerk and Richard Mays will return as City Treasurer. Both candidates ran unopposed.

Capoccia: "Now the Fun Starts."

Patch caught up with Capoccia just moments after the results were announced. “I’m really proud of Sierra Madre. They supported a grassroots campaign with a low budget and I’m really thankful for all the people that supported me.”

Capoccia raised about $6,000 for his campaign, according to the Pasadena Star-News. Though Capoccia did not support Measures 12-1 and 12-2 during this election, he has pointed out that voters will have another chance to raise their UUT in the coming years, if needed.

“The council can vote to increase the tax to twelve percent under the current ordinance without a ballot measure,” Capoccia . “If they raise it to twelve percent rate, it would not revert back to ten percent under the sunset clause until June 30, 2014.  Voters can weigh in on extending the sunset clause and possibly increasing the tax in the April 2014 election, AFTER careful deliberation, consideration of economic conditions that have yet to play out, and more public input on how the tax should be structured.”

Capoccia also offered his congratulations to Koerber and Harabedian. “Now the fun starts,” he said.

Koerber: "The city is ready for a councilman who will work for clarity, community, and economic accountability."

Koerber, too, raised about $6,000 for his campaign, according to the Star-News. Koerber used his background in financial services as part of his campaign platform, saying that he seeks a balanced budget and stands for “economic accountability.”

Koerber said that he is honored and humbled by the election.

“This election came at an extremely important time for the city, and being selected by my fellow citizens shows that the city is ready for a councilman who will work for clarity, community, and economic accountability. My fiscal expertise and dedication to maintaining the character of our village community will ensure that Sierra Madre can continue to be the unique town that it is while meeting its fiscal obligations in a responsible way,” Koerber said in a statement.

Koerber also thanked his supporters and offered a “hearty congratulations to my opponent, Colin Braudrick, for a well-fought race.”

Koerber’s Tea Party affiliations have been a hot topic among Patch commenters during the election, though Koerber during a public forum.

Harabedian: "We have a lot of work to do over the next four years."

Harabedian, an attorney, was the youngest candidate to run. He based much of his campaign on his native roots in Sierra Madre and his desire to preserve the city. He was in support of extending the UUT increase, saying that the city needs the extra revenue but also needs to cut costs.

“…we have a lot of work to do over the next four years,” said Harabedian at his campaign party last night. “I can’t say that it’s going to be easy or that we’re all going to agree over the next two years, or four years, but I think that we’re going to have a spirited productive conversation on a weekly basis that will benefit the city of Sierra Madre.”

Harabedian also offered his congratulations to Capoccia and Koerber, and thanked MacGillivray for her time on the council.

“I appreciate the 12 years of service that MaryAnn MacGillivray gave to the city, and I think that Gene Goss and Colin Braudrick ran great campaigns,” Harabedian said.

Harabedian raised the most money out of all the candidates- over $19,000, according to the Star-News. One of his campaign postcards raised eyebrows because it (it’s illegal for uniformed police officers to campaign or endorse candidates.). Harabedian has said that the officers were not in uniform. City officials have stated that they’re looking into the photo. Harabedian was endorsed by the Sierra Madre Police Officers Association.

Check out the post-election statements from Goss and Braudrick on Sierra Madre News Net.

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