BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Mercy Pena has been officially sworn in at Greenfield Union School District to take a seat to be a trustee.
- Mercy Pena has been sworn in as a trustee for the Greenfield Union School District.
- There are ongoing legal challenges regarding Pena's election due to ballot mishaps.
- 108 ballots were mistakenly sent to voters outside the trustee area; 57 of these voters participated.
- Pena won the election by just 8 votes over incumbent Ricardo Herrera.
- The court may decide if a special election is needed to resolve the issue.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Despite ongoing legal challenges to Mercy Pena being elected to the Greenfield School District Board of Trustees, Pena was sworn into office at the school board meeting Wednesday evening.
Pena is a lifelong resident of the district. Her priority, she says, is to increase student performance. "First what I want to do is focus on academic performance, we have failing schools, all 13 failing schools and we need to bring that up."
But whether Pena gets to do any of that remains to be seen. That's because this race is being legally challenged.
Kern County registrar of voters Aimee Espinoza admitted her office mistakenly sent 108 ballots to voters who do not live in trustee area C. The district says 57 of those voters did vote, giving Pena a victory over incumbent board member Ricardo Herrera by just 8 votes.
Ramon Hendrix said, "Greenfield Union School District remains neutral on the outcome of this election but is committed to the electoral process."
Others also question if those 108 ballots mistakenly sent to voters outside the area may have resulted in Pena being unfairly elected.
Anthony Estrada said, "We don't know who they voted for as of now it's only 108 but is that the real number? Whoever voted for who?"
This matter however has not been fully resolved and may be up to a court to decide whether a special election will take place.
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