In a closely watched race for Imperial County supervisors, heavily funded Martha Cardenas-Singh defeated challenger Diahna Garcia-Ruiz by 128 votes for the District 2 seat, according to final election results released by the clerk’s office Tuesday afternoon.
The final result was 5,347 votes for Cardenas-Singh, or 50.61% of the votes cast, and 5,219 votes for Garcia-Ruiz, or 49.39%. Cardenas-Singh, an outgoing El Centro city council member who also works for the University of California San Diego in career development and is a medical trustee at the troubled El Centro Medical Center, did not immediately respond to a request for comment or what her would be top priorities once she takes office in January.
Martha Cardenas-Singh, candidate for Imperial County Board of Supervisors, April 2024
Cardenas-Singh, postmaster of the small community of Heber who has told provincial and federal investigators and The Desert Sun that she was offered up to $500,000 and declined not to seek the seat, said she is “at peace.”
“I am grateful to my family, my friends and all my supporters for always believing in me,” she said.
Garcia-Ruiz had a six-vote lead at one point, but after clerk’s office staff worked Thanksgiving and certified and tabulated thousands of “provisional” and “restored” ballots over the holiday weekend, she lost the race. She said she would not contest the results or request a recount.
Campaign records showed that Cardenas-Singh received large donations from anonymous “dark money” groups, three of which also contributed to her brother Alex Cardenas, chairman of the powerful Imperial Irrigation District, in an earlier campaign. Cardenas aggressively campaigned for his sister.
In another closely watched race, retired educator Luis Pacheco defeated Imperial Irrigation District incumbent Javier Gonzalez, a Calexico community organizer, by 366 votes to serve Division 4 on the water and energy company’s board.
Turnout in the Nov. 5 election was far higher than the dismal 18% turnout in the March primary, the lowest in the state. But Clerk Linsey Dale said that at 60.30%, this was still lower than the 67.95% in November 2020, the last presidential election. Presidential voting years typically produce much higher turnout.
“The Registrar of Voters extends its gratitude to the public for their patience and support during the election process,” Dale said in a news release. The certified results were scheduled to be submitted to the California Secretary of State today and will be reviewed and accepted by the current County Board of Supervisors at a future meeting.
Janet Wilson is a senior environmental reporter for The Desert Sun and co-author of USA Today Climate Point, a weekly newsletter on climate, energy and the environment.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Imperial County elections: Cardenas-Singh secures supervisor seat
