Tornek takes District 7
Former planning director beats out retired LA County police chief to replace Sid Tyler on council
By André Coleman 04/23/2009
Former Pasadena Planning Director Terry Tornek defeated retired police executive Margaret York on Tuesday in a runoff election to decide the District 7 seat on the Pasadena City Council being vacated by Sid Tyler.
Tornek received 1,087 votes, or 53.7 percent, with York taking 937 votes, or 46.2 percent. Ninety-eight provisional ballots remained uncounted, but even if York took them all, it would not be enough to close the vote gap.
District 7 covers much of the city south of Colorado Boulevard, bordered to the west by Arroyo Parkway and San Gabriel Boulevard to the east, and includes both Pasadena City College and Caltech. The district has 10,807 registered voters, with 2,024, or 18.7 percent, voting in Tuesday’s runoff, a slight increase from the election held in March, in which only 1,883 people voted.
“The first thing on my list of things to do is to meet with the city manager,” Tornek told the Weekly.
Tornek served as the city’s planning director for three years and helped rewrite the city’s Zoning Ordinance, its General Plan and helped establish redevelopment plans for Old Pasadena. He was endorsed by Tyler, who served 12 years on the council.
In a field of five candidates in the March 10 election, York, a former LAPD deputy chief and the former chief of the LA County Police Department, came in a distant second behind Tornek, prompting Tuesday’s runoff.
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