City Council Election Results 

UPDATED: 10:05 a.m.

After more than 21,000 votes were counted for two open seats on the Santa Clarita City Council, incumbent Mayor Bob Kellar and Parks Commissioner Laurie Ender emerged victorious.

As the polls closed at 8 p.m., a well-oiled machine of city staff tabulated the estimated 9,000 mail in (formerly known as absentee) ballots, where Kellar took first place, followed by Diane Trautman, Ender, Bob Spierer and Maria Gutzeit. Positions changed when the ballots from each precinct arrived, putting Ender in the first slot and Kellar only 50 votes behind. A mere two votes separated Spierer and Trautman in third and fourth place, respectively.

City staff run mail-in ballots through counting machines as polls close.

Those numbers will change slightly when all the provisional ballots are finally counted, something City Clerk Sharon Dawson says will happen Monday. About 250 provisional ballots were turned in at polling places on election day and 600 were delivered to the City Clerk’s office in City Hall. All of those ballots must be certified by the county Registrar of Voters.

Staff gather around laptops as election results are tallied in Council chambers.

Kellar was pleased with the outcome.

“I’m looking forward to doing the best I can for the city,” he said.

Spierer was no less enthusiastic, despite his third-place finish.

“There were some real positives about the campaign,” he said. “I met an incredible number of great people and had a very rewarding experience. It has encouraged me to stay active in the community.” (Spierer serves on the Newhall Redevelopment Committee)

A white board keeps count as election results come in at a gathering for Diane Trautman.

Planning Commissioner Trautman plans on staying in the game even without a council seat.

“There is a lot of work to be done in the city and I don’t intend to back away from anhy of my commitments,” she said. “I still want to push for a cultural arts master plan, a (tax) percentage for the arts and affordable housing for our work force and seniors.”

Final results were announced just after 10 p.m. A total of 21, 971 votes had been counted, with 32 out of 32 precincts reporting. Here are the numbers as of Tuesday night: 

Laurie Ender: 24.60% of the vote. (5,404)

Bob Kellar: 24.37% of the vote. (5,354)

Bob Spierer: 19.89% of the vote. (4,371)

Diane Trautman: 19.89% of the vote. (4,369)

Maria Gutzeit: 11.26% of the vote. (2,473)