Winterhaven school board seats only contested race

School board seats seem to be the only local offices up for grabs in Winterhaven for this year's general election.

Friday was the deadline for candidate filings for seats on the San Pasqual Valley Unified School District and the Winterhaven water and fire districts, and only the school board races drew enough candidates to be competitive.

Three candidates, two of them incumbents, will compete for four-year seats on the governing board of the school district in the Nov. 3 election, according to the Imperial County Recorder's Office.

They are incumbents Monica Montague and Vernon S. Smith, and challenger Dennis L. Aguerro. The race is non-partisan.

The recorder's office has extended until Wednesday the deadline for candidates to file to run for two four-year seats on the Winterhaven Water District board because only one candidate filed by the deadline. The lone candidate is Mary Garcia, according to the recorder's office.

There will be no contested election for the four seats on the Winterhaven Fire Protection District board because only four candidates filed for the four seats, the recorder's office said. In lieu of an election, those candidates will automatically be appointed to the seats for which they planned to seek voter approval.

Incumbents Mark M. Sanchez and Kirk J. Nerva will be appointed to four- and two-year seats, respectively, on the fire district board.

The fire district oversees the community's fire department, and the water district provides water and sewer service to residents.

Anyone wishing to be a candidate for a water district seat now has until 5 p.m. Wednesday to file declaration of candidacy papers at the Imperial County Registrar of Voters office in El Centro, 940 Main St., Room 202. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 760-482-4226.