Lyons Wins Seat on Diamond Bar City Council, Tye and Chang Re-Elected

The Diamond Bar City Council has a new face. 

However, newly elected Nancy Lyons is not a newcomer to the city. The 34-year Diamond Bar resident won a seat on the council, finishing with the third highest vote total at 20.93 percent, according to unofficial data from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

Incumbents Steve Tye and Ling-Ling Chang finished with the first and second-highest vote totals at 23.81 and 22.25 percent respectively. Mayor Pro Tem Ron Everett received 16.35 percent of the vote, according to preliminary election data.

"I am very excited and very humble," said Lyons, who currently serves on the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees.  "I really love Diamond Bar. I have been here for over 30 years and I am really looking forward to serving the citizens."

She said she hopes to focus on filling vacant store fronts in her first term and bring more restaurants to town.

Lyons and re-elected Councilman Steve Tye, along with supporters, gathered at East 180, a Chinese restaurant on Palomino Drive, to watch the results come in. State Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, dropped by just before the semi-final votes were counted.

At around 11 p.m., all precincts were reported, cheers echoed across the room, and Lyons and Tye shared high fives and hugs.

Tye said he is looking forward to serving a third term.

"I am very excited about three times out of three being the top vote-getter," he said.  "I am excited about the team we put together."

He said he spent about 2 1/2 months walking precincts and around the city, but the effort is worth it.

"I think it's just making a difference," he said of the rewards of service.  "When you're out talking to people and you learn what their concerns are and that you can make a impact on that, it's rewarding."

The Walnut Valley Unified school board race for three seats remained tight for most of the night, with the candidates trading places a couple of times as the votes came in.

In the end, the two incumbents finished with the highest vote totals.  Board President Helen Hall received 28.08 percent of the vote and Board Clerk Cindy Ruiz 24.54 percent.  Diamond Bar Planning Commission Chair Tony Torng won the third seat with 24.43 percent of the vote.

Fellow challenger Sean Monemi finished fourth with 22.94 percent of the vote.

It was a night for incumbents running for Pomona Unified school board.

The three seats went to incumbents.  Roberta Perlman finished with 33.63 percent of the vote.  Fellow board members Adrienne Konigar Mackln received 28.22 percent and Andrew Wong 27.17 percent.

Challenger John Mendoza finished fourth with 10.98 percent.

Rowland Unified's school board has two new members. 

In a fairly crowded field of seven candidates, two challengers received the most votes.  Angela Pride was elected with 21.23 percent of the vote and Lynne Ebenkamp finished with 19.56 percent.

Incumbent Cary C. Chen was re-elected with 14.94 percent of the vote.  Fellow board member Gilbert Garcia lost, earning 13.12 percent of the vote.

Although the votes are in, the election results won't be official for a couple of weeks. The Registrar-Recorder is expected to certify the results Nov. 25.  The Board of Supervisors is tentatively scheduled to declare the results official Nov. 26.