Olivia Calderon is the apparent winner in the race for Arvin mayor
The November 5 general election shook things up in Arvin and Delano. If the current lead stands, Olivia Calderon is well-positioned to be the next mayor of the city of about 20,000 people. With 7 out 7 precincts completed reporting, Calderon leads with 58.63% over incumbent mayor Daniel Borreli with 41.37%.
“I feel grateful to my mother, to my grandmother, to all those women that came before me that sacrificed hard,” said an emotional Calderon during an interview.
Calderon is the daughter of the late Olivia Trujillo who also served as Arvin mayor until her death earlier in 2024. This is Calderon’s first time running for elected office. Arvin is a city steeped in turmoil between city officials and some of its staff. Key city staff members have been fired while others, such as long-time City Clerk Cecilia Vela have been put on paid administrative leave. City council meetings have been raucous, with some members of the public questioning the workings of city officials. A constant issue raised by some is the payments made by the city to City Attorney Nathan Hodges, claiming Hodges is overcharging the city by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Calderon herself is often one of the public speakers who questions city council members on a number of issues facing the city.
“As the mayor, I will be there to listen, because that’s how we learn and that’s how we instill trust,” said Calderon.
Others hope Calderon gets to work on addressing everyday issues in the city. “I hope she fixes our streets, I walk everywhere I go, and it’s hard because the streets are in poor condition,” said Arvin resident David Gonzalez.
Delano City Council
In the northern Kern County city of Delano, ten candidates ran for three open seats on the Delano City Council. According to the latest results from the Kern County Elections office, with 18 out of 18 completed precincts reporting, the three top vote-getters are incumbent mayor Joe Alindajao, incumbent councilmember Salvador Solorio Ruiz and challenger Bryan Osorio.
Alindajao has 18.46% of the vote, Solorio Ruiz has 15.34% and Osorio has 14.94% However, it’s unknown how many mail-in ballots remain to be counted. Current council member Veronica Vazquez is currently in fifth place with 10.90% of the vote.
Osorio is no stranger to Delano politics. He is a former city council member and previous mayor of Delano. He lost in the mid-term election in 2022. “We have to keep working on making sure that our water is clean and safe, continue to develop more housing, but at the same time more affordable housing, listen to our senior citizens and create more opportunities for young people,” said Osorio.
Current Delano mayor Joe Alindajao said he wants to focus on the city’s practical matters. “I just hope that all of our intentions are for the advancement of the city and we’re only focused on issues that have to do with the city, business, and growth,” said Alindajao.
If the numbers don’t change significantly, Alindajao, Solorio Ruz, and Osorio will take office in December. County election officials have until December 5 to certify election results.
