DE LA TORRE, HERNANDEZ LEAD.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

SAN FERNANDO - City Council incumbent Jose Hernandez and candidate Maribel De La Torre appeared headed toward victory Tuesday as partial returns showed them in the lead and Mayor Silverio Robledo apparently headed toward defeat.

De La Torre, who had the highest number of votes, is the sister of Councilwoman Cindy Montanez, and has served as chairwoman of the Planning Commission.

Candidate Maria Elena Tostado, a school district administrator, trailed behind the others.

Also on Tuesday, City Treasurer Elvira Orozco was re-elected to the post she has held since 1970 as she ran unopposed for another four-year term.

A major downtown redevelopment plan took center stage in the campaign as this city of 30,000 people debated whether it was better to lure large-scale new development or focus on redeveloping existing buildings to accommodate smaller businesses.

Hernandez and Montanez have become a voting block of opposition against Robledo and council members Richard Ramos and Beverly Di Tomaso, who favor the more commercial redevelopment approach.

Disagreements and accusations of wrongdoing tore the two sides during the campaign, with Hernandez and De La Torre in one camp and Robledo and Tostado in the other.

On Feb. 19, De La Torre reported the theft of approximately 1,800 campaign lawn signs distributed in support of herself and Hernandez.

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Chart: San Fernando