Ricky Estrada to be sworn in as new Mayor of Menifee

By Doug Spoon, Editor

It isn’t official yet, but the numbers tell the story. Ricky Estrada will be sworn in as the next Mayor of Menifee.

Nearly a month after the Nov. 5 election, the latest results released Monday night by the County Registrar’s Office shows Estrada leading by 362 votes – virtually no change from the day before. Estrada, the current City Council District 2 representative, has received 22,265 votes, or 44.33 percent of the 50,228 votes cast for Mayor. Outgoing District 3 representative Lesa Sobek, who led the voting for much of the last month, is second with 21,903 votes, or 43.61 percent. Dameon Greene is third with 6,060 votes, or 12.06 percent.

The Registrar’s Office did not list any remaining votes to be counted, instead announcing on its website that “current results are preliminary and subject to change. Final official results will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.”

Election rules require the County to certify final results by Dec. 5 – one day after this Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Menifee City Clerk Stephanie Roseen said the City of Menifee will certify the results during the following City Council meeting on Dec. 17.

At that time, Estrada will be sworn in as Mayor. Dan Temple, who received 66.27 percent of the votes as the new District 3 representative, will also be sworn in, along with incumbent Bob Karwin, who received 57.61 percent of the votes to continue as the District 1 representative.

Estrada’s comeback was steady almost from the very beginning. On Nov. 6 – the day all 58 voting precincts reported in-person and early ballot votes – Sobek led Estrada by 1,237 votes. By the next day, as the count of vote-by-mail ballots continued, he had cut that deficit almost in half. Estrada finally took the lead on Nov. 20, on his way to the final margin of victory of 362 votes.

The vote counting process was drawn out over a month as vote-by-mail votes were counted along with ballots that needed to be cured – verified for correct signatures and other issues. Voters with questionable ballots were informed by mail and had until Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. to return corrected ballots. Campaign rules allowed for candidates to request a list of ballots needing to be cured; Estrada and Sobek or their representatives were allowed to call or visit those voters and urge them to return corrected ballots.

Of the 24,306 total votes that were counted after Nov. 6, Estrada received 46.7 percent on his way to victory. Sobek received 40.2 percent and Greene 13.1 percent.

Estrada first ran for Mayor in 2020, losing to Bill Zimmerman. He won the District 2 City Council seat in 2022. In order to fill the remaining two years of his vacated District 2 seat, council members must decide whether to hold a special election or appoint a replacement.

Zimmerman began his tenure as Mayor when the council appointed him to replaced the late Neil Winter in July 2018. Even though his first term was only a partial term, Zimmerman terms out after the current term.

Sobek began her political career as an appointed Planning Commissioner in 2013. She was elected to the City Council in 2016 and served two terms as the District 3 representative.

The other race that remained close throughout the month was Measure R, the school bond for Menifee Union School District. It passed with 56.22 percent of the votes.

Menifee 24/7 will post the final official results of all local races when the Registrar’s Office releases them on Tuesday evening.