Northridge, Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council Winners Announced

NORTHRIDGE, CA — Preliminary winners were announced for the April 27 Neighborhood Council elections in Northridge East, Northridge West, and Porter Ranch. The new members will be sworn in after ties are recounted, and the results are certified.

Below are the winners, the amount of votes they received, and brief biographies. Click on the hyperlink to learn more about each council.

Winners were elected to different categories of council membership:

• At-large representative: Candidates must live, work, own property, or own a city-registered business with a physical location within neighborhood boundaries, and be 18 or older at the time of election
• At-large stakeholder board member: Someone with a “substantial or ongoing participation” with a community organization with a physical location in neighborhood boundaries for at least a year and performs ongoing and verifiable activities the benefit the community
• Business owner or employee board member: A business owner or employee of a business within neighborhood boundaries age 18 or older at the time of election
• Property owner board member: Owner of property within neighborhood boundaries and is 18 or older at the time of election
• Resident board member: A resident who lives within neighborhood and is 18 or older at the time of election

Northridge East

Neighborhood boundaries: Nordhoff Way up to the 118 Freeway, between Corbin Avenue and Reseda Boulevard

1. Judy Diamond, At-Large Stakeholder Board Member: 28 votes; Incumbent board member, incumbent member serving as treasurer and serving on executive, finance, planning and land use, elections, and Dearborn Park committees.
2. Sam Makarem, Business Owner or Employee Board Member: 20 votes; owner of Makarem Home and Loans Realty
3. Ken Ross, Property Owner Board Member: 23 votes; current NENC Vice President, Executive Committee alternate, and member of public safety, outreach, and animal rights committees.
4. Sydney Thiroux, Resident Board Member: 23 votes; Whittier College senior, alumna of the Civic Youth Leadership Academy
5. Sean C. Laird, Resident Board Member: 22 votes
6. Daphne Long, Resident Board Member: 21 votes, Cal State Northridge student majoring in political science
7. William Parnell, Youth Board Member: Granada Hills Charter High School student, Model UN participant

Northridge West

Neighborhood boundaries: Nordhoff Way up to the 118 Freeway, between Corbin Avenue and Reseda Boulevard

1. Joel Lowell, At-Large Representative: 63 votes; current board member and Treasurer of Northridge West Neighborhood Council
2. Bill Fox, At-Large Representative: 61 votes; NWNC incumbent
3. Kathleen Edwards, At-Large Representative: 49 votes; NWNC incumbent serving as public safety chair and on the bylaws and standing rules, and homeless and beautification committees
4. Angelica Robinson, At-Large Representative: 44 votes; TV producer, fitness instructor, community activist
5. Brian Cathcart, Community Interest Stakeholder: 33 votes; retired financial consultant, community activist

Jorge Antonio Jimenez, a film executive and military veteran, and Sonny Liampetchakul, a civil engineer and community volunteer, both received 41 votes in the At-Large Representative category. In the event of a tie, the city clerk will make a random selection in full view of both candidates or their designated representatives, according to the Neighborhood Council Election Handbook.

Porter Ranch

Neighborhood boundaries: North of the 118 Freeway to the base of Oat Mountain just north of Sesnon Boulevard, between Browns Canyon Road and Aliso Canyon Park

1. Vas Singh, At-Large Representative: 77 votes, 8-year PRNC member from 2006-14, serving on outreach, public safety, and go green committees, and planning committee of the Los Angeles Congress of Neighborhoods.
2. Christine Demirtshian, At-Large Representative: 76 votes, realtor, community activist
3. Becky Leveque, At-Large Representative: 73 votes, Neighborhood Watch/Community Policing Advocate and the Co-Founder Of Supporter of Law Enforcement in Devonshire
4. Gabriel Khanlian, At-Large Representative: 68 votes, incumbent PRNC secretary, safety committee co-chair, board member of Porter Ranch Community School, HOA president
5. Cheri Derohanian, At-Large Representative: 65 votes, served on PRNC from 2014-17
6. Luis F. Ramirez, Open At-Large Representative: 43 votes, marketing and branding professional, community volunteer