DHS Mayor’s race still too close to call

It’s still too close to call in the Desert Hot Springs mayor’s race.

Councilman Scott Matas leads incumbent Mayor Adam Sanchez by just 30 votes. There are 600 mail-in and provisional ballots left to count, according to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

The situation is bring a sense of dj vu to Desert Hot Springs voters. The last mayor’s election two year ago, also came down to just a handful of votes. Then councilman Sanchez won by 12 votes after a recount. Now, it looks like we could be going down that road again.

“I think it’s a toss up, maybe we should have two of them, two mayors,” said voter Dan Austin.

Campaign signs still stand asking for last minute votes; votes already cast, but have yet to add up to a winner.

“We were hoping to convince the public that we had the better plan for the community, but it looks like the community is still split,” said mayoral candidate Scott Matas.

Matas is not declaring victory yet. With 600 ballots left to count, there are plenty left to swing the race either way,

“We will feel more confident when we get those numbers in,” said Matas.

Matas said if Sanchez ends up leading by less than 10 votes, he might consider asking for a recount.

“You out weigh the pros and cons of it at that point, but we will wait and see. We have a few more days of counting before we get to it,” said Matas.

Voters we talked to were surprised to learn there is no winner yet.

“I think it’s interesting that an incumbent and a fresh face are so close in a race,” said James Wallace.

“Hopefully next election more people will vote and it won’t necessarily be so close. I think only 3,000 people voted and we have almost 30,000 people here,” said Dawn Loyloa.

“I guess we will find out shortly when all of the mail-in votes are tallied. Mine is one of those mail-in votes,” said Wallace.

Regardless of results, Matas said the mayor will need to unify the community.

“Build consensus, be efficient with the business, and if you can do that the public will see that and they will be behind you,” said Matas.

“I think anything can still happen, so we will find out,” said Wallace.

Any voter in the district can request a recount once all the ballots are counted and the election is certified. The catch is you have to pay for it. The recount for the mayor’s race in 2013 cost $2,300.

Mayor Adam Sanchez did not return our requests for comment.