Cynthia Torres led Dennis McNamara by 1,457 votes in the race for the open District 7 seat on the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education, according to unofficial returns posted early Nov. 4.

Torres had 5,166 votes, or 58.21%, to McNamara's 3,709 votes, or 41.79%, Pasadena Now reported, citing figures from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk as of 3:11 a.m. Pacific time on Nov. 4. The LA County results portal listed the election night tally as in progress.

These results are not final. No winner has been declared.

Vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day will be counted if they arrive by Nov. 10, according to Pasadena Now. The registrar's office scheduled a count update for the afternoon of Nov. 4. Counties must report an estimate of remaining unprocessed ballots to the California Secretary of State by Nov. 5, Pasadena Now reported. Los Angeles County is scheduled to certify results Nov. 27, and the results are scheduled to be declared to the PUSD Board of Education on Dec. 7, according to Pasadena Now's election preview.

What the board controls

The seven-member Board of Education oversees a district serving about 14,000 students across Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre, according to LAist's voter guide. The board hires and fires the superintendent, sets district-wide policies, approves textbooks and curriculum, and votes on school consolidations or closures. Members serve four-year terms and receive a $4,800 annual stipend.

The seat opened because incumbent Yarma Velázquez, the board's vice president, did not seek reelection, the Pasadena Star-News reported. District 7 stretches from the Linda Vista neighborhood in west Pasadena to Madison Heights. The race is decided by plurality, meaning no runoff is required.

What's at stake

The new board member steps into a district grappling with enrollment declines, a structural deficit and recovery from the January 2025 Eaton Fire, which damaged or destroyed multiple campuses, according to the Star-News. The board voted 4-3 to cut $24.5 million from its budget, leading to layoffs of teachers and staff, according to LAist.

School consolidation has divided the community. A merger exploration process stalled after public outcry, and trustees voted 4-3 to start a "District Transformation Process," which opponents called consolidation under a new name, the Star-News reported.

The candidates

Torres, an education services consultant, founded College Decisions LLC, a Pasadena-based consulting firm, in 2010, according to Altadena Now. She chaired the Financial Oversight Committee at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for 11 years and is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She proposed a "middle path" on consolidation framed by "budget realities, community concerns and revenue strategies," according to Pasadena Now.

McNamara, a retired finance executive, chairs the PUSD Citizens' Oversight Committee, which monitors the district's $1.4 billion school-modernization bond program, according to Altadena Now. He told the Star-News the district's transformation process was "exactly backward" and called for a "true master plan" built on an educational vision.

Next steps

The registrar's office will continue posting updated tallies at results.lavote.gov. LAist reported that daily count updates in LA County are expected at least once a day, usually around 5 p.m., through Nov. 13. The county is scheduled to certify results Nov. 27.