Folsom City Council election results: Howell, Aquino and Kozlowski lead in early returns
Incumbents Kerri Howell, Sarah Aquino and Mike Kozlowski are leading in early returns for Folsom City Council.
This election marks the first time Folsom voters are electing leaders to represent geographic districts.
District 5
Folsom’s District 5 includes neighborhoods north of East Bidwell Street. Howell, the current mayor and a registered Democrat, ran against Anna Rohrbough, who did not disclose her party identification to The Bee and previously held public office in Mukilteo, Washington.
In early returns, with fewer than 2,000 votes counted at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, Howell leads 51% to Rohrbough’s 49%. with only 28 votes separating the two candidates.
Howell faced the possibility of being removed from the ballot when fellow council member Kozlowski gathered signatures for her campaign and did not sign an affidavit for doing so.
She filed documents on Oct. 31 in Sacramento Superior Court arguing that her candidacy was valid because the signatures were already verified by Sacramento County’s registrar of voters. On Nov. 4, a judge ruled that she could stay on the ballot, though a voter could challenge her eligibility to hold office should she win.
District 3
Three candidates vied for the Folsom District 3 council seat, including incumbent council member Aquino, Folsom Planning Commissioner Bill Miklos and Albina Suarez-Ojedis, who told The Bee she works in media communications. District 3 encompasses neighborhoods south of Highway 50 and on the eastern edge of the city.
In the results released by Sacramento County — just over 2,000 votes — Aquino had 65% of the vote, followed by Miklos with 26% and Suarez-Ojedis with just over 9%.
Aquino said she has no party preference, and her top priority if reelected would to be ease congestion on East Bidwell Street. Miklos, too, said addressing traffic issues was a priority. Specifically, he said he would mitigate speeding, running stop lights and racing by fully funding the police department and increasing patrol units. He identifies himself as a moderate Republican.
Suarez-Ojedis said that her district has attracted many new families from the Bay Area during the last several years, and her goal is to “unite the old and the new communities” to address urgent problems.
District 1
Folsom’s District 1 covers the city’s northern neighborhoods. Incumbent councilman Kozlowski faced off against Michael Reynolds, president of the Historic Folsom Residents Association.
In the county’s returns around 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, Kozlowski holds a 3-2 lead over Reynolds.
Kozlowski, a registered Republican, wants to increase public safety staff to ease existing workers’ strain from the public health emergency. Reynolds, also a Republican, touted his “River District Plan” that he said would address long-term infrastructure and traffic needs in the district.
Kozlowski was criticized by some Folsom residents in October when neighbors raised questions about whether he lives in the district he ran in. He said he sleeps five nights a week in a trailer on a vacant lot that he owns in the district and plans to complete construction on a house there by April 2023.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:27 PM.