BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) - Months after a legal battle between Greenfield Union School District and trustee Mercy Peña, we’re checking in with Peña and her legal team to learn where things stand.
The situation began in December 2024, when Peña was sworn in as a trustee for Area C. Shortly afterward, the school district filed a lawsuit, citing voter discrepancies in her election.
“People cannot just null or erase elections just because they did not like the outcome, or if there’s even any errors in the election,” Peña said.
Peña won her race by just eight votes. However, the Kern County Elections Office later confirmed that 108 ballots had been mistakenly sent to voters outside of Trustee Area C. Of those, more than 50 were returned and counted.
“It’s a really unique situation where an elections department accidentally sends ballots to the wrong individuals,” said attorney Sam Kane, who represented Peña. “What do you do, how do you know?”
Kane emphasized in court that Peña was not at fault.
“There’s no evidence that the votes were for her. All the wrong votes could have been for the other party,” he argued.
In February, Judge Barmann Jr. upheld the election results, ruling in Peña’s favor.
“I was just happy that my attorney came through and educated the elections process,” Peña said.
Kane’s firm, Advocates for Faith and Freedom, took on Peña’s case pro bono. After the ruling, the firm sought about $44,000 in legal fees from the school district — a request that was ultimately denied.
“If they had done their research, they would have seen they didn’t have a basis for bringing suit against their own employee,” Kane said.
The judge may have denied the request for attorney’s fees because Peña is a trustee — an elected official — rather than a district employee.
“So that was disappointing, but we’re happy she ended up with the seat,” Kane added.
While GFUSD declined to comment on the current status of the case, it referred to a previous statement, saying in part:
"Our commitment to promote election accuracy and transparency was well worth the effort."
A hearing is set for August should the district choose to appeal.
Since taking office, Peña says she has received growing support from the community.
“I’m a tough survivor, I’ve always been, you know, a fighter, and I’m ready to go in there and do the work that needs to be done,”
she said.
Peña says her priorities now include improving academic performance and advocating for parents’ rights.
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