You win some and you lose some after reviewing election results and that is how elections go, especially in Contra Costa County.
All eyes are on the District 5 Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor race as Shanelle Scales-Preston holds just a 67 vote lead over Mike Barbanica – when initial results were released, Scales-Preston had a roughly 700 vote lead. In each update, the lead has shrunk.
Other “too close to call” races include the District 4 City of Concord race where Edi Birsan holds a 4 vote lead over Pablo Benavente. Another close race is in Pleasant Hill where Belle La holds a 8 vote lead over Marshall Lewis.
The biggest takeaway Tuesday was the residents (or in some cases the Karen’s) have spoken. People in the City of Antioch clearly had enough of Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe and his antics. Residents responded with a Mike Tyson like first round knockout of Hernandez-Thorpe by electing Ron Bernal its next mayor with 63.31% of the voter. Not only that, anyone associated with Hernandez-Thorpe lost big as well where Louie Rocha secured 61.13% of the vote in District 2 while Don Freitas earned 51.57% in the District 3 race. This should put councilmembers Tamisha Torres-Walker and Monica Wilson on notice going forward.
For Bernal, Freitas and Rocha, its vital that all three work together to undo a lot of the mess caused my Hernandez-Thorpe, Torres-Walker and Wilson. Antioch should not waste this opportunity to stop wasteful spending, end philosophical programs with no results, and get re-engaged the community for involvement. The first order of business is simply get the city back on stable ground and rebuild trust.
In the City of Brentwood, it was never really in doubt Susannah Meyer would win the mayor’s race (yes, I endorsed Gerald Johnson), she more than dominated the race earning 62.39%. The good news for Brentwood, she has proven that she can run a good meeting and will listen to the community while being respectful. I am excited to see what she does and with an active mayor, will she work to bring more county services to the region.
I am excited to see Faye Maloney earn the District 1 seat in Brentwood as I believe she will do good things, but also push back on some of the nonsense we have seen the past two-years. In District 3, which I consider the biggest disappointed of the night, came with Jovita Mendoza having a sizable lead (53.69%) over Brian Oftedal. Can’t say you all were not warned as the chaos will continue another four years unless Mendoza miraculously changes her tone and behavior. Given the voting blocks, it appears Pa’Tanisha Pierson will be the “swing vote” on many topics over the next two years. On a side note, will Meyer have the guts to reign Mendoza in when she gets out of control.
In the City of Oakley, a simple “WTF” are voters thinking is about all I can say after a split vote scenario played out by Cristina Pena Langley (37.58%) and Oleskii Chuiko (19.04%) which allowed Councilmember George Fuller to earn 43.37% of the vote. Had either Langley or Chuiko dropped out, we would not have to put up with the antics of Fuller for another 4-years. That said, Oakley will be fine given the rest of the council is still intact. Unfortunately for District 5 in Oakley, you elected an irrelevant councilmember that won’t be able to do much for the District. Will be interesting to see how quickly Fuller may get censured or removed from committees considering his pattern of behavior.
In the City of Pittsburg, the re-election of Juan Banales and Jelani Killings was never in doubt and I like both of them. But, the question going forward is will both of them now step up and lead Pittsburg in a better direction that its headed? I urge both of them to open their eyes and lead, versus react.
In the City of Richmond, voters did themselves a favor electing Jamelia Brown (50.14%) to the District 1 seat and getting Melvin Willis out of there. Unfortunately, Sue Wilson earned District 5 (57%) and Claudia Jimenez earned 57.99% the District 6 seat—so not much will change. I had hopes Richmond would move closer to the middle.
In terms of education, kudos to voters for re-electing Fernando Sandoval with 63.09% of the vote over Debra Vinson in the Contra Costa Community College District. Meanwhile at the Antioch Unified School District, long-time trustee Gary Hack’s time has come to an end after Olga Cobos-Smith earned 56.93% of the vote.
As for Ironhouse Sanitary District, a clean sweep by incumbents with Dawn Morrow (26.77%) Pete Zirkle (25.53%) and Angela Lowrey (25.00%) all earning re-election. Ironhouse is one of the best run districts around and that should continue. This is an example of not everyone agreeing all the time, but the end result works out for everyone–especially the rate payers.
District Attorney Races of Note:
- Alameda County District Attorney Recall: terrible District Attorney’s continue to get recalled and this should put Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton on notice given 64.79% of voters just supported recalling Pamala Price.
- Los Angeles County District Attorney: Nathan Hochman dominated (61.46%) George Gascon (38.54%) which highlights a major shift in how to handle crime cases going forward in Los Angeles County. A clear warning to District Attorney’s who play games with victims of crime.
Prop 36
- This is a great thing. That said, its only a small fix to Prop 47… one would think with 70.4% in support to increase sentencing for certain drug and theft crimes might have an impact on what bills state lawmakers will introduce going forward, however, many of the same elected officials were re-elected last night. Will be interesting to see how this one plays out and if it does have an impact to crime reduction and how will District Attorney’s prosecute going forward.
Next Update
Election Related Stories:
- Nov 6 – State Election and Ballot Proposition Results
- Nov 5 – 67 Votes Separate Scales-Preston and Barbanica in Supervisor Race
- Nov 5 – 2024 Contra Costa County Election Results
- Nov 5 – Antioch: “The People Have Spoken” in Mayors Race
Mike Burkholder
Publisher of ContraCosta.news
burk@contracosta.news