On Tuesday, the City of Antioch welcomed its next mayor in Ron Bernal, along with councilmembers Don Freitas and Louie Rocha. The oath of office came after the council approved the election results.
Antioch Mayor
- 61.98%: Ron Bernal (25,791)
- 30.72%: Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe (12,783)
- 7.31%: Rakesh Christian (3,041)
Antioch City Council, District 2
- 57.80%: Louie Rocha (5,261)
- 42.20%: Dominique King (3,841)
Antioch City Council, District 3
- 49.19%: Don Freitas (5.735)
- 28.09%: Addison Peterson (3,391)
- 21.72%: Antwon Webster (2,531)
Antioch Treasurer
- 37.56%: Jorge Rojas (14,602)
- 31.61%: Lori Ogorchock (12,290)
- 30.83%: Jim Davis (11,986)
The Antioch City Council will now consist of Mayor Ron Bernal, Mayor Pro Tem Louie Rocha along with councilmembers Don Freitas, Tamisha Torres-Walker and Monica Wilson.
Mayor Ron Bernal upon being sworn into office:
“I just want to thank everybody for coming out here tonight and for this special occasion and for everybody who has supported this campaign, for the prayers and the love and its been a lot. I want people to know I am here for all of the city of Antioch and I am here to the extent that we are able to come together as a city to create a safer community. Create a place that has alternatives for our homeless that they currently don’t have right now. To find places for our businesses to have other opportunities. I just want to let you know this is an honor and I take it very seriously and I will do my very best to serve you all and be a mayor you can be proud of, thank you.”
Councilmember Louie Rocha upon being sworn into office:
“Having come here, like many family members who have come to Antioch to look for opportunities for their families, my family came here for the same reasons, and I have been here since I was 8 years old. We moved here from Oakland. This has been a wonderful place for me, my children, and my family to raise here. I was fortunate enough to work in Antioch and serve as a teacher, counselor, football coach, vice principal and principal. I retired two years ago, and I am just proud to be from this community and to serve the people who have supported me so much. I see many of you in the audience who are family, friends, neighbors, community members, one of the things as principal, I was there close to 20-years and as a counselor, I believe it takes a village to make good things happen and I hope we can begin to work together to make things happen to try and come to some resolutions that can help us move forward for everyone to have this be a better place to call home. I have always been proud to be from Antioch as a citizen and now as a Antioch City Councilman. So I ask that you join us because its not going to happen overnight, its going to take time to get there. But as a football coach I used to say with the team, together, everyone accomplishes more so I hope we can do that together. Thank you.”
Councilmember Don Freitas upon being sworn into office:
“I was born here in the city of Antioch, in the old community hospital which was located on 6th Street. And I have lived here my entire life. After graduating from the California University of Davis, I made the conscious decision to come back to my home, come back to the people I love, that I grew up, and who I wanted to be with. Public service has always been a calling for me and my wife… public service is extraordinary important to me and it should involve everyone. The tent should be wide enough and big enough to invite everyone to participate. Even though we may have difference of opinion, even though we may not even like a certain individuals, the point is when you are involved in public service you are doing it for the right purposes and that is for the benefit of all citizens in our community. When I left in 2008 as mayor after 8-years, I truly did not think I would be coming back, but the call was there, I felt compelled with the knowledge and experience and the dedication that I had for this community to come home. So I am honored by the voters of District 3, but all citizens of Antioch. We have a lot of work ahead of us, it will be difficult, but I hope that people enter this next phase in a positive, not a destructive situation. We have had enough of division and chaos and anger and hate. I hope and pray we can move even when there are differences. I pray to God that he will always look over us, protect us, and move us forward in a good direction. Thank you very much.”
Related Stories:
- Dec 9 – East County Cities Prepare for Oath of Office Ceremonies
- Dec 3 – Contra Costa County Election Results Now Certified
- Nov 7 – Ron Bernal Declares Victory in Antioch’s Mayor Race
