Wright has slight lead in Antioch Mayor’s race; Thorpe takes top spot, Wilson re-elected in Council race
Dr. Sean Wright celebrates positive election results in his campaign for Mayor of Antioch, with Antioch business owner Elise Veal, other supporters, friends and family at Tailgaters on Tuesday night.
By Allen Payton
After trailing incumbent Wade Harper in the early returns in the race for Antioch Mayor, Tuesday night, Antioch Chamber of Commerce CEO and chiropractor Dr. Sean Wright pulled ahead with the 10:37 PM election results update from the County Elections website. He was celebrating his expected victory with family, friends and other supporters at Tailgaters in Antioch after the polls closed at 8:00 p.m.
The latest results show Wright had 7,368 votes for 34.66% of the vote, just 208 votes over Harper’s 7,160 giving him 33.69% of the vote. Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Lori Ogorchock was in third with 4,790 votes for 22.54%, and Gil Murillo who dropped out of the race and gave his support to Wright, still ended up with 1,883 votes for 8.89% of the vote.
In the council race, Lamar Thorpe pulled into first place ahead of incumbent Councilwoman Monica Wilson who leads fellow incumbent Councilwoman Mary Rocha. The top two vote-getters win.
The latest results show Thorpe with 8,242 votes for 25.97% of the vote, Wilson with 7,565 votes for 23.84% and Rocha, who said this will be her last campaign, trailing in third with 6,699 with 21.11%. Antioch contractor and business owner Kenny Turnage II was in a distant fourth place with 5,393 votes for 16.99% of the vote. He was followed by the two retirees, neither of whom spent more than $2,000 on their campaigns, Karl Dietzel with 1,986 votes for 6.26% and Fred Rouse with 1,785 votes for 5.62% of the vote. Dietzel had fallen during the campaign and injured his shoulder, limiting his ability to campaign. But, as of Monday he said he is healing.
Although there are still about one-third of the ballots left to be counted in the county, Wright was happy with the results and expects to hold on for the victory.
“Wow. There have been an incredible amount of calls, texts, posts, and private messages coming through the pipeline,” he shared when reached for comment, on Wednesday. “I appreciate everyone’s efforts throughout this campaign. A thank you to Lori Ogorchock, Wade Harper, and Gil Murillo for their commitment to our community.”
“Thank you to those that voted for me,” Wright continued. “To those that didn’t, I wish to work closely with you to make Antioch a place where we can all come together as one to live, work, play, and worship. We as a council have our work cut out for us. I’m excited to be your Mayor-elect.”
Last night, all Thorpe could say was “Wow.” However, on Wednesday, he offered more extensive comments.
“Thank you to citizens of Antioch,” he said. “I’m very proud I could earn their trust in leading our city through its next chapter.”
“Of course I want to thank my lovely wife Patrice for her support and encouraging me to run a couple months, and for the support of my daughter who enthusiastically woke up last night to make sure I was winning,” Thorpe said with a laugh.
An attempt to reach Harper for a comment asking if he had conceded the race, yet, was unsuccessful prior to publication times, as was an attempt to reach Wilson for comment on her re-election.
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