Thorpe leads for Antioch mayor, Barbanica, incumbents leading in council races
Lamar Thorpe and unofficial election results as of Nov. 3, 2020 at 11:44 pm. Screenshot of CoCoVote.us website.
Davis winning Treasurer’s race, Simonsen leads in squeaker for City Clerk, the moot Measure T winning overwhelmingly
By Allen Payton
It appears enough voters in Antioch are satisfied with the work of the current council members as all five incumbers are either currently in the lead in their respective races or placed second in the case of the mayor’s race. as of the 11:44 p.m. Election Night update from the Contra Costa Elections office.
Mayor’s Race
Although there are still thousands of ballots left to be counted, Councilman Lamar Thorpe has a commanding lead over incumbent Mayor Sean Wright and three other challengers in the race for Mayor of Antioch. Thorpe currently has 11,442 votes to Wright’s 9,194 votes.
Julio Jesse Mendez is in a distant third place with 2,392 votes, followed by Gabe Makinano with 2,014 and Rakesh Kumar Christian with 908 votes. But combined those only total 25,950 votes while in 2016, the last presidential election year, there were 33,436 votes cast in the mayor’s race and more voters were expected to turn out in this year’s election. The county Elections Division has 28 days to finish counting all the ballots and certify the results. Plus, based on state law mail-in ballots postmarked by yesterday have up to 17 days to be received to still be counted. However, a 2,248-vote gap will most likely be difficult for Wright to close.
When reached for comment late Tuesday night, Thorpe said, “I want to thank the voters of Antioch for a very decisive victory. They are clear they want us to house homeless people. They are clear they want something done on police reform and they want more investment in youth programs.”
“Antioch is now the second largest city in Contra Costa County and its time for our government to act like it. We need to lead by example,” he continued. “We need to come up with solutions so we can start to be a leader in the region and frankly throughout the county.”
“I look forward to working with all council members and all residents to solve the challenges we face, whether they voted for me or not,” Thorpe added.
He also shared that Wright called him last night and conceded the race.
Council Races
In the races for city council, newcomer Mike Barbanica is beating former Councilman Tony Tiscareno in District 2 by 561 votes. When reached for comment, Tuesday night, Barbanica responded, “I appreciate the support of the residents of District 2 and I will work very hard at getting Antioch Back On Track,” repeating his campaign theme.
In a post on his Facebook page Wednesday morning Tiscareno wrote, “Congratulations to all who prevailed in the Antioch City Council and School Board last night. I had the great opportunity to serve our community for 6 years and I’m proud of the work we did during that time. Now it’s time for the new council to continue to move forward. Antioch voices were heard and now it’s time for us to support our leaders. Best of luck to all.”
He later added, “No sulking here, I want to thank my great friend Charlie Richard for his support and loyalty to my campaign, family and most importantly for our love of our labor movement.”
Unofficial election results for Antioch City Council District 1 and 2 as of Nov. 3, 2020 at 11:44 p.m. From CoCoVote.us
In District 1, incumbent Councilwoman Joy Motts is barely beating newcomer and challenger Tamisha Walker by just 50 votes. Former Antioch Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman Manny Soliz, Jr. is trailing Walker by 183 votes. Only 4,406 votes have been counted so far in that district. So, the race is too close to call. The winner will only serve a two-year term and will have to run again in 2022 after the district lines are redrawn, next year.
In a post on her campaign Facebook page Wednesday afternoon Walker wrote, “We are currently only 50 votes behind! This election is not over till every vote is counted! We are in this together Antioch!”
Unofficial election results in Antioch City Council Districts 3 and 4 races as of Nov. 3, 2020 at 11:44 p.m. From CoCoVote.us
In the District 3 race, incumbent Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock is most likely headed for re-election to her second full term, having been re-elected in 2018 leading all three of her challengers with 2,796 votes. Newcomer Nichole Gardner is second place with 2,206 votes, trailing Ogorchock by 590 votes out of a total of 7,717 votes cast in the race. Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Marie Arce is in third place with 1,507 trailing Gardner by 699 votes and newcomer Antwon Webster is in fourth place with 1,208 votes, trailing Arce by 299 votes.
UPDATE: In a post on his personal Facebook page late Wednesday night Webster conceded writing, “It has been awesome running for City Council. I appreciate and would like to thank all my supporters and those who voted for me. The campaign team put in many hours going door to door with me and I truly appreciate their commitment. There is still work that needs to be done in order to move Antioch forward. I will continue to be a voice for the residents and speak up when a voice is needed. Cleaning up the city can still be done by holding our City Council accountable for the blight that surrounds us. I will remain engaged in economic development issues and support their survival and success. Regardless of the final outcome of the Mayors race, we must not lose faith in the fact that we, the residents of Antioch, have a voice and will be heard. Let’s stay positive and be wise in our decision making.”
Finally, in District 4, running for her third term on the council, incumbent Councilwoman Monica Wilson, with more than a majority of the votes at 55.39%, has a commanding lead over first-time candidate and Police Crime Prevention Commission Chair Sandra White by more than double. Wilson has 3,930 votes to White’s 1,943. The third candidate in the race, Alex John Astorga who spent no money to campaign is trailing White by 721 votes with 1,222. Whoever wins the election will have to run again in two years, following redistricting. Depending on how the new district lines are drawn, since the growth in the city has mainly been south and east, and Wilson lives on the northwest edge of the district, that may end up causing her to have to move to seek re-election should she win.
In a brief post on her Facebook page last night, Wilson wrote, “OMG! Thank You Antioch!”
Unofficial election results in Antioch City City Clerk and Treasurer races as of Nov. 3, 2020 at 11:44 p.m. From CoCoVote.us
City Treasurer & Clerk
In the race for City Treasurer, appointed incumbent Jim Davis with 12,916 votes is beating challenger Lauren Posada by 1,075 votes who has 11,841. In the Clerk’s race, incumbent Arne Simonsen has a smaller lead of just 526 votes over Antioch School Board Trustee Ellie Householder. He has 10,165 votes to her 9,639. Police Crime Prevention Commissioner Dwayne Eubanks is in a distant third place with 5,149 votes. With the remaining ballots left to count, the results in both races are still in question.
Unofficial election results in Antioch’s Measure T inititiave election as of Nov. 3, 2020 at 11:44 p.m. From CoCoVote.us
UPDATE In a post on her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon Householder conceded the election writing, “First of all, I want to thank all of you who exercised your civic duty and voted. I also want to express my immense gratitude towards my supporters; our numbers were superb. This race was unlike anything we’ve ever seen and even though we did not get the results that we hoped for there is still a lot to celebrate. Lastly, I would like to congratulate Arne Simonsen, MMC – Antioch City Clerk on his win and all of the other amazing folx [sic] who were elected in Antioch last night.”
Householder currently has 934 more votes than the 8,705 she garnered in her race for school board in 2018, a non-presidential election with a lower voter turnout than is expected this year.
Measure T
In spite of the fact the initiative is moot and can’t go into effect, with the passage of new state law known as SB-330 Housing Crisis Act of 2019, the voters of Antioch overwhelmingly voted to downzone private property owned by four landowners by over 97% and attempted to stop the 877 homes left to be allocated by passing Measure T, the Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative by 20,166 votes in favor or 77.67% to just 5,435 votes against or 21.33%
So, while the voters are telling the council they don’t want more homes in the undeveloped land in the Sand Creek area, the council will have to ignore that message and comply with state law by approve the new homes in the plans for any subdivision project submitted between now and January 2025 that complies with the city’s General Plan. If not, the city will face a minimum fine by the state of $10,000 per housing unit proposed in the development.
Next Results Update Friday at 5:00 PM
The Contra Costa Elections Division is continuing to count the ballots that arrived by yesterday and will continue to arrive for as long as 17 more days including today. They have 28 days to finish the count and certify the election. So, final results may be as much as four weeks away. The next update of results is expected this Friday at 5:00 p.m.
the attachments to this post:
Measure T results
City Clerk & Treasurer results
ACC D3 & D4
ACC D1 & D2
Lamar Thorpe & Election Results 11-03-20
