Wright compares his positions on public safety to opponents in race for Antioch mayor
Two differences between him and Thorpe on council votes are clear, the other issues and comparisons aren’t so clear.
By Allen Payton
In an email on Thursday, Antioch Mayor Sean Wright’s campaign issued a message with a graphic about his positions on public safety issues and compared them to those of his opponents, entitled “Where I stand on public safety issues.” However, the graphic provided with the email doesn’t mention his other opponents by name. It mentions two votes taken by the city council, one about the School Resource Officers which one of his opponents, Councilman Lamar Thorpe voted against, while Wright voted for it. The other council vote mentioned was for spending up to $1 million to take over a motel on E. 18th Street to house the homeless, which Wright voted against and Thorpe voted for. (See related articles, here and here)
On the issue of defunding the police, the graphic reads under Wright’s name “No to Defunding” and under the words “Other Candidates” it has a check mark next to the word “YES” in large, green letters and reads, “Movement happening now to defund the Antioch Police so there are fewer officers.” However, Thorpe has never stated publicly that he supports defunding the police only that he wants to implement 13 reforms, including those from the 8 Can’t Wait national effort (see related article). On Gabriel Makinano’s campaign website it reads, “Hire More Police using Measure W funds as the people voted for to get to 1.2 Officers per 1,000 Population.” In Rakesh Kumar Christian’s statement and ad in the September issue of the Antioch Herald it reads “No Defunding Police”, but it also reads “No Hiring More Police.” On Julio Jesse Mendez’ campaign website he doesn’t mention anything about police, but under the issue of Education, it reads #endschooltoprison, #counselorsnotcops.
The final issue mentioned in the Wright campaign graphic is District Attorney Diana Becton’s policy decision regarding looting, from earlier this year (See related article). Under Wright’s name it shows the word “NO” large and in red, while under “Other Candidates” it reads “Opponents are silent on this issue,” which is accurate because no other candidate for Mayor of Antioch has publicly mentioned any concerns for the DA’s policy. But, the statement continues with “being supporters of DA Becton’s re-election campaign” and includes her campaign website endorsement page. where Thorpe’s name is listed, along with Councilmembers Monica Wilson and Lori Ogorchock, and former Councilmember Tony Tiscareno. However, those endorsements were for her election campaign in 2018, because it lists Thorpe as Mayor Pro Tem and Tiscareno as Councilmember, which they both were at the time.
Following is Wright’s email message:
Antioch Neighbors,
Here’s a quick look at where I stand on important public safety issues in our community. As you can see, my opponents’ vision for Antioch future differs greatly from mine. If you should have any questions or would like to share your opinions about what we need to do to keep residents safe, please email me by CLICKING HERE. Thank you.
Dr. Sean Wright – Antioch Mayor/Chiropractor
the attachments to this post:
Wright’s votes on Public Safety