Says “We can do better, and with new leadership we will do better, because we are stronger together.”

To the Residents of Antioch,

Hello! I’m Antwon Webster, and am running for Antioch City Council in District 3.  Who is this guy, you may ask? Let me formally introduce myself. I am a husband, father, public servant as I serve on the Antioch Board of Administrative Appeals, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, a caring homeowner and most of all a proud resident of Antioch. I work as the Logistics Manager for the South Pacific Region of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and have a master’s degree in Public Administration and bachelor’s degree in Global Supply Chain Management.

As a servant leader, I am committed to putting the needs of others before my own.  Doing for others has been an everlasting joy for me.  Within me is a drive for positive change, unity and a forward-thinking approach through educated and informed actions.  It is my life’s dream to uphold the voice of the people and to assure our voices are heard.

The City of Antioch has adopted the slogan “Opportunity Lives Here”.  My goal is to make that statement come true by truly highlighting the beauty of our city, support Economic Development within the city and unify the residents.  Antioch continues to lose big businesses like: K-Mart: Nov. 2018, Staples: Aug 2019, Sears: Oct. 2019, Macy’s: Jan. 2020, I strive to pursue bringing and maintaining big businesses like the aforementioned and support our small businesses throughout Antioch.

If elected for Antioch City Council, District 3, I plan to use my background in Business, Governmental Accounting, Non-Profit Organizations, Community Development, and an overall passion for people to lead by example. Leading a city is about the people and not politics and I plan to put people first not government politics.

My primary areas of focus are:

Public Safety, Economic Development, and Financial Accountability.

I plan to run a campaign built on honesty, professionalism, and integrity.  With that being said, I do not appreciate, nor will I tolerate any further political threats or disrespect towards me and my family from any incumbent or candidate within my district.  “We the people”, the residents of Antioch, deserve better than that.  Elections are about getting into a position in order to do what is best for the needs of the City. Let’s worry about our own campaigns and bridging the gaps within our community instead of building barriers and creating enemies.

One last thing…the youth of Antioch deserve better.  The city council and school board have broken relationship that lacks communication between them.  How can we as a city function as two separated entities that depend on each other, but fail to work together?

We can do better, and with new leadership we will do better, because we are stronger together.

Please feel free to contact me at (925) 204-5482 or at antwon@antownwebster.com.

Respectfully,

Antwon Webster

Candidate for Antioch City Council District 3, 2020

FPPC ID# 1422383

Website: https://antwonwebster.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AntwonWebster/

By Lieutenant John Fortner, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Monday, July 27, 2020, at approximately 12:36 AM, Antioch Police officers were called to a 7-Eleven convenience store, located at 2301 Buchanan Road, on the report of a victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

Numerous officers responded to the scene and located one 27-year-old male victim down in the store, and a 24-year-old female victim seated in a parked vehicle. Both victims were found to be suffering from several gunshot wounds.

The female victim was suffering from at least one serious gunshot wound, and the male victim sustained at least two gunshot wounds. Officers immediately began providing first-aid and CPR to the victims until emergency paramedics arrived at the scene. The female victim succumbed to her injuries and passed at the scene. The male victim was transported by paramedics to a local area hospital, where he was admitted and listed in stable condition.

While at the scene, officers learned that there were several subjects present in the parking lot when gunshots were fired by one male suspect. The suspect fired several gunshots into a parked vehicle and then fled the lot on-foot.

Antioch Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigators and Detectives with the Violent Crimes and Special Operations Units responded to the scene and took over the investigation. Currently, detectives are working to identify any suspects or persons-of-interest. The investigation is still active, and evidence is being collected and evaluated.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441, or Detective Brogdon at (925) 779-6895. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

By Antioch Police Department

  Thursday afternoon, July 24, 2020, one of our officers was patrolling the Williamson Ranch Plaza lot near Walmart and Jack in the Box on Lone Tree Way. He saw a subject in the pictured Infiniti behind a closed business and attempted to make contact with him, however the subject tried to drive off. After getting back to his patrol car, our officer was able to get the driver stopped again in the same parking lot, and this was where we were happy to report things did not take a turn for the worse.

  Upon the driver finally stopping, he quickly jumped out of his car protesting the stop, then got back in and rolled up his windows and locked his doors. The windows of the vehicle were extremely tinted and made it quite difficult to see or communicate with the driver. Our officer was able to get the driver’s name and confirmed he was on parole for weapons offenses, however, he continued to refuse to get out of the vehicle or comply further with the orders he was given.

  Numerous other officers arrived on scene and were able to contain the subject in his vehicle to keep him from driving away and possibly endangering the public while we attempted to communicate with him. After more than 20 minutes of dialogue, we were finally able to convince the man to get out of his car and peacefully surrender.

   This is where the sigh of relief and satisfaction at a peaceful conclusion comes into play. Upon conducting a search of the vehicle pursuant to his parole status, a loaded pistol with a 30 round magazine was found on the front seat, as well as a 50 round drum magazine in the rear seat of the car and several rounds of ammunition.

  We are relieved to have the peaceful outcome we did in this situation, and that our officers were able to successfully de-escalate a potentially very dangerous incident. The driver, a 26-year-old Oakley resident was subsequently arrested on multiple weapons charges and a parole violation and sent to county jail.

APD Officers also rescue kitten stuck in storm drain

By Antioch Police Department

Another gun off the street? Check.

Kitten saved? Check.

#APDSwingShift in Action!!!

Swing Shift works from 2:30 pm to 12:30 am (that’s 14:30 to 00:30 in police time!) and they’re not done yet! Early in the shift, Officer Amiri (minus Canine Purcy – more on that below) saw an individual he recognized with outstanding warrants (for fraud and identity theft) driving around Woodbridge and Rodeo Circle. This individual is known to evade police and drive stolen cars, but your APD officers were able to creatively stop him before he could think about a high-speed chase. Look at those puuuuurty Crown Vics still puttin’ in work on the road!

After placing said fraudster under arrest, a search of the car revealed numerous master keys for mailboxes, stolen property, fraud paraphernalia, a loaded pistol and a radio signal jammer. You see that box with all the antennas? That’s a signal jammer used to block cellphone and police radio frequencies. This unlucky fella was sent to County Jail on his warrants along with a few extra charges (except ours are the non-fraudulent kind).

Kitten Rescued from Storm Drain

A little bit later, officers were called to a storm drain at East 18th Street and Viera Avenue where they found a kitten mewing for help from the darkness below. With a little help from our friends at Antioch Public Works, officers were able to rescue the helpless kitten and she was promptly named Nemo (because they had to find her). Nemo got the finest ride in town to the emergency vet for a checkup but should be adoptable from Antioch Animal Services once everything checks out.

Where Was K-9 Purcy?

Wondering about Officer Amiri’s sidekick Purcy? He was out of commission for a few days after eating something he shouldn’t have (he’s a dog – it happens!), but luckily all is well, and he’ll be back on patrol shortly!

Swing Shift had a couple more hours to go, but don’t forget Antioch, we are here for you (and all of our four-legged friends) 24/7.

Former mayor’s grandson pulls papers to run for City Treasurer

By Allen Payton

The race for the Antioch City Council District 3 just got more crowded as Antioch Parks and Recreation Commission Chair, Marie Arce pulled papers on Friday. That brings the field of candidates to five. She will challenge two incumbent council members, a former commissioner and a current city board member.

According to her personal Facebook page, Arce is an Accounting Bookkeeper for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, but more specifically she said she works for the Kaiser Foundation School of Nursing, and is studying Public Administration at Golden Gate University. According to her LinkedIn profile, Arce is the Business Manager/Analyst for the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek, as well as owner of Marie Arce Photography.

“Time to get excited for the bright future in our community. I’m excited to announce I’ll be running for Antioch City Council District 3. I hope to earn your support and vote!” she wrote on her campaign Facebook page Friday night.

The 2003 Antioch High School graduate also serves in Business Finance at the Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California, which advocates for defunding police according to the organization’s Facebook page, and as the Finance Liaison at Winter Nights Family Shelter in Contra Costa County, located in Pleasant Hill.

Arce announced her campaign by posting the video above, and the following on her personal Facebook page, Friday afternoon:

“You do not recover from your child passing, only mend pieces of you back, but you’re different.

Many of you have experienced and seen my love for Caitlin (her late daughter) shown in 4eversunshine Designs and through my work as Chair of the City of Antioch Parks and Recreation, but now it’s time to grow that love for my girls and my town even further.

Today, I picked up my papers for intent to run for Antioch City Council District 3!

The love and support that I have received from my community has been humbling, and I am grateful for the community that I chose to raise my family.

Go now and like my page Marie Arce for Antioch City Council District 3, where I will keep you in the loop on what we are doing in the community and have the opportunity for Q & A’s!

If you want change, you must be that change, so here I go!

I would love your support and energy not only during the election, but after November when we together, can begin to build a bridge to the future of the city that I love!”

City Treasurer Race

In addition, Ruben Rocha is attempting to be the third generation of his family to serve in leadership for the Antioch community by pulling papers to run for City Treasurer. He will face incumbent Jim Davis who is seeking his second term in the part-time position. Rocha is the grandson of former Antioch Mayor and current Antioch School Board Trustee Mary Rocha, and one of the twin sons of Antioch High School Principal Louie Rocha.

According to his Facebook page, Ruben works as a Substitute Site Safety Assistant for the Antioch Unified School District. To announce his campaign, on Thursday Rocha wrote, “I pulled papers today to run for City Treasurer of Antioch! God is so good!”

According to City Clerk Arne Simonsen, the following Antioch residents have taken out Nomination Papers as of 5 p.m. July 24th or Qualified for the following City offices:

Council District 3

Lori Ogorchock – Antioch Councilwoman

Lamar Thorpe – Antioch Councilman

Wayne Steffen – former Antioch Parks & Recreation Commission Member

Antwon Webster – Antioch Board of Administrative Appeals Member

Marie Arce – Antioch Parks & Recreation Commission Chair

City Treasurer

James Davis (I) – City Treasurer

Ruben Rocha

No other candidates pulled or filed their papers for any other city office or the Antioch School Board on Friday. This list will be updated when additional registered Antioch voters take out Nomination Papers or become Qualified. To see the complete list of candidates for Antioch City offices and the Antioch School Board, visit www.antiochherald.com/election-2020.

Will study molecular biology, computer science

By Antioch Unified School District

   Like so many, Deer Valley High School had an unusual end to its school year. But two Deer Valley students continued to shine and rose to the top of the Wolverine pyramid.

   Britney Ta was the valedictorian while Jasmine Yang earned the title of salutatorian. Ta ended her year with a weighted GPA of 4.3953. She accomplished this impressive feat by working hard, of course, and taking 11 AP courses in three years.

   She said her favorite subject was “definitely psychology with Mr. Gorski. His classes were always super engaging and interesting with his unique teaching style. As a class, we established multiple inside jokes and created a sense of community among our peers – something I find to be pretty rare in most classrooms. I looked forward to going to school on the days I had AP Psychology.”

   Additionally, she enjoyed AP Calculus with Ms. McClain, who was “also super invigorating. I feel she prepared me for college like no other. She deserves the highest of recognitions.”

   Aside from her studies, Ta also kept busy as an active member of Key Club, CSF, the DV Dance Crew, which was “definitely one of the highlights of my high school career. It was incredible.”

   One of her favorite memories from Deer Valley was during the homecoming assembly.

“I was a part of a friend’s skit and able to become close friends with people I would never meet otherwise through our skit practices.”

   Ta attended kindergarten and part of first grade in Hayward. After moving with her family to Antioch, she went to at Diablo Vista Elementary and Dallas Ranch Middle before becoming a Wolverine.

In the fall, Ta will go to UC Santa Barbara with plans to major in computer science.

   Salutatorian Jasmine Yang earned a final GPA of 4.3478. Her favorite subjects were Japanese, math and biology. She really enjoyed Ms. McClain as her math teacher “because she made class and learning enjoyable.”

   Some extracurriculars Yang participated in were the Contra Costa County Science and Engineering Fair, where “my partner and I won fourth place in the biology division.” She also was involved in MESA winning second place the Math Escape Challenge and was active with the Japanese festivals held on the DV campus.

   Her favorite high school memories revolve around the Japanese festivals because “even though they took a lot of hard work to set up, work through and clean up, I had a great time laughing and (being) alongside my friends and classmates.”

   Like Ta, Yang also attended Diablo Vista Elementary School and Dallas Ranch Middle schools. This fall, she will head to Cal and major in Molecular and Cell Biology.

   “I am very proud of Britney and Jasmine,” said DV Principal Bukky Oyebade. “They have worked very and proven just how resilient they are. DVHS has several outstanding young people, and these two young ladies have risen to the top. I wish them well and would love for them to stay in touch and come back to pour into the underclassmen.”

#WeAreAUSD

Officially announces campaign for Antioch City Council in District 2

Residents of Antioch District 2:

I’m a retired police lieutenant, a local small business owner and a lifelong resident of Antioch, where my wife, Kristine, and I raised our three children. I’ve never before run for office. This is my formal announcement of my intention to run to represent District 2 on the Antioch City Council.

I am asking for your vote for two reasons: First, we need new blood on the city council – individuals who can investigate out-of-the-box solutions to our many challenges. Second, our city needs leaders who aren’t afraid to stand up and initiate change to Get Antioch Back on Track.

In this COVID-19 era, and in general, Antioch has substantial challenges around public safety, dilapidated properties, the homeless, the need for jobs for our residents, saving small businesses, etc. I am not going to use this announcement to make promises around our challenges, as many politicians often do.

Instead, I’d like to announce a solution we’ve recently accomplished together as a community, addressing a problem we’ve been having in District 2 – the proliferation of sideshows. Sometimes

there are as many as 20 instances a day of cars racing and spinning donuts on our streets, while being filmed by the participants. Residents in District 2 can hear them and sometimes they occur at 3 AM, waking the neighborhood.

Community members have been sending me videos of these sideshows, which I’ve been forwarding to the City. Finally, we took things into our own hands, and with the assistance of our neighbors, we drafted up a plan to prevent sideshows at Somersville Road and the entrance to Black Diamond Mines. This plan includes a raised barrier within the turnaround and speed humps

leading up to the turnaround to stop cars from racing through this area.

After presenting this plan to the Antioch Police Department and the City Public Works Department, we received word, Monday that our plan has been approved and the City will move forward with going out to bid to construct these barriers.

That is what city leaders are supposed to do: Listen to the residents they represent and look for real-life solutions to problems that affect people’s lives. If elected as your District 2 City Council

representative, that is the kind of action-oriented leadership you can demand and expect of me.

We need to Get Antioch Back on Track so our residents can be proud of the city in which we live. I am ready and able to take on this task and would be honored to have you join me.

Mike Barbanica

mikebarbanica@gmail.com

Cell (925) 584-8121

Householder launches campaign by challenging Wright with false statement about his lack of comment on Antioch Police Officer under investigation

Hack takes out papers to run for third term on Antioch School Board

By Allen Payton

Not even half-way through her term on the Antioch School Board, Trustee Ellie Householder has decided to throw her hat in the ring and become the eighth candidate to run for Mayor of Antioch, in the November election. She took out Nomination Papers for the city’s top office on Thursday, according to a report by City Clerk Arne Simonsen.

In addition, according to the latest report by the Contra Costa Elections office, Antioch School District Trustee Gary Hack is the first candidate to take out Nomination Papers in Area 4, seeking his third term on the board. The retired Antioch teacher was first elected in 2010 placing first out of eight candidates. Hack lost his race for re-election in 2014, placing third behind Walter Ruehlig and Debra Vinson. He then made a successful comeback in 2016, that time placing third behind Crystal Sawyer-White and Diane Gibson-Gray.

Householder, listed formally as Elizabeth on her papers, is the youngest member of the school board to which she was elected in 2018, placing a distant second behind Trustee Mary Rocha, just after finishing college and while completing her master’s degree. If elected, she would also be the city’s youngest mayor in recent history.

On her personal Facebook page, Householder announced her campaign for mayor Thursday evening by writing:

“Congressman John Lewis once said: Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.

In that spirit, today, I pulled papers to run for Mayor of Antioch.

In December, our current mayor (who is trying to get re-elected) took THOUSANDS of dollars from the police union and we wonder why we still have a killer cop (Officer Mellone) in our community. To date, not the mayor or a single council member has said ANYTHING about this.

We deserve better.”

However, in June, Mayor Wright called for an investigation of Officer Michael Mellone by the Antioch Police Department who was hired while facing discipline by his previous employer, the San Francisco Police Department. According to a June 24 Herald article, “In response to a call by Antioch Mayor Sean Wright for an investigation into the hiring of Mellone, Antioch Police Chief Brooks said on Wednesday, ‘the investigation is still in progress.’” More recently, Brooks told the Herald an outside agency was brought in for the investigation and is reviewing over 1,800 pages of documents related to the case of the shooting death of a homeless man, Luís Góngora-Pat, by Mellone, while an SFPD Officer, and his sergeant, in April 2016.

According to several news reports, at the time Mellone was hired, again by the APD in August 2019 – he had previously worked for the department until 2012 – Mellone was facing discipline by the SFPD for escalating the situation and his use of non-lethal force by shooting a bean bag gun at a homeless man, Luís Demetrio Góngora-Pat, who then brandished a large kitchen knife at the officers, and was subsequently shot and killed by their service weapons. The two officers were cleared by both the SF District Attorney and SFPD Internal Affairs Division for their lethal use of force.

A 10-day suspension was recommended by the SFPD’s IAD, and the citizen-run Department of Police Accountability recommended that the (San Francisco) Police Commission suspend Mellone for 45 days. Neither occurred as he was hired by the Antioch Police Department before a final decision was made on any discipline, which could have been delayed further, if Mellone remained with the SFPD and chose to fight it. (A more thorough report by the Herald about the matter will be published once the investigation of Mellone is complete).

Householder joins seven others, including Wright, former Mayor Wade Harper, Councilwoman Monica Wilson and former Planning Commission Chairman Ken Turnage II, along with three others, including one candidate who ran for governor in 2014.

City Clerk Simonsen reported the following Antioch residents have taken out Nomination Papers as of 5 p.m. July 23rd or Qualified for the following offices:

CITY OFFICES

Mayor

Sean Wright (I) – Mayor of Antioch

Julio Mendez

Rakesh Kumar Christian – Qualified on 7/22/20 – candidate for Governor of California in 2014

Kenneth Turnage II – former Antioch Planning Commission Chairman

Monica Wilson – Antioch Councilwoman

Wade Harper – former Mayor of Antioch

Gabriel Makinano

Elizabeth Householder – Antioch School Board Trustee

—————

The Contra Costa Elections office provided the following information for candidates as of 3:59 PM on Thursday:

ANTIOCH SCHOOL BOARD

Area 4

Gary Hack – Antioch School Board Trustee

There were no additional candidates in the other races in Antioch who took out or filed Nomination Papers as of Thursday at 5:00 p.m. To see the latest list of all candidates visit the Election 2020 page on the Antioch Herald website. The list will be updated each day when additional registered Antioch voters take out or file their Nomination Papers. Filing closes on August 7 unless an incumbent chooses to not seek re-election, which only affects the races for mayor, city clerk and city treasurer.