Simonsen elected Clerk

By James Ott

Antioch voters have spoken and the new Mayor is current Mayor Pro Tem Wade Harper who makes history as Antioch’s first African-American Mayor.

Harper beat out fellow city council member Gary Agopian for the Mayor position by garnering 12,594 votes for 40.77% of the vote versus Agopian’s second place total of 10,129 for 32.79%. Next up was former Mayor Don Freitas, who took 6,329 votes for 20.49% and Michael Anthony Leon who had just 1,740 votes for 5.63% of the vote. There were 102 write-in votes.

As a Lieutenant for the City of Tracy Police Department, Harper rode his campaign mostly on a “zero tolerance for crime” slogan.

Antioch has had problems with crime in the past but has recently seen huge increases in crime rate with some property and violent crime categories rising 50 percent as police were cut by the city as a result of drastic budget cuts.

Harper said he will look for “out-of-the-box solutions” to hire more police and Harper also voted for new police as a city council member, although every council member voted to hire more police officers, including Agopian.

When told about the historic significance of his election, Harper jokingly said, “That’s what I’ve heard. I’m the first mayor elected who owns an I-Pad.”

Harper also said he will work to clean up blight and decrease truancy for minors in school.

The race for the two vacant council seats was much closer, with the top vote-getters, incumbent Mary Rocha, newcomer and Economic Development Commissioner Monica Wilson and former Mayor Jim Davis all coming within six to seven hundred votes of one another.

When the final ballots were counted, the two vacant council seats were taken by incumbent Rocha who garnered 11,795 votes for 24.75% of the vote and Monica Wilson with 11,190 votes for 23.48%. Davis followed with 10,524 votes for 22.08%. School Board Trustee Walter Ruehlig placed fourth with 8,465 votes for 17.76% and newcomer Noel Pinto coming in last with 5,538 votes for 11.62% of the vote. There were 147 write-in votes.

Rocha, who will be Mayor Pro Tem for the next two years, as the top vote-getter, campaigned on her 30 plus years working with the Antioch Unified School District, the City of Antioch and many other community groups in Antioch and across the East Bay.

She said she plans to fight blight through Code Enforcement, increase public safety programs and increase employment and business opportunities in Antioch.

Rocha admitted that it has been hard to get things done as a city council member with the rough economy.

“With the recession all it’s been is cut, cut, cut. My goal this time is to get things back the way they were. One thing I’d like to do is to look to see how we can work with the other cities for job creation.”

The poor economy might be one reason that voters chose Wilson, as she has a business background which she said has “taught her to not take no for an answer – persistence = results.”

Wilson is also making history as the City of Antioch’s first female African American council member.

 

In her first term Wilson said she plans to “promote business and job growth, find funding to increase the number of officers protecting us, keep our road and transit improvements on track and stand up to protect the Delta from plans to divert water south.”

Wilson’s campaign obviously made an impact on Antioch voters who also seemed to say they wanted change by bringing in Wilson over Mayor Davis – who did not run for re-election and instead just ran for a council seat.

Davis may be in luck however, a third council seat will be filled either an appointment of the council or another election, when Harper steps down from his council seat to become Mayor. Traditionally that position is filled by the next runner up, which would be Davis as he lost to Wilson by a scant 666 votes,  just 1.4% of the vote. But not always.

The council in 2008 voted to pass over then Councilman Arne Simonsen who was the next highest vote-getter in that council election, and instead appointed Martha Parsons to the remaining two years of Davis’ term, when he stepped down to become Mayor. The issue will be decided by the new council of Harper, Rocha, Agopian and Wilson.

Also elected in November was former Antioch Councilman Arne Simonsen, who beat Argentina Davila-Luevano by 3,670 votes or 56.41% to 43.27% for City Clerk. Donna Conley was re-elected as City Treasurer with no one running against her.

The new mayor and council members, as well as City Clerk will take their oaths of office at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 4, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Antioch City Council Chambers located at City Hall, 3rd and H Streets in downtown Rivertown.

For detailed election results, visit www.CoCoVote.us.

Publisher Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The county Elections Division have completed counting the remaining ballots and have certified the November election one day before their legal requirement. The results, posted on their website at www.CoCoVote.us, show Monica Wilson beating Mayor Jim Davis for the second council seat by 666 votes, or 1.4% of the vote.

Wilson ended up with 11,190 votes or 23.48% to Davis’ 10,524 or 22.08% of the vote. Councilwoman Mary Rocha was the top vote-getter in the council election with 11,795 votes or 24.75%, beating Wilson by 605 votes. She will be voted in as the city’s new Mayor Pro Tem for the next two years, tomorrow (Tuesday) night, following the Oaths of Office for her, Wilson and current Mayor Pro Tem and Mayor-Elect Wade Harper, who will be sworn in as the city’s new Mayor. Also taking the oath will be the reelected City Treasurer, Donna Conley who had no opposition in the race.

Ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. in the Antioch City Council Chambers at 3^rd and H Streets in downtown Rivertown.

For more information on Tuesday night’s Council agenda click here.

Ticket requests to the 57th Presidential Inauguration oath of office ceremony on January 21 at the Capitol in Washington are available through the offices of Rep. John Garamendi, who still represents Antioch in the House of Representatives.

Constituents can call his offices in Antioch at (925) 757-7187, Walnut Creek at (925) 932-8899 or Washington at (202) 225-1880; or request tickets online by emailing him by filling out a contact form on his website at garamendi.house.gov. Include your full name, full address, phone number (preferably cellphone), email address and number of tickets requested.

A limited number of tickets are made available to each member of Congress for standing-room admission to the ceremony. Because of the large volume of requests, congressional offices cannot guarantee that all requests will be granted. Those selected will be notified by Dec. 21 and will receive further instructions. Tickets are nontransferable and must be picked up in person by the requesting constituent. Photo identification will be required at the time of pick-up.

Schools and other organizations interested in participating in the Presidential Inaugural Parade may obtain more information and apply at 2013inaugurationparade.army.mil/.

Those interested in attending the president’s inaugural balls, galas and parties should contact the Presidential Inaugural Committee at inaugural.senate.gov for further information on tickets.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Ballots are still being counted by Contra Costa County Elections workers, as of Friday, November 30, 2012, putting off the final tally until next Monday.

In an email received by this newspaper, at 3:36 p.m., today, Assistant County Registrar of Voters, Candy Lopez wrote “We will not be able to complete the canvass today but are fairly close. We anticipate being able to Certify the Election in the mid-afternoon on Monday, Dec. 3rd.”

The county has 28 days following the election to certify it, which gives them until next Tuesday, December 4 at 5:00 p.m.

As of the day following the November 6 election, there were approximately 106,000 ballots left to be counted. That number included 82,271 vote by mail ballots and 23,692 provisional ballots.

The final numbers could change the outcome of one race in Antioch, the second City Council seat. Currently Monica Wilson is leading Mayor Jim Davis by 458 votes.

The final vote count for all races in the county may be viewed at www.CoCoVote.us.

 

By Barbara Zivica

After election returns were in, I asked my dog (see his official photo which heads my column) what his take was on the election results. His answer – RUFF! RUFF!

Going in Gary Agopian seemed to be the expected winner of the Mayor’s chair but Wade Harper got the nod instead. (Harper 40.87% of the vote vs. Agopian’s 32.91%) Agopian, however, has a safe council seat and won’t be up for re-election until November 2014. Don Freitas only got 20.38% of the vote and Michael Leon 5.52%.

In the council race, I was surprised that Mary Rocha (24.41% of the vote) who has spent 16 years on the council and four as mayor, and Monica Wilson (23.17% of the vote), who had little name recognition, edged out Jim Davis (22.43% of the vote) who ran for council instead of re-election for Mayor. Walter Ruehlig pulled 17.80% of the vote and Noel Pinto 11.88%. I think what enabled the women to win was strong backing and turnout from the Democratic party and union trade group members.

The numbers I quote don’t include all the vote by mail ballots that were turned in at the polls or the provisional ballots. The Elections Department has 28 days to certify but they might have it done by Thanksgiving. That could change the outcomes of some elections, especially Jim Davis or Monica Wilson since there’s less than 300 votes separating them.

What concerns me now is how the new council will decide to fill the vacant council seat when Harper assumes the position of Mayor.

What council should do, did in the past but didn’t do back in 2008, is appoint the candidate who came in third. That candidate was Arne Simonsen. Council actually sent out a casting call and after many rounds of interviews and pointed questioning, ended up choosing Martha Parsons, a Democratic political consultant, who hadn’t even run for council.

Should it turn out that Monica Wilson’s lead holds and Jim Davis comes in third, let’s hope council does the right thing this time and seats him in the position left open after Wade Harper is sworn in as Mayor.

Last but not least, congrats to Arne Simonson who handily won election to the City Clerk Position.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

According to the Contra Costa County Elections Division, as of today – Thursday afternoon, November 8, 2012 – there were 105,963 ballots left to be counted from Tuesday’s election.

Of that figure, there were 82,271 vote by mail ballots and 23,692 provisional ballots left to be counted. However, the Elections officials did not know how many of the provisional ballots would be disqualified.

A total of 337,124 ballots cast had been counted as of Wednesday morning, November 7. So the remaining ballots total 23.85% of those cast in the election.

In Antioch, the remaining ballots could affect the outcome of the Antioch School Board race as well as the Mayor’s and City Council races.

Jack Yeager is currently trailing Claire Smith by 1,115 votes for the third seat in the school board race. Councilman Gary Agopian is trailing Mayor Pro Tem Wade Harper by 1,946 votes in the race for Mayor of Antioch. Mayor Jim Davis is trailing Monica Wilson by just 284 votes in the Council race for the two seats, which has  has the greatest chance of changing.

The Elections Division of the County Clerk’s Office has 28 days to certify the election, but word on the street is they want it all done before the Thanksgiving break. One official said there will be an update on Friday afternoon, November 9, but it will only be a partial.

STOCKTON, CA, November 7, 2012 – Congressional candidate Ricky Gill made the following statement tonight after conceding to his opponent, Congressman Jerry McNerney:

“Tonight, I called Congressman McNerney to congratulate him on his victory. I extended my best wishes to the Congressman and his family, and I expressed my willingness to act as a resource and to help him serve this community in any manner possible.

I am enormously proud of the campaign we ran, and I am humbled by the tireless efforts of the many volunteers, neighbors, and supporters who threw their efforts behind it. Although we did not emerge victorious in this campaign, I believe we accomplished something extraordinary. We put this community and its people first, and we took our story to the national stage. We fought for jobs, education, and common-sense government. We made clear that the American Dream will rise once again in this community we love so dearly. 

As this campaign closes, I encourage all residents of the 9th District to come together and work towards the bipartisan, lasting reforms this country so badly needs. I wish Congressman McNerney the best, and I congratulate him on a hard-fought victory.”

Following are the responses to the questions posed to the candidates for Congress in California’s new 7^th District, which includes approximately 30% of Antioch, in the northwest part of the city. There are two candidates running, incumbent George Miller and challenger Virginia Fuller. The following information is posted here, as there was unfortunately not enough room in our November print edition.

1. Full name: George R. Miller, III

2. Background:

I’m 67 years old, have a BA from SF State University and a law degree from U.C. Davis. I was born and raised in Richmond and reside in Martinez. I’ve been a Member of Congress since 1975. I’m married to Cynthia Caccavo, have two children and six grandchildren.

3. Contact information:

David Johnson, Campaign Coordinator, 925-948-5165, dave@georgemillerforcongress.com,

www.georgemillerforcongress.com

www.facebook.com/georgemillerforcongress

4. What motivated you to run?

I first ran for Congress to end the Vietnam War, guarantee affordable health care for all Americans, and improve the education and well-being of our children. I’m running today to strengthen the middle class and rebuild the American Dream. And we’ve got work to do.

5. Top three priorities if elected – what do you plan to accomplish?

Create more jobs by strengthening the economy, improve public education, and reduce global warming by increasing energy efficiency and green energy.

6. Do you support Prop 30 and Prop 38?

I support Prop 30 to help avoid devastating cuts to education and other essential services.

7. What has been your greatest accomplishment? Why should people vote for you?

My greatest achievement as a lawmaker has been passage of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s health care law. I have a record of integrity and have had bills signed into law by presidents of both parties. I wake up every day ready to make a difference for people here and across our country.

 

 

Virginia O.  Fuller

As a legal immigrant, born in Suriname, I came to the United States in 1976 and gained my citizenship in 2000. I have lived in California for over 33 years. I was trained as a registered nurse in The Netherlands. My two children are both college graduates and model citizens.

I became a child advocate after I observed,, first-hand the shortage for quality long-term nursing care for children in my community, while working as a rehab nurse at Children’s Hospital, Oakland. In 1989 I established and operated two pediatric care facilities. One was a 24-hour Emergency Shelter Home for abused and neglected children located in Oakland. The other was a Nursing Care Facility in Richmond, licensed by the State Health Department.

Because that was happening in this predominately liberal and Democratic region, I became a political activist, as a result.

I am running for Congress because the incumbent, George Miller has demonstrated for 38 long years he is out of touch with his constituency. His partisan and neglectful policies have proven to be disastrous to traditional families and our communities. Many neighborhoods have deteriorated because of high crime rates and population exodus due to decades of neglect by George Miller.

As your Congresswoman, I will:

•Work to rebuild our inner cities by:

•Reducing the cost of doing business in America and keeping jobs in California.

•Giving parents school choice and greater access to better performing schools.

•Vote to repeal Obamacare and replace it with common sense healthcare reform.

•Balance the Budget by eliminating duplicate government services and departments.

•Return control of Education to the States.

•Enforce immigration laws.

•Support aid and asylum for persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Africa.

•Implement a Flat Income Tax.

•Support LIMITED government

I have integrity, decency and will maintain loyalty to the people. I am a proud Constitutionalist and a patriotic citizen with common sense and real life experiences. We need to elect a citizen politician, not career politician and lawyer!

Fuller for Congress

12 Ambrose Avenue, Bay Point, CA 94565 510-758-5854 or 925-565-4295

www.fullerforcongress.org

https://twitter.com/#!/FullerCD7ca

www.youtube.com/user/FullerForCongress