Turnage may first be censured and given opportunity to publicly apologize

By Allen Payton

In response to the controversial comments on Facebook by Antioch Planning Commission Chair Ken Turnage, II about ending the shelter-in-place, Mayor Sean Wright has joined with Council Member Monica Wilson who called for Turnage’s removal during Tuesday night’s regular council meeting. (See related article).

In a Thursday press release from City of Antioch Public Information Officer Rolando Bonilla, it states, “Recently, the Chair of the City of Antioch Planning Commission posted a social media communication that does not represent the City of Antioch or the City Council.  The City Council and the public, through comments, emails and phone calls, have questioned the ability of the Chair of the Antioch Planning Commission to represent them and many Antioch residents have called for the commissioner’s resignation or removal.

Mayor Sean Wright spoke to the Chair of the Planning Commission and asked for his resignation from the City of Antioch Planning Commission.  Upon his refusal to resign, Mayor Wright called for a special meeting of the Antioch City Council to discuss the immediate removal of the commissioner from the Planning Commission.

In the City of Antioch, the City Council is committed to maintaining public confidence and trust in our city government.  As public officials in one of the largest and most diverse cities in Contra Costa County, we are called to serve all residents of Antioch; whether young or old, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, housed or unhoused.

We wish to emphasize that we remain committed to listening to the public’s concerns, and we recognize that we have an obligation to the residents of the City of Antioch to act swiftly to respond to their concerns.”

Turnage, who it has been rumored was considering running against  Wilson in the November election, responded Thursday morning to her call for his removal with, “I’m not going to step down over a personal opinion that has nothing to do with the City or an opinion that has nothing to do with being a planning commissioner. My opinion isn’t liked, which is fine. But I do find very petty and disheartening that at every opportunity someone like Councilmember Wilson will try and use race! It’s a baiting tactic and is very petty.”

“I’m sorry that this country has the history it does but I don’t see how a virus has anything to do with race, slavery or oppression of any kind. It just shows a low level of mentality that the only thing in someone’s arsenal is the race card,” he added.

When was asked if the council should first vote to censure Turnage and give him the opportunity to apologize before removing him, Wright said he would be speaking with the city attorney about what would be placed on the meeting agenda.

The same question was posed to Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock. She responded “I don’t know. I was just given the invitation for a special meeting. I did speak with Sean earlier and he told me there would be a special meeting.”

When pressed further, she stated, “Not sure at this point if that is a viable solution. The news media has picked it up, Channel 2 reported on it. When you talk about the things that he said, the seniors, the frail, and the weak. Not sure how you can look past that.”

Council Member Lamar Thorpe, who was removed from the Economic Development Commission in 2016 for working against a local business with the card room ballot measure that past that year (see related article), was asked the same question. He responded, “That’s the mayor’s plan.”

“Kenny, as you’ve seen is’nt apologizing for anything as he stands by his comments,” Thorpe added.

Mayor Pro Tem Joy Motts responded to the same question with, “The mayor spoke with him, apparently he will not back down.”

When asked if she was willing to consider censuring Turnage and giving him an opportunity to apologize, first Motts responded, “I am still deliberating on this. Ken has made no attempt to apologize, to the contrary he has doubled down on his comments.”

Wilson was asked the same question about a vote on censure, but she did not respond.

The special meeting will be held Friday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed on the city’s website by clicking here.

“We would lose many elderly…loved ones as well…even myself but that is the way of the World!” – Antioch Planning Commission Chair Ken Turnage, II

“My ancestors already died for the sake of our economy through a marked period in our time called slavery.” – Council Member Monica Wilson

By Allen Payton

It appears the 2020 Antioch City Council campaign began earlier than normal, this year as Antioch Council Member Monica Wilson and three members of the public called for Planning Commission Chairman Ken Turnage, II to be removed or resign over controversial comments he made on Facebook about the coronavirus and shelter-in-place orders.

Wilson, as well as the mayor and other three council members are up for re-election in November, and Turnage has been rumored to be taking on Wilson in the race for District 4. Turnage, an Antioch general contractor and business owner, ran unsuccessfully for the council in 2016 placing fourth behind Council Members Lamar Thorpe, Wilson and former Mayor Mary Rocha.

In his Thursday, April 23 comment, using an argument similar to the Malthusian Theory of population control, Turnage wrote, “The shelter in place needs to end, we as a species need to move forward…We would have significant loss of life, we would lose many elderly, that would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System, health care cost (once the wave subsided), make jobs available for others and it would also free up housing in which we are in dire need of. We would lose a large portion of the people with immune and other health complications. I know it would be loved ones as well. But that would once again reduce our impact on medical, jobs and housing. Then we have our other sectors such as our homeless and other people who just defile themselves by either choice or mental issues. This would run rampant through them and yes i am sorry but this would fix what is a significant burden on our Society and resources that can be used. Of course we would lose many of the ‘Healthy’ maybe even myself but that is the way of the World!”

During the online Antioch City Council meeting on Tuesday night, April 28, 2020, the three comments by members of the public called for Turnage’s removal from the commission and went so far as to label his comments racist and discriminatory.

Wilson, Council Member Thorpe and Mayor Sean Wright all denounced Turnage’s comments. Wilson also injected slavery into her response.

“I need to comment on this. I do want to take a moment to raise an issue that I believe undermines the great work that our city is doing to protect our citizens,” Wilson said. “Our Planning Commission Chair made some inappropriate comments on social media. He basically made the argument that it was totally OK to allow in our community, from the elderly to the homeless, to die a COVID-19 for the benefit of reopening our economy contrary to our shared values.”

“My ancestors already died for the sake of our economy through a marked period in our time called slavery,” she continued. “Let me be clear, he is entitled to his opinion, as I am entitled to mine. However, as a member of our planning commission his words are merely not consistent of what we are doing and how we care for our citizens.”

“His words do not in any way reflect the values of the city council or city administration,” Wilson continued. “Personally, I find his words…disgusting, inappropriate and extremely reckless. We do not have any place in public discourse for that.”

“I’m also appalled to date none of us on council have responded to this reckless comment. It’s inexcusable,” she stated. “I am beyond disgusted by those remarks. I too am asking either he resigns or we as council need to deal with taking him off of that commission.”

Thorp said, “Councilwoman Wilson, I share your concern and disgust. I thought those comments were inexcusable and they have no place in city government, today. To your point, it’s contrary to the shared values we have as a community and I’m beyond disgusted. So, thank you for your remarks.”

Mayor Pro Tem Joy Motts added her comments on the matter.

“Monica, that was very passionate what you had to say,” she said. “My expectation is that council and staff and commissions all acknowledge their service to the community, and that they act with professionalism and that they take great care for all of the community members.”

“Our grandparents and our parents and generations have fought wars to preserve life,” Motts continued. “Honestly, it’s absurd to think that we would want to take one person’s life as more valuable than another. I thank you for your comments, I think they’re important. I know I am and this staff and this city council will do whatever we can to save as many lives as possible.”

Mayor Wright also denounced Turnage’s comments.

“I have stopped watching and looking at Facebook just because there is so much division. The comments were not brought to my attention until yesterday, through email,” Wright stated. “I think the comments were abhorrent, should not have been said and stated. But I will fight for the right to say things.”

“We do and need to hold ourselves to a higher standard as council members and as commissioners and those who represent the city,” he continued. “So, there is discussion to be had as far as that goes.”

Following are the comments by the three members of the public who emailed the council prior to the meeting:

“I feel compelled to write to you, today about a recent Facebook message by Ken Turnage serving on the Antioch Planning Commission,” wrote Debra Polk, a resident and a self-described “advocate for safe, healthy communities for children ages 0 to 5.” “We know that African Americans are more likely to die of this illness compared to other races. As a mature black woman, I have experienced many examples of blatant racism in my lifetime. Mr. Turnage’s comments are incredibly offensive and reflect an attitude of racist, white superiority. How can someone with those sentiments represent the interests of our city? How are people of color in the Antioch community represented when city sanctioned commission leaders express this type of prejudice and perspective? With such blatant bias I don’t believe this commissioner can represent us. Therefore, he must be removed from his position on the commission. I am requesting that the Antioch City Council take immediate action to resolve this issue. Facebook is often a place for different opinions. However, when you, as a city volunteer representative place your biases and hurtful comments on social media for all of us to see, then you don’t deserve to make decisions for me, other people of color or the elderly. I along with thousands of other Antioch residents deserve to be represented by my city commissioners and not subject to this type of discrimination.”

Rivertown district resident, Christine Clark wrote of “a recent, disturbing comment on Facebook made by Planning Commissioner Chair…I was flabbergasted and in disbelief…someone who represents my City of Antioch could find it in his heart to write such racist and discriminatory comments. His ideas describe the mentality of survival of the fittest. I am absolutely appalled with these comments.”

She mentioned “those disadvantaged by systemic racism and inequity are cast aside” and “hundreds of years of oppression and current injustices that make certain members of our society more susceptible to the drastic consequences of this virus.”

Clark also called for Turnage’s resignation.

Brendan Alasky also wrote about Turnage’s comments, labeling them “disgusting and unacceptable assertions that were reminiscent of eugenics arguments used to justify genocide and atrocities on marginalized people throughout the U.S. history.”

He called for Turnage to resign and apologize for his comments.

Following is Turnage’s complete comment posted on his personal Facebook page:

“This opinion will not be popular and could easily anger some of you so if you are the type of person that only values your own opinion you may not want to read this. Before I start I just want to say I have been obeying the shelter in place orders. The shelter in place needs to end, we as a species need to move forward with our place on Earth and yes it appears our place is changing. The debate about this virus being man made or just happened due to eating a bat is past us (I believe it was eating the bat). This virus is like a human version of a forest fire, a forest fire will burn through and burn off all the dead trees, old tress, fallen brush and scrub shrub sucklings that drain the resources of the forest and causing it to be unhealthy. So what happens in a standard forest fire is all these portions of the forest are burned off turned into ash that fertilizes the ground. The strong trees survive and the forest replenishes itself and flourishes once again. Now when we stop the standard forest fires or natural burn off in forestry we set ourselves up for total devastation such as the recent fires in California they were in destruction in totality all because we were trying to “protect” we caused more harm.

If we look at our population as the forest you will see many similarities. We have our old, we have our weak and we have our drains on our resources. This virus is targeting those sectors of our population. If we were to live our lives, let nature run its course, yes we will all feel hardship, we will all feel loss. I am sure everyone of us would lose a person who we hold dear. But as species, for our Nation and as a Planet we would we would strengthen when this is all settled. We would have significant loss of life, we would lose many elderly, that would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System, health care cost (once the wave subsided), make jobs available for others and it would also free up housing in which we are in dire need of. We would lose a large portion of the people with immune and other health complications. I know it would be loved ones as well. But that would once again reduce our impact on medical, jobs and housing. Then we have our other sectors such as our homeless and other people who just defile themselves by either choice or mental issues. This would run rampant through them and yes i am sorry but this would fix what is a significant burden on our Society and resources that can be used. Of course we would lose many of the “Healthy” maybe even myself but that is the way of the World! With all this said now look at all the Worldly resources that would be able to replenish. We are hearing of many levels of Earth repair already happening just due to a lower impact of our Species so think what would happen with a significant population reduction.

The World has been introduced to a new phrase Herd Immunity which is a good one. In my opinion we need to adapt a Herd Mentality. A herd gathers it ranks, it allows the sick, the old, the injured to meet its natural course in nature. With this the Herd is strengthened, and the Herd once again becomes symbiant with the planet!

If you unfriend me because of my opinion that is your choice and I wish you the best and stay safe!”

His post garnered mixed reactions in the comments by 584 others, most of them negative and some comparing his comment to those of Nazis and Hitler during World War II.

Dan Brown was the first to respond writing, “Speak the truth!!”

Seth Porter wrote in response, “I appreciate this opinion. I did notice you didn’t include a list of your relatives you’re willing to watch die though so it seems a little hollow.”

Dan Gross wrote, “Would not unfriend you!! Well written my friend.”

Richard D. Correa wrote, “The nazi’s did just what you described. They took people who they felt were taking up space, elderly, weak, mentally ill, poor, children, and of course, those who were not like them. If you feel that way, gather your family and take them all to a facility where people are infected, that way you can start the cleansing.”

George Wever responded, “99% of the population is forced to suffer and have financial hardships for the 1% fatality rate they have re evaluated the death rate to. Let God sort them out and time to move forward!!!”

Kim Motts Stadtlander wrote, “Wow, we heard and saw something similar in WWII. This virus has taken young people, marathon runners, previously healthy, and yes, the elderly and immune compromised. I doubt you’d feel this way if it came knocking on your door for your child, your spouse, or your parents. This virus is not a flu, it reacts differently than previously seen. I want the economy open just like you. I have 3 unemployed people in my house, but never ever at the expense of what you propose. It’s Hitleresque.”

Aisha Odom wrote “Good ole eugenics huh? Well as long as you are the very first in line.”

Jeremy Motts wrote, “It may not be as severe as the worst case scenario, but it also might be. It’s not okay to play Russian roulette with other people’s lives. I work in healthcare, please abide by the rules until we get this figured out please, for the sake of our families.”

Chris Burton Patterson wrote, “I agree with you on many points. Look at the stores that are open. Grocery, donuts stores, restaurants, home depo, hospitals. They are doing it responsibly. Why can’t others do this? There is no reason. And if you don’t want to, then don’t. Those with weaken immune systems, there are ways to strengthen them.. we can all be careful in our own way. It’s not an all or nothing situation” and “Why can’t the people of this great country do both. Go back to work and protect those most vulnerable?”

In a repost of Turnage’s comment Mitch Brockman wrote, “This is the absolute TRUTH! Ken Turnage II, Very well said sir!”

Efforts to reach Wilson asking her if she planned to place an item on the next council meeting agenda for the council to vote on Turnage’s removal from the commission were unsuccessful. Thorpe clarified his comment that he shared Wilson’s concern did not include a call for Turnage’s resignation or removal from the commission.

UPDATE: When reached for comment, Turnage responded to Wilson’s call for his removal with, “I’m not going to step down over a personal opinion that has nothing to do with the City or an opinion that has nothing to do with being a planning commissioner. My opinion isn’t liked, which is fine. But I do find very petty and disheartening that at every opportunity someone like Councilmember Wilson will try and use race! It’s a baiting tactic and is very petty.”

“I’m sorry that this country has the history it does but I don’t see how a virus has anything to do with race, slavery or oppression of any kind. It just shows a low level of mentality that the only thing in someone’s arsenal is the race card,” he added.

To view the council meeting and hear the comments by Wilson, click here and scroll to the 17-minute mark.

Please check back later for updates to this report.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday issued an executive order to permit vote-by-mail procedures to be used in three upcoming special elections, protecting public health and safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The order also extends the deadlines for ballot counting, tabulation, and other responsibilities related to the official canvass of California’s Presidential Primary Election that could risk undermining social distancing measures, and suspends the timeframes for public hearings required by political subdivisions that are in the process of changing from an at-large method of election to district elections.

A copy of the Governor’s executive order can be found here and the text of the order can also be found here.

Antioch school district’s Measure T bond fails by just 43 votes.

Other results from throughout the county: 4 other measures pass, 2 fail

By Allen Payton

With the final results in for the March 3rd Presidential Primary from the Contra Costa Elections Division on Friday afternoon, District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover missed winning the election outright by just 54 votes. He will face County Assessor Gus Kramer in a November General Election runoff. (See results here.)

Had any candidate received 50% plus one vote they would have won in the Primary.

With all the votes counted Glover garnered 22,142 votes or 49.88% of the vote. Kramer placed a distant second out of the three candidates, with 11,441 votes or 25.78% of the vote. He was trailed by Martinez Planning Commissioner and first-time candidate for public office, Sean Trambley, by just 637 votes, with 10,804 votes or 24.34%.

The fall campaign has already begun as Kramer wasted no time in attacking the incumbent.

“I’m looking forward to the run-off. It will give me the chance to show the electorate who I really am and who my opponent really is,” he said when reached for comment, while social distancing at his cabin for the next three weeks. “Glover said four years ago and eight years ago that would be his last time running. It’s one of the reasons I’m running against him. He’s not a man of his word.”

“The citizens of Contra Costa deserve a supervisor they can trust,” Kramer said.

“I want to thank all the voters who voted and supported me,” he stated. “And all those who didn’t believe the political hit pieces that were mailed out and the campaign the East Bay Times has mounted against me for the past eight years but, continued to show faith in me. We’re hoping, and will be working to build on that support for November.”

“He doesn’t plan on fulfilling this term, is what I’ve been told by those who are close to Federal,” Kramer added. “Then he will lobby the governor to appoint someone who he supports, to replace him.”

Glover wasn’t ready to engage at this point, but just thanked his supporters and encouraged people to comply with the coronavirus orders.

“It’s interesting, but we’ll gear up for November,” he said. “I really just want to thank the voters for their continued support of my candidacy. Going into November we’re going to continue to ask their support of our efforts. I look forward to continuing to represent the district.”

He is focused on the coronavirus, for now.

“While I’m very thrilled with the election results and the voters who supported me, my major concentration, now is this coronavirus,” Glover stated. “The county as a whole, and my district, it’s really important that we follow the rules, now so that we can flatten the curve to be able to get on with our routine services.”

“But, if everyone does not follow the orders that have been put out there, it’s going to take us just that much longer,” he said. “So, please be obedient to the rules as we’re all in this together.”

“Be safe and stay healthy,” Glover added.

Other Election Results – Four of Seven Measures Pass

Measure T fails in Antioch. The $105 million school improvement bond covering the former Mello-Roos District 89-1 required 55% of the vote. It barely lost at just 43 votes shy of passing with 54.53% of the vote.

Measure J fails countywide. While a majority of voters supported it, the countywide, half-cent sales tax measure for transportation needed a two-thirds vote to pass, meaning 66.7% of the vote. But it only received 51.59%. So, the $3.4 billion measure failed. It would have meant an additional half-cent in sales tax would have overlapped the current Measure J half-cent sales tax for 14 years.

Measure A fails in Pleasant Hill. The bond measure for the Pleasant Hill Park & Recreation District needed a two-thirds vote to pass, but only received 60.15%.

Measure L passes in the Lafayette School District. The parcel tax election, which required a 2/3’s vote to pass, received 73.07% of the vote.

Measure M passes in the Moraga School District. The parcel tax election, which also required a 2/3’s vote to pass, with 70.74% of the vote.

Measure R passes in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. The school bond election required 55% of the vote to pass and garnered more than enough with 58.59%.

Measure Y passes in Danville. The voters of the Town of Danville approved the development of 69 homes on 410 acres. It required a simple majority to pass and received 54.23% of the vote.

From Deborah Cooper, County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters

The Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department remains open to provide essential services, but access to buildings and in-person services is limited. The counting of remaining ballots from the March 3 Presidential Primary election will continue until complete.

Those who want to observe the count are still welcome, but they need to call to make an appointment. The Elections Division is hoping to certify the election, this week. As of last Friday’s update, there were still 30,500 ballots remaining to be counted in the county.

The Department is urging customers to use online services in an effort to help reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission. In-person services are currently limited to transactions that cannot be done online, over the phone or through the mail.

Elections Division: Most information and election services are available online at https://www.cocovote.us/

For any necessary in-person visits please call and arrange an appointment. Contact the Elections Division for assistance with voting or election information, state or local petition delivery, or other needs at 925-335-7800.

Clerk- Recorder Division: Customer assistance for Clerk or Recording services is available by calling (925) 335-7900. Normal hours of operation are 8 am to 4:30 pm (subject to change).

Clerk Services: Most Clerk services are available online, with few exceptions. Civil marriage ceremonies will not be performed in the office until further notice. County Clerk services information is available on the department website at https://www.contracostacore.us/

Recording Services: Customers are encouraged to mail documents for recording to Contra Costa County Recorder at 555 Escobar Street, Martinez, CA 92553 or place documents in the drop box at the building entrance. Prior to mailing documents for recording, documents may be emailed for review and fee information to crwebmaster@cr.cccounty.us.

Recording information is available at www.contracostacore.us/

For updates related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), visit www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/.

Manual tally to begin Monday, Antioch School District’s Measure T still too close to call

By Allen Payton

With the latest, Interim Update 3 from the Contra Costa County Elections Division from the March 3rd Presidential Primary posted Friday, March 13, there are still approximately 30,500 votes remaining to be counted in the county.

Supervisor Federal Glover gained on his two opponents and is now less than 0.12% from winning re-election outright. He now has 49.89% of the vote for a total of 20,330 votes. His next closest opponent, County Assessor Gus Kramer has 25.62% of the vote or 10,440 votes, followed closely by Martinez Planning Commissioner Sean Trambley with 24.49% or 9,981 votes.

If Glover doesn’t end up having 50% plus one vote, he will face the second-place finisher in a November General Election run-off.

Three of Six Tax Measures Passing

Three of the six tax measures on the ballot in Contra Costa are passing, as of the latest update.

The election for the Antioch Unified School District’s Measure T school improvement bond, covering the former Mello-Roos District 89-1, is still too close to call. It needs 55% of the vote to pass and currently has 53.13% with a margin of 1,511 votes.

In the Lafayette Measure L school district parcel tax election, which requires a 2/3’s vote to pass, it’s succeeding with 72.6% of the vote and a lead of 4,589 votes.

In the Moraga School District, the Measure M parcel tax election, which also requires a 2/3’s vote to pass, is succeeding with 70.27% of the vote and a margin of 2,731 votes.

In the West Contra Costa Unified School District Measure R school bond election, which requires a 55% vote to succeed, it is passing with 57.3% of the vote and leading the No votes by 8,009 votes.

The Pleasant Hill Park and Recreation Department’s Measure A bond measure, which requires a 2/3’s vote to pass, is failing with only 59.55% of the vote, but leading by 2,463 votes. It needs an increase of 6.12% from the remaining votes.

The countywide Measure J half-cent sales tax for transportation, which requires a 2/3’s vote to pass, was also failing with just 50.6% of the vote, and barely leading by 3,472 votes out of 288,644 counted so far.

Danville Development Referendum Passing

In the Town of Danville’s Measure Y referendum, which will approve the development of 69 homes on 410 acres and requires a simple majority to pass, is winning with 54.26% of the vote and a margin of 1,477 votes.

Following are the estimated number of ballots that remain to be counted as of Friday, March 13.

500          Other

29,200     Provisional

800          Conditional Voter Registration

30,500     Total Estimate

Manual Tally

Beginning Monday, March 16 the Elections Division will conduct a manual audit of ballots cast in the March 3rd Presidential Primary. The public is invited to observe the count.

By Allen Payton

As of the update posted Friday, March 6, 2020 at 4:33 p.m., the results of the election for Contra Costa County Supervisor in the District 5 race between incumbent Federal Glover and two challengers is still too close to call. District 5 includes portions of Antioch north of Hwy 4 and west of Hwy 160.

Glover, seeking his sixth term on the board, is just 0.3% away from winning the race outright. If not, in the November General Election he will face either County Assessor Gus Kramer, who has 25.82% of the vote and leading Martinez Planning Commissioner Sean Trambley with 24.48% of the vote, by just 516 votes.

However, there are approximately 40,000 ballots remaining to be counted in the county. According to the Contra Costa County Elections website:

Below are the estimated number of ballots that remain to be counted as of March 6

7,500  Vote by Mail

29,200  Provisional

800  Conditional Voter Registration

2,500  Other

40,000  Total Estimate

Before the latest update was provided, Trambley commented on Thursday, “We will see what happens. Although this wasn’t the outcome I expected, I’m proud of the campaign I ran.”

“Hard to say how many of those (the remaining ballots) are in District 5,” he added.

“It’s not over.” 50,000 ballots left to be counted in the county. Next results update not until this Friday by 5 p.m.

By Allen Payton

According to the unofficial election results on the Contra Costa Elections website from Tuesday night at 11:58 pm, Supervisor Diane Burgis is sailing smoothly into a second term, having garnered 66.49% of the vote against her opponent, Sanitary District Board Member Paul Seger who has 33.51% of the vote.

In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Burgis wrote, “Looking Good! The numbers will be coming in for the next couple days with all of the mail in ballots. Thank you to all those that helped make this happen. The walking & calling, the letters to the editor, Facebook posts & helping hang up signs. You all kept it positive & professional. I am blessed to have such a terrific support system! It is an incredible privilege to do this work & I look forward to another 4 1/2 years!”

Then on Wednesday afternoon, Burgis said, “I want to thank everyone for voting. It is a privilege to serve you, and I will continue to work hard every day to maintain your trust. I look forward to doing more good work for Contra Costa County.”

Supervisor Candace Andersen faced no opponent in her race for reelection in District 2, representing Lamorinda and most of the San Ramon Valley. In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, Andersen wrote, “I never take any election, even when running unopposed, for granted. Thank you to the 34,750+ (votes are still being counted) people who voted for me! I love my job and look forward to another 4 years. And congratulations to my colleague Diane Burgis who also won her election!”

Supervisor Federal Glover, running for a sixth term on the board to represent, is in a strong first place with 48.96% of the vote, just 1.05% shy of winning the election outright. He’s followed by County Assessor Gus Kramer with 27.24% who is closely trailed by Martinez Planning Commissioner Sean Trambley with 23.8% of the vote.

If Glover isn’t able to obtain 50% plus one vote, he will face one of his opponents in a run-off election in November.

The results only include votes by mail up until Monday and the votes at the polls on Tuesday, according to County Elections staff. They will know after 3:00 p.m. today, Wednesday, how many ballots are left to be counted in the county.

Glover was available for comment, Wednesday morning.

Kramer believes he’ll end up being Glover’s opponent in the General Election.

“It’s quite frankly too close for comfort,” he said. “Most likely, odds are I will be his opponent. I have some people who are telling me they’re surprised I did as well as I did with all the bad press from the Times. I have others who have said they’re not surprised.”

“It’s better to have tried and failed than to have failed to try,” he continued. “That’s my attitude about this race.”

“They have 50,000 ballots left to count, countywide, which means there’s about 10,000 ballots in this race, alone,” Kramer added. “It’s not over.”

Glover’s other challenger, Trambley, who has never held public office before and was running for office for the first time, was not available for comment Wednesday morning.

The next update to the results will not be provided until this Friday, March 6 by 5:00 p.m. The Elections Division has 28 days to certify the election.

Please check back later for updates to this report.