Although Contra Costa County (http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/) last posted election results at 12:57 AM on November 8 (see below), it appears the election is far from over for some candidates. My sources tell me that there are 2,000 or more Richmond absentee and provisional ballots that are still being counted. Since all these have to be verified along with some 40,000 others countywide, it may be two weeks or more before the final count is in. It may be as long as the first week in December.
Although none of the results are likely to change, I hope that McLaughlin will continue to prevail. But I am told by experts that the Richmond mayor”s race is the most vulnerable. Less likely is the City Council or WCCUSD race.
I am most disappointed by the fate of Measure T. My constituents continue to press for better services and more investment in the City”s infrastructure, and Measure T would have provided funding almost painlessly for the Richmond taxpayer. But the people have spoken. The Chevron/COI crowd dropped by my office Tuesday night, and they were absolutely giddy with the success of their anti-Measure T campaign.
There is a belief, abetted by the Chamber of Commerce and others, that you can always squeeze out additional money through increased efficiency and better management (“Richmond doesn”t have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem.”) While that proposition may be somewhat accurate in concept, the potential is limited, both for cities generally and for Richmond specifically. As much as we would like, it is almost impossible to run a city like a business. It”s like turning around an aircraft carrier. I believe Bill Lindsay has started that turn, but it”s not going to be completed on a dime or anytime soon.
For the time being, we will continue to make do with less.
City of Richmond Mayor Vote For 1 (WITH 53 OF 53 PRECINCTS COUNTED) GAYLE MCLAUGHLIN . . . . . . . . 6,243 37.24 3,642 79 2,522 IRMA ANDERSON . . . . . . . . . 6,051 36.10 3,850 65 2,136 GARY BELL . . . . . . . . . . 4,382 26.14 2,527 62 1,793 WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 86 .51 56 1 29 City of Richmond Member, City Council Vote For 3 (WITH 53 OF 53 PRECINCTS COUNTED) JIM ROGERS . . . . . . . . . . 8,023 21.61 4,832 106 3,085 MARIA T. VIRAMONTES . . . . . . 7,730 20.82 4,420 114 3,196 LUDMYRNA “MYRNA” LOPEZ . . . . .6,576 17.71 3,938 72 2,566 COURTLAND CORKY BOOZE . . . . .6,416 17.28 3,807 68 2,541 JAMES “JIM” JENKINS . . . . . . . 4,122 11.10 2,244 74 1,804 RICHARD GRIFFIN . . . . . . . . 4,099 11.04 2,252 72 1,775 WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 162 .44 82 3 77 City of Richmond Councilmember/Short Trm Vote For 1 (WITH 53 OF 53 PRECINCTS COUNTED) TONY K. THURMOND . . . . . . . . 11,371 95.57 6,693 142 4,536 WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 527 4.43 331 10 186 T-City of Richmond Charter Amend Business License-Maj Vote For 1 (WITH 53 OF 53 PRECINCTS COUNTED) No/No. . . . . . . . . . . . 9,721 58.25 5,805 111 3,805 Yes/Si . . . . . . . . . . . 6,968 41.75 4,257 101 2,610 West Co Co Unif Sch Gov Bd Vote For 3 (WITH 157 OF 157 PRECINCTS COUNTED) MADELINE KRONENBERG . . . . . . . 17,453 18.74 9,525 260 7,668 AUDREY MILES . . . . . . . . . 17,112 18.38 9,850 242 7,020 CHARLES RAMSEY. . . . . . . . . 14,596 15.68 7,933 210 6,453 ANTONIO MEDRANO . . . . . . . . 14,236 15.29 8,589 180 5,467 MARGUERITE MEADE . . . . . . . . 8,639 9.28 4,793 145 3,701 ROBERT W. BROWER . . . . . . . . 8,263 8.87 4,344 144 3,775 ANTON JUNGHERR. . . . . . . . . 7,561 8.12 3,968 135 3,458 MARTIN GOTTLIEB . . . . . . . . 4,959 5.33 2,647 93 2,219 WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 295 .32 165 5 125 San Ramon Vly Unif Sch Gov Bd Vote For 3