Pamela Price edges into the lead for DA
Results Update: Aisha Wahab lengthens margin over Lily Mei; Oakland mayor’s race tightens
ELECTION 2022
ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
—Alameda County District Attorney candidate Pamela Price’s comeback continued after an update by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters on Tuesday showed she has overtaken her opponent Terry Wiley.
—Price holds a slim advantage of 2,000 votes over Wiley. Price has trailed since the first results were released last Tuesday night. Wiley’s roughly nine-point advantage has evaporated since. The initial results had reversed Price’s 16-point June primary win over Wiley and two other opponents.
—If elected, Price would be the county’s first Black DA (Wiley would also be the first). A win would also be a first for Price, whose electoral record has been littered with big loses for the assembly, Oakland mayor, and DA four years ago.
10TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
—Although a number of races are still up-for-grabs in the East Bay, one that had been closely watched previously could be poised to end up being not-so-close after all.
—A week ago, Aisha Wahab trailed Lily Mei by a few percent in the hard-fought and expensive 10th State Senate District race. The slim margin, though, did not portend well for Mei’s chances since her moderate platform was believed to play well with conservatives, a group that often votes early.
—When the spread was lower than the margin Mei beat Wahab in the primary, the writing was on the wall for Mei’s chances going forward.
—Wahab, a Hayward councilmember blew passed Mei in both Alameda and Santa Clara Counties last Friday and is still building on the lead, as of Tuesday night’s update.
—District-wide, Wahab leads Mei by more than 6,000 votes—Wahab at 52.1 percent to Mei’s 47.9 percent, as of Tuesday night.
—If elected, Wahab will become California’s first Afghan-American state legislator, and depending on the composition of the next legislative session, its only renter.
OAKLAND MAYOR
—Loren Taylor’s coronation as Oakland mayor will have to wait after results were updated on Tuesday evening. Taylor’s lead over Sheng Thao in first-place votes fell below four points.
—A new ranked-choice voting tabulation of the race shows Taylor still reaching a majority of the vote after nine rounds of tabulations. But the spread has shrunk for Taylor, who now has 51.40 percent of the ranked-choice vote to Thao’s 48.60 percent.
—For many of the candidates gaining on their opponents, but still narrowly trailing, the vote-counting process is nearing the point when it’s all about how many ballots remain to be counted and will they be exhausted before they have a chance to hurdle into first.
—Alameda County reported on Tuesday that voter turnout is now at 31 percent, roughly 291,000 ballots counted countywide. Another 238,000 ballots remain uncounted countywide, as of Tuesday night, according to the state Secretary of State’s website. The figure of outstanding ballots is by far the largest number in the entire state.
—Long story short: The Alameda County District Attorney race is far from decided, mostly because it’s the only tight race remaining that covers the entire county. The universe of uncounted ballots in places like Oakland, Livermore, and Hayward will be decidedly smaller.
LIVERMORE MAYOR
—In Livermore’s highly-contested and expensive mayoral race, John Marchand, who was termed out of the mayor’s office two years ago, is pulling away from Mony Nop, 52-48 percent.
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL
—Hayward’s at-large City Council race for two open seats is tightening, at least for the second spot. Planning Commissioner Daniel Goldstein continues to hold on, but George Syrop, advanced on the already slim deficit on Tuesday night.
—Goldstein (15.24 percent) leads Syrop (14.52 percent) by 208 votes. Planning Commissioner Julie Roche, with 24.07 percent of the vote, is certain to fill one of the seats vacated by Aisha Wahab and Sara Lamnin, a boardmember-elect on the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District.
Program note: I’m on the way back from a few days in New York City. Saw Death of a Salesman and Chicago, attended the New York Giants game on Sunday, walked around Times Square, Hudson Yards, and Central Park. Checked out The Met, Guggenheim and 9/11 museums, all the while taking the subway, which only reminded me that BART is the worst model of a big-city public transit system imaginable. Starting Wednesday, I’m back on the beat. -stev
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