Potential for major upsets in two Alameda County races bolstered by latest election results
Alameda County could soon have a new sheriff and superintendent of schools, if results and trends hold up.
ELECTION 2022
—UPDATED RESULTS—Roughly 23,000 votes were added to the total counted in Alameda County on Thursday evening. The additional votes brings the county’s primary election turnout up to 13.41 percent, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. This percentage is roughly the number of ballots reportedly returned as of last Sunday.
—Thursday’s updated results mostly bolstered the returns posted on Tuesday night. However, two surprise early results in the Alameda County Sheriff race and the Alameda County Superintendent of Schools contest continue to show the makings of big upsets.
—Alameda County Sheriff candidate Yesenia Sanchez is building on her lead over incumbent Sheriff Greg Ahern. Sanchez’s 1.09 percent increase in Thursday’s update was the largest of any candidate on the primary ballot. At the same time, Ahern and candidate JoAnn Walker equally declined by 0.54 percent. Sanchez’s bid for winning the office outright in June with a majority of the votes is becoming more of a possibility as her percentage rose to 47.89 percent.
—Alameda County Superintendent L.K. Monroe’s re-election is becoming less certain after Thursday’s update. The head-to-head matchup against Alysse Castro is now separated by just a tad over two percent. That’s a spread of just 2,064 votes.
—Rebecca Kaplan, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors candidate in District 3, posted the largest decline in percentage in this batch of votes with a decease of 1.31 percent. But Kaplan is still firmly in the driver seat for a November runoff against Lena Tam, who she leads by over eight percentage points.
—Supporters of Alameda Unified School District’s $298 million school facilities bond may be getting worried. Measure B remains below the 55 percent required for passage with 53.51 percent. However, a strong late push at the polls for previous Alameda measures that were once under water has occurred before in the city’s recent political history.
UPDATED RESULTS (Thurs., 5pm)
ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Pamela Price 43,763 39.46% (-.35)
Terry Wiley 33,853 30.52% (-.33)
Jimmie Wilson 22,998 20.74% (+.15)
Seth Steward 10,296 8.75% (+.53)
ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF
Yesenia Sanchez 52,740 47.89% (+1.09)
Greg Ahern 39,492 35.86% (-.54)
JoAnn Walker 17,904 16.80% (-.54)
ALCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS-DISTRICT 3
Rebecca Kaplan 7,635 38.67% (-1.31)
Lena Tam 6,001 30.39% (+.36)
David Kakishiba 3,636 18.41% (-.07)
Surlene Grant 2,473 12.52% (0)
ALAMEDA COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
L.K. Monroe 51,556 51.02% (-.69)
Alysse Castro 49,492 48.98% (+.69)
ALAMEDA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION-AREA 7
Cheryl Cook-Kallio 9,404 52.82% (+.65)
Kate Dao 4,218 23.98% (-.08)
Eric Dillie 3,964 22.54% (-.057)
10TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT (Including Santa Clara Co.)
Lily Mei 26,469 35.2% (-.20)
Aisha Wahab 19,648 26.1% (+.90)
Paul Pimentel 16,597 22.1% (-.30)
Jamal Khan 5,723 7.6% (-.10)
Raymond Liu 4,168 5.5% (-.20)
Jim Canova 2,580 3.4% (-.10)
16TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan 10,414 66.10% (+.50)
Joe Rubay 5,340 33.90% (-.50)
20TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Liz Ortega 9,870 31.55% (+50)
Shawn Kumagai 7,928 25.35% (+.33)
Joe Grcar 7,066 22.59% (-.54)
Jennifer Esteen 6,416 20.80% (-.29)
24TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Alex Lee 14,214 39.5% (-.40)
Bob Brunton 7,731 21.5% (-.30)
Kansen Chu 6,639 18.5% (+.40)
Teresa Keng 4,141 11.5% (+.50)
Lan Diep 3,224 9.0% (-.10)
ALAMEDA-MEASURE B (Alameda USD facilities bond measure)
YES 4,414 53.51% (-.40) (55% to pass)
NO 3,835 46.49% (+.40)
OAKLAND-MEASURE (Library parcel tax)
YES 23,488 80.54% (+.15) (66.7% to pass)
NO 5,676 19.61% (-.15)
POSSIBLE NOVEMBER REMATCHES AT THIS MOMENT
ALCO SHERIFF: Sanchez vs. Ahern
ALCO DA: Price vs. Wiley
ALCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS-DIST. 3: Kaplan vs. Tam
AD20: Ortega vs. Kumagai
AD24: Lee vs. Brunton
SD10: Mei vs. Wahab
CA12: Lee vs. Slauson
CA15: Swalwell vs. Hayden
CA17: Khanna vs. Tandon
PRIMARY NIGHT ROUNDUP
—San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo’s yard signs over the past six years are about as ubiquitous in The ‘Dro as Ricky’s Sports Bar, potholes, and the stench emanating from the Davis Street Dumps. (Sorry, the Davis Street Resource Recovery Complex and Transfer Station.)
—Azevedo’s signs touting his mayoral campaign this fall have littered San Leandro for about a year, a scene that has annoyed San Leandro politicos and some residents. But within a local electorate clearly not energized by the most recent primary, low-information voters in San Leandro who did vote found themselves confused by Azevedo’s premature mayoral campaign.
—According to a Facebook posting by Azevedo on Tuesday afternoon, some San Leandro voters wondered why they couldn’t locate his name on the primary election ballot. Spoiler alert! It’s because he will be on the November ballot.
—VICTORY LAP—Tuesday night’s paltry release of early election returns in Alameda County provided few definitive results, but they did give some candidates a strong indicator that their campaigns are likely advancing to the November ballot.
—“Heading to November in first-place!” Alameda County sheriff’s candidate Yesenia Sanchez tweeted. “It is obvious by the combined anti-Ahern vote of 63.6% that Alameda County is demanding change. I am that change! We have a long road ahead, but thank you to all who have helped me get this far.”
—The likely first-place winner in the 20th Assembly District primary, Democrat Liz Ortega, said of Tuesday night, “This victory is a victory for every one of you – and countless other working families—who expect and demand that the status quo be challenged to provide us with the help and support we need.”
—Also, in the 20th District, Democrat Shawn Kumagai, who only leads third-place Republican Joe Grcar, by percentage points for the second spot in the general election, said, “As we look forward to the general election, I want to extend my deepest thanks to every one of our supporters who worked so hard to make this result possible.”
—DO THE VALLE—Several Alameda County officials ran unopposed in the primary, meaning they registered victorious results typically seen by Central American strongmen. Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle in District 2 is one of the 100 percenters. I happened to run across this Tik Tok video this morning of an individual with a striking resemblance to Valle getting his groove on.
COUNTY NEWS
—NEW DIGS FOR SIMON—BART Board Director Lateefah Simon is moving to Emeryville so she can again live within her district’s boundaries. Simon told the East Bay Times on Thursday that she broke her lease in Oakland in order to maintain residency in District 7.
—Recall earlier this year that BART officials learned that Simon’s new residence was just outside her district’s boundaries. BART officials removed Simon from the board, but it was later found officials did so within taking appropriate steps.