A week after the first Election Night results in the East Bay were posted at least five races remain too-close-to-call, and another for curiosity sake. About 75,000 ballots remain uncounted in Alameda County Wednesday afternoon, while another 108,000 are still outstanding in Contra Costa County.
The 16th Assembly District contest that overlaps the two counties in the Walnut Creek and Tri-Valley area continues to shock. Incumbent Republican Assemblymember Catharine Baker’s lead over Democratic first-time candidate Rebecca Bauer-Kahan continues to dwindle, dropping to 339 votes Tuesday night.
The race is clearly trending toward Bauer-Kahan. The possibility of a monumental upset in the East Bay assembly race is buoyed by the fact Bauer-Kahan is gaining in Alameda County, the portion of the district, that has favored Baker thus far in the count. Contra Costa County, which showed Bauer-Kahan with a slight lead, has not released an update since last Friday. New results are scheduled to be released this Friday.
>16th Assembly District
*BAKER (83,813) 50.1%
BAUER-KAHAN (83,474) 49.9%
Fremont’s District 4 City Council race continues to be the most topsy-turvy in the entire county. A fourth lead change since Election Night occurred Tuesday night when Fremont school board member Yang Shao erased a four-vote deficit with Niles community leader Robert Daulton. Shao now leads by 211 votes.
>Fremont City Council D4
SHAO (2,410) 25.95%
DAULTON (2,199) 23.68%
STECKLER 17.05%
SHA 16.62%
WATANUKI 16.48%
Over in San Leandro, Councilmember Lee Thomas’s re-election in District 3 remains on life support. San Leandro school board member Victor Aguilar, Jr.’s lead over Thomas in the head-to-head matchup dropped slightly to 262 votes.
Aguilar, Jr. still appears to be in the driver’s seat despite consistently losing ground to Thomas since the initial vote count on Nov. 6. Aguilar has received 9,185 votes, or 50.35 percent, to Thomas’s 8,923, or 48.92 percent.
If the result holds, it would amount to a stunning upset during an election season in San Leandro where voters overwhelmingly supported the three other council incumbents on the ballot. Aguilar, Jr. would also become the first openly gay councilmember in the city’s history.
>San Leandro City Council D3
AGUILAR JR. (9,185) 50.35%
*THOMAS (8,923) 48.92%
In Union City, Councilmember Emily Duncan won re-election, in addition, to Human Relations Commission chair Jaime Patiño. The third at-large seat remains too-close-to-call between Councilmembers Pat Gacoscos and Lorrin Ellis.
Over the past few days, however, the race appears to be trending slightly toward Gacoscos. An update Tuesday increased Gacoscos’ lead to 70 votes.
>Union City Council (3 seats)
*DUNCAN 21.85%
PATIÑO 15.44%
*GACOSCOS (4,968) 13.46%
*ELLIS (4,898) 13.27%
BAJWA 12.32%
MOJADEDI 8.43%
GUIO 7.69%
WHATLEY-ZEPEDA 7.10%
A similar situation exists in Alameda where Councilmember Jim Oddie appears close to hanging on to his seat on the Alameda City Council. Although only two open seats were available this election, Oddie, who sits in third with a growing 450-vote lead over attorney Robert Matz, is nonetheless closing in on re-election.
That’s because a third seat opened up after Councilmember Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft won the mayoral election. Under the city’s charter, the remaining two years of Ezzy Ashcraft’s council term is served out by the third-place finisher in the most recent election. It also means Oddie will have to run for re-election in two years, not four.
>Alameda City Council (3 seats)
KNOX WHITE 25.88%
DAYSOG 22.92%
*ODDIE (8,984) 19.25%
MATZ (8,534) 18.29%
CHEN 13.35%
Less consequential, although noteworthy, in Hayward Councilmember Sara Lamnin and Aisha Wahab are assured of winning the two available seats on the City Council. On Monday, the results showed Wahab had pulled into a tie with Lamnin. Following a trend in the pattern of updates since last week, Wahab overtook Lamnin Tuesday as the top vote-getter. Wahab, who will become the Bay Area’s first Afghan American elected official, leads by 73 votes.
>Hayward City Council (2 seats)
WAHAB (11,538) 26.37%
*LAMNIN (11,465) 26.21%
*PEIXOTO 18.21%
FERREIRA 9.61%
J.RAMOS 8.27%
D.RAMOS 6.68%
FIELDS 4.06%
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