San Joaquin County Local News

U.S. Rep. and Democrat Josh Harder was up more than 4,000 votes over Stockton Mayor and Republican Kevin Lincoln in the latest results from the three counties within the Central Valley congressional district up for grabs in Tuesday’s election.Harder, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, had 85,528 votes (51.2%) across the parts of San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties in District 9. That was 4,024 more than the 81,504 (48.8%) for Lincoln, who Stockton voters elected as mayor in 2020.The overwhelming majority of the votes counted as of Friday for Harder came from the county where the district had the most votes in San Joaquin, where he had 51.6% or 82,211 votes. That was 5,233 more in the county than Lincoln, who was favored in the small portions of Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties.Harder defeated incumbent Republican Jeff Dunham in 2018 and won his two subsequent elections to stay in Congress ahead of this year’s race. In 2022, he defeated San Joaquin County Supervisor and Republican Tom Patti, who in this week’s election was running to replace Lincoln as Stockton’s mayor but as of the county’s latest results was losing to former councilmember and Democrat Christina Fugazi.Lincoln in 2020 became Stockton’s mayor by defeating Michael Tubbs, a Democrat who was elected in 2016 as the city’s youngest and first Black mayor and championed universal basic income programs. A HBO documentary earlier in 2020 titled “Stockton on My Mind” followed Tubbs during his tenure as mayor.Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln speaks during a press conference about California Opioid Settlement Agreement Funding at Civic Auditorium in Stockton, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local)Tubbs after leaving office has been a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration as its special advisor for economic mobility and opportunity. He earlier this year launched a campaign for lieutenant governor in the 2026 election.The post Rep. Harder ahead of Stockton Mayor Lincoln in Central Valley congressional race appeared first on Local News Matters.

Former Stockton city councilmember Christina Fugazi remained ahead of San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti in the race to be the city’s next mayor, according to the latest results released by the county.Fugazi, a Democrat and Stagg High School assistant principal who previously served on the Stockton City Council from 2015 to 2022, had 29,045 votes or 53% of the total vote, according to the county’s latest unofficial results Friday evening.That was compared to 25,716 or 47% for Patti, a Republican who was first elected to the county Board of Supervisors in 2016 and lost in 2022 in his run for a Congress seat to incumbent U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Stockton.The current Stockton mayor, Republican Kevin Lincoln, did not run for re-election because he went up against Harder in Tuesday’s election for the District 9 Congress seat but was trailing by more than 4,000 votes as of the release of the latest vote counts Friday from San Joaquin County as well as parts of Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties that are also part of District 9.Stockton’s mayoral race became of national interest in the last election cycle following the release of the 2020 HBO documentary “Stockton on My Mind” that followed Lincoln’s predecessor Michael Tubbs, who was elected in 2016 as the city’s youngest and first Black mayor and championed universal basic income programs.Tubbs lost to Lincoln later in 2020 and has been a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration as its special advisor for economic mobility and opportunity. He earlier this year launched a campaign for lieutenant governor in the 2026 election.Tom Patti cheers for Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua who is about to speak during the 25th anniversary celebration for the Altamont Corridor Express Service in Stockton, Calif., on Jan. 24, 2024. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News)Fugazi and Patti received the two highest vote totals in the March primary that included four other people, but neither got a majority of the votes so the race went to a November runoff.The post Democrat Fugazi ahead of Republican Tom Patti in latest Stockton mayor race results appeared first on Local News Matters.

Hollywood news and gossip site founder Jason Lee appears to have won one of the three Stockton City Council seats being contested in Tuesday’s election, according to the latest results Friday from San Joaquin County election officials.Lee, founder of the site Hollywood Unlocked and a Stockton native, had 4,129 votes or about 56% of the total vote for the council’s District 6 seat in the south Stockton area compared to 3,250 or 44% for Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley.Lee, who has about 1.2 million followers on Instagram and about 3.6 million followers there for his Hollywood news outlet, has declared victory in a statement on social media.“Deeply honored to have earned the support and trust of my neighbors, the voters of my hometown, and you,” he wrote. “Now I begin the work of creating safer and stronger communities, improving our quality of life and charting our next chapter.”Stockton City Council candidate Jason Lee declares victory and thanks his supporters in a screenshot of his Instagram account on Nov. 8, 2024. (Screenshot via theonlyjasonlee/Instagram) In the two other Stockton City Council races, Mariela Ponce, a political newcomer who kept a low profile and didn’t attend any candidate forums during the primary election process this spring, nevertheless was popular enough in District 2 to receive 4,046 votes or nearly 60% of the vote compared to 2,737 or 40% for Stockton planning commissioner Waqar Rizvi.In District 4, Mario Enriquez was narrowly ahead of Gina Valadez-Bracamonte, 5,425 votes to 5,133 (51.4% to 48.6%), according to the latest results from the county Friday.Enriquez is a professor at University of the Pacific and director of its Center for Identity & Inclusion, which says on its website “strives to provide enriching educational opportunities toward understanding and integrating intercultural dialogue, conflict management, and identity development that advances student success and community engagement.”Valadez-Bracamonte founded Bread of Life, a nonprofit aiding struggling working families in Stockton that provides more than $3 million in grocery assistance each year, according to the nonprofit’s website.The post Lee declares victory in Stockton council race; Ponce and Enriquez also lead their districts appeared first on Local News Matters.