West Sacramento early results: Who’s ahead for mayor, city council, Washington school board?
Election night is over, but races for West Sacramento mayor and City Council press on including a closely fought battle to determine who will represent the city’s 1st District.
Incumbent mayor Martha Guerrero faces challenger and West Sacramento city council member Dawnté Early for the two-year term. Guerrero and Early were two-fifths of the team that made history in 2022 when West Sacramento voted in an all-women city council for the first time.
The first batch of results showed Guerrero leading with 59% of the vote. Challenger Early stood at 41% in early returns Tuesday night but fewer than 10,000 votes had been counted by 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Guerrero slightly expanded her lead overnight, stretching her margin over the city’s mayor pro tem to a 60-40 advantage, with another ballot count set for Friday afternoon.
Another tranche of votes will be released 4 p.m. Friday, say elections officials.
Two other members of that history-making council are vying for re-election.
West Sacramento City Council races
In one of the region’s tighter races, incumbent Councilwoman Norma Alcala is in a dead heat with city parks Commissioner Emiliano Rojas for the seat in West Sacramento’s 1st District. In early results after polls closed Tuesday night, Alcala held a slight edge with 51% to Rojas’ 49% share. But by Wednesday, Alcala held a scant 15-vote lead over Rojas, 1,060 to 1,045, with 2,105 votes cast.
In the race to represent the city’s 2nd District, incumbent Councilwoman Quirina Orozco, a criminal prosecutor in the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, faces challenger and local labor leader Timothy Campbell. Campbell is president of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 18, the union that represents workers at the Port of West Sacramento.
The second round of results after polls closed Tuesday showed Orozco with 56% and Campbell at 44% with fewer than 1,500 votes counted. On Wednesday, Orozco maintained her lead by a 55%-45% advantage.
Washington Unified school board races
Two seats were up for grabs on the Washington Unified School District’s board of trustees, who oversee West Sacramento schools.
Jannette Hunt, a Washington Unified parent and finance specialist and Washington Unified parent and youth mentor Patrice Griffith are competing to represent the district’s Area 3.
Incumbent Washington Unified board trustee Cody Pizzotti did not file paperwork to run for another term.
Hunt had 54% and Griffith stood at 46% after polls closed Tuesday.
In the district’s Area 4, incumbent Jackie Thu-Huong was ahead of Washington Unified paraprofessional Eleanor Sanchez 60% to 40%. Sanchez had picked up a couple percentage points in late counting, but Thu-Huong maintained a 58%-42% lead Wednesday.
Measure O
West Sacramento voters are also deciding whether to impose a one-cent sales tax to fund roadway repair, pay for police and fire protection and address homelessness. The money would also be used to maintain the city’s parks, trails and pubic spaces. The tax would generate $20 million annually for general government use.
The tax measure led by 8 points after polls closed Tuesday, with 54% supporting the levy and 46% opposed. That lead held firm Wednesday with another batch of ballots to be released 4 p.m. Friday.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:52 PM.
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