A tight race to represent San Mateo County’s District 2 appears to have come to an end with Noelia Corzo becoming the first Latina official to sit on the Board of Supervisors and her opponent, Councilmember Charles Stone, conceding.
“My election is a historic win, as the first Latina supervisor-elect and only woman that will serve on the dais for the next two years, it is a day for celebration. Our campaign reflected and celebrated our diverse community and the contributions that come from that diversity. That message resonated with a majority of District 2 voters,” Corzo said in a statement Thursday. “This is significant for the Latino community. We can now see ourselves reflected in the leadership — that someone that sounds like us, looks like us, lives like us, will now represent them. And, it’s significant for all communities because we’re all interconnected.”
Corzo and Stone have been neck and neck in their bid to represent District 2, an area made up of San Mateo, Foster City and part of Belmont, but since Election Day, Corzo’s lead over Stone has steadily grown. In District 3, Menlo Park Councilmember Ray Mueller has a commanding lead over San Carlos Councilmember Laura Parmer-Lohan.
As of Thursday, Corzo had received 20,586 votes, or 51.37% of the vote, to Stone’s 19,489 votes, or 48.63% of the vote, a separation of 1,097 votes, or 2.74%, according to a ballot update from the Elections Office.
A total of 232,495 ballots have been tabulated of the county’s 432,707 registered voters — 215,123 vote-by-mail ballots and 17,372 vote center ballots — a turnout of about 53.7% with about 17,000 ballots remaining to be counted.
Though the race remains tight and more ballots will be counted, Stone conceded the race to Corzo in an email he shared on social media. In his post, Stone thanked his supporters, the various political leaders who endorsed him and his daughters for backing his campaign. He also wished Corzo well in her new role and hinted at his plans to step away from elected office.
“I’ll be rooting for her because I already root for San Mateo County and she is now one of a handful of people entrusted with its future,” Stone said. “For the last decade, I’ve balanced being a dad, being a full-time lawyer, and being an elected official — and at times, a candidate. I’m looking forward to dedicating myself fully to only two of those roles very shortly.”
Corzo and Stone shared similar views on various issues affecting the region. Both advocated for hardening the county against the effects of climate change and reducing the area’s impact on the environment but neither took a firm stance on a tax the county was considering that would fund such initiatives.
Growing the county’s affordable housing stock, addressing public safety and inflation and improving education were also top shared issues. But Corzo also focused on the need for greater mental health support, pulling from her own experience of losing her brother to suicide, and highlighted the importance of female representation on the county board.
“The core message of our campaign is positive change. Positive change for all, especially the people experiencing the impacts of inflation, the lack of affordable housing and health care,” Corzo said. “I am ready to get to work for the people on day one, whether they voted for me or not.”
Her election maintains a 4-1 balance of men to women on the Board of Supervisors as she prepares to replace Carole Groom, who is being termed out. Mueller and Corzo will join supervisors Dave Pine, David Canepa and Warren Slocum on the board in January.
“You made your voice heard, and I will repeat what we’ve been saying all along — representation matters. It is at the heart of our democracy, and it’s a promise we’ve struggled to live up to,” Corzo said. “You have shown that, when we work together, we have the resources to take on any challenge, to overcome any obstacle, and to win. We have always had the strength, experience and vision that our county needs right here within our own community. Working together, we will make San Mateo County a better home for us all.”
The lead for San Mateo’s District 5 are solidifying with Adam Loraine receiving 3,466 votes, or 51.59%, to Linhares’ 3,252 votes, or 48.41%, for a differential of 214 votes. In District 3, Robert Newsom maintained his lead with 2,404 votes, or 46.15%, over Sarah Fields, with 2,185 votes, or 41.95%. Every indication has Loraine and Newsom winning their seats.
In Redwood City’s District 2 race for City Council, Chris Sturken has pulled ahead of Margaret Becker by 29 votes after trailing by a mere two earlier this week. On Monday, Becker had 877 votes, or 40.17%, to Sturken’s 875 votes, or 40.08%. On Tuesday, that became 898 votes, or 40.11%, for Becker, and 896, or 40.02% for Sturken. On Wednesday, Sturken had 929 votes, or 40.22%, to Becker’s 918 votes, or 39.74%. And on Thursday, Sturken had 962 votes, or 40.51%, to Becker’s 933 votes, or 39.28%.
In Foster City, Stacy Jimenez and Art Kiesel remain in the lead for two open seats on the Foster City Council. Incumbent Mayor Richa Awasthi is behind Kiesel for the second seat by 158 votes. That number went from 156 votes Monday to 109 Tuesday to 152 Wednesday. Jimenez has 4,770 votes, or 29.12%, Kiesel has 3,966 votes, or 24.21%, and Awasthi has 3,808 votes, or 23.25%. There are two open seats.
All results are according to semiofficial results from Thursday, Nov. 17, which included votes by mail received by Friday, Nov. 4, all ballots received at voting centers and a portion of vote-by-mail ballots received after Friday, Nov. 4. Later results will include additional votes received after Saturday, Nov. 5. Conditional voter registration or provisional ballots are not included in current results. Post-election results will be released before 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, Monday, Nov. 21, and Wednesday, Nov. 23. Results will be certified Dec. 8.
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