A tightening race for the District 3 Redwood City Council seat, with mayoral implications on the line, went from a four-vote margin to a nine-vote margin in Isabella Chu’s favor over incumbent Lissette Espinoza Garnica, according to results released Friday.
Around 500 ballots remain throughout the county, in addition to around 1,361 challenged ballots. Espinoza Garnica is vice mayor and next in line to be mayor. Elmer Martínez Saballos ran unopposed for District 4, and would be next in line to be mayor should Espinoza Garnica lose this election.
While the Nov. 22 margin remains tight, it is the first increase in the spread since election night.
As the first ballot counts were released Nov. 5, Chu was ahead of Espinoza Garnica by 68 votes, and that lead consistently shrunk with each update by the San Mateo County Elections Office, until now. On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Chu only led by four votes.
The close race indicates a discrepancy in voters who want a more progressive representative of the community and those who want, what Chu described herself as, a practical candidate.
Chu ran her campaign on making sure local government focuses on local issues.
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“Redwood City has an excellent City Council and a lot of terrific things are happening in this city, but I feel like I could be much more effective in implementing a lot of the practical improvements that recent changes have brought about,” Chu said previously.
A defining difference between Chu and Espinoza Garnica is their approach to public safety.
The vice mayor describes themself as a democratic socialist and has consistently voted against any measures funding the police and believes the city needs to “make drastic changes to address over-policing and the root causes of harm” according to their campaign website.
Chu believes the police are a necessary component of public safety.
The other three Redwood City races have winners, with Mayor Jeff Gee and Martínez Saballos running uncontested in their respective district and a third race in District 7 ending with a concession from Diana Reddy. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Marcella Padilla is taking the seat.
The next update will be before 4:30 p.m. Nov. 26. Finalized results in races throughout the county will be posted Dec. 5
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(1) comment
apparently "progressive" means not standing for the pledge.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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