Sylvia Arenas has taken an early lead in the race to succeed termed-out Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman, while on the Peninsula, Charles Stone and Ray Mueller have emerged as the top vote-getters for two seats on San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors, according to early election results.
With 48% of the 177,927 expected votes counted, Arenas was leading Johnny Khamis by a narrow margin. In the San Mateo County race, Stone and Noelia Corzo were neck to neck for the District 2 seat while Mueller was slightly ahead of Laura Parmer-Lohan for the District 3 seat.
San Mateo County Sheriff candidate Christina Corpus was holding a slight lead over incumbent Carlos Bolanos.
In the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s race, incumbent Jeff Rosen was well ahead of challengers Sajid Khan and Daniel Chung.
Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone was handily beating his only opponent, Andrew Crockett.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – June 07: While a voter watches from inside the car, a Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters’ election worker, Demetria Ruiz, puts the ballot into the ballot box for the voter at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters in San Jose, Calif., on June 7, 2022. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
To win outright in those races and avoid a runoff, a candidate must collect more than 50% of the vote.
Measure A, a countywide proposal to extend the term limits of Santa Clara Valley Water District board members from three- to four-year terms, was winning handily with more than 50% of the vote.
In Santa Clara County, the candidates besides Arenas and Khamis are Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine, Santa Clara County Education board member Claudia Rossi and former political staffer Denelle Fedor.
“It’s still early, and I always approach early returns with a grain of salt, but I’m deeply honored to see these strong early returns,” Arenas said in a statement. “Santa Clara families need someone who will always fight for them, and right now I’m hopeful to have that opportunity.”
Arenas is a San Jose councilmember and progressive who is backed by labor interests. If Arenas ends up as supervisor, it would tilt the ideological scales of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for the area’s progressive wing.
Khamis, a conservative, said he was proud of the work his campaign has done so far.
“We wanted to be number one but we’re in the top two,” the former San Jose city councilmember said. “I believe the numbers will only improve over time.”
District 1, which covers the southeastern portion of Santa Clara County that includes Morgan Hill, Gilroy and large stretches of unincorporated land, has been held by conservatives for the last two decades.
The race for Santa Clara County district attorney appears to already be over, with three-term incumbent Rosen garnering about 60% of votes from the initial returns Tuesday night.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – June 07: Jose Medeiros of San Jose talks with this news organization at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters in San Jose, Calif., on June 7, 2022. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Larry Stone, who has held his seat for almost 30 years, faced only Crockett, a certified accountant, after Silicon Valley entrepreneur Gary Kremen dropped out of the race in late February when misconduct allegations against him surfaced.
“I think this is more an indication of the people who work for me than it is me,” said Stone. “I have a wonderful staff that makes me look better than I deserve.”
In San Mateo County, seven candidates are fighting for two open seats on the Board of Supervisors after longtime members Don Horsley and Carole Groom were termed out this year.
Since 2010, Horsley, who is currently the board’s president, has represented the massive District 3, which encompasses mostly open space, coastside communities, affluent suburbs and unincorporated rural areas. Groom has represented the bayside communities of San Mateo, Foster City and Belmont.
The four candidates vying for Horsley’s District 3 seat are San Carlos councilwoman Parmer-Lohan, workers’ rights advocate and labor union political director Steven Booker, San Mateo County Harbor District Board Commissioner Virginia Chang Kiraly and Menlo Park Councilman Mueller.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the voters and the supporters who helped during this campaign,” said Mueller. “I’m excited to get back to work for the general election.”
Parmer-Lohan said she was “excited with how the vote” was trending.
“I’m looking forward to further election updates,” she said. “I’m very pleased with where we stand right now. We’ve run a positive campaign on my vision to address climate change.”
San Mateo-Foster City Schools Trustee Corzo, San Mateo resident and investigator Cameron Rolfe and Belmont Councilman Stone are battling to win Groom’s District 2 seat.
“Thrilled to be in first place after the first results have been announced and looking forward to seeing the rest of the results roll in,” said Stone.
Corzo said she was “feeling great.”
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“I’m very hopeful that we will go on to a run-off,” she said. “Seeing these results is amazing.”
The race for the San Mateo County sheriff’s seat, held by Bolanos since 2016, comes as Bay Area residents continue to scrutinize law enforcement amid a national conversation on the role of the police.
San Mateo County Sheriff’s captain Corpus is trying to unseat her boss on a platform of reforming a department that has long been tinged with controversy. If elected, she would become the first woman sheriff in the county’s history and the first Latina sheriff in California.
Bolanos says he plans to significantly expand Sheriff’s Department services and build a new headquarters. He’s been criticized by some residents for working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and for being detained outside a brothel in Las Vegas in 2007.