Full plate for new mayor in Stockton

STOCKTON -- Challenger Anthony Silva won the race for Stockton mayor over incumbent Ann Johnston late Tuesday, signaling that residents could be hungry for change in a city beset by bankruptcy and a record number of murders.

With tens of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots still to count, Silva had taken 58 percent of the votes over Johnston's 42 percent.

Silva, 38, is president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton. He vowed not to take a paycheck until he balanced the city budget and restored a police presence large enough to calm the violence.

Stockton has nearly 300,000 residents. Silva will take the lead of the largest city in the nation to have declared bankruptcy, even before it has successfully proved it is eligible for Chapter 9 protection. Stockton in October surpassed the highest number of homicides in its history and ranks high nationally in its foreclosure and unemployment rates.

Johnston, 70, a businesswoman, was on the City Council from 1995 to 2003 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2004 before winning in 2008. Her son, Eric Johnston, is publisher of The Modesto Bee.