Early Modesto election returns show Marsh leading for mayor, tax failing

Voters in the Northern San Joaquin Valley had some important decisions to make Tuesday, with mayoral, school board and council seats on the line as well as measures governing taxes and growth.

In the earliest returns, marking absentee ballots, Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh led the field with 40 percent of the vote. Marsh likely will face a runoff with one of his four challengers: former planning commissioner and architect Ted Brandvold, just behind him with 29 percent of the vote; Councilman Dave Lopez at 20 percent; former Mayor Carmen Sabatino at 9.6 percent; and Armando Arreola, a 52-year-old unemployed man who had 1 percent of the vote.

If no candidate gets at least 50 percent plus one from the vote Tuesday, then there will be a Feb. 2 runoff between the top two vote-getters.

Modestans also seemed unsold on Measure G, a one-half percent general sales tax that city officials said would be spent primarily on public safety, such as hiring police officers, and efforts to strengthen neighborhoods. Absentee ballots showed the measure failing, with only 46 percent voting in favor.

It was expected to bring in $14 million annually to the city’s general fund over its eight-year life. As a general tax, it required a simple majority to pass.

It comes on the heels of Measure X, the 1 percent general sales tax Modesto put on the ballot in November 2013. That tax failed after garnering 49 percent of the vote.

As usual in an off-year election, turnout was expected to be light. Modesto resident Wayne Bridegroom was among those casting a vote.

Bridegroom, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Modesto, said he’s missed “very, very few” elections in all his years as a voter. “I just feel like it’s a civic responsibility. If we’re going to operate as a true democracy, then people need to get out and vote

“I’m one-on-one with the billionaires in this country when I vote. That’s the only time I’m one-on-one with them, so therefore I vote.”

Turnout at the polls was light Tuesday morning, said Lee Lundrigan, Stanislaus County clerk recorder and registrar of voters. Also, her office had received fewer vote-by-mail ballots than it usually does.

Voting was “moving along nicely,” she said in the early afternoon. That’s typically the case in off-year elections, she added. During statewide and federal elections, Lundrigan said, many voters turn out for just the big races, then fill out the ballot just to fill it out. Election workers can tell this because those voters often follow patterns, such as checking the top box in each race, or repeating first box, second box, third box.

“But in this type of election, the voters are experienced, they get in there and do what they’re supposed to. … That is one of the primary reasons I think this election is so vitally important. It’s so unique to be able to vote for and focus on only the local candidates and issues rather than having them get lost in the news of the big candidates.”

After exiting the polls at Standiford Place, voter Roger Ringsted said he is disappointed by the low turnout in off years. “It’s a shame, because all of these issues are local and important to the city. It’s unfortunate more people don’t turn out for these,” he said.

Asked if there was a particular race or measure on the ballot that he was passionate about, he answered Measure I, the city of Modesto’s “Stamp Out Sprawl” measure.

Early returns showed Measure I running very tight, with 50.45 percent in favor and 49.55 percent against.

Measure I was placed on the ballot through a voter petition drive and would place an urban growth boundary around three sides of Modesto. It would require a citywide vote before development could occur beyond the boundary. There would be no boundary along Claus Road in east Modesto. Measure I proponents say it would protect prime farmland while allowing for development on lesser soils.

“My wife and I both voted yes on I,” Ringsted said. “We’re very dedicated to trying to preserve the farmland around Modesto and throughout the state. I was in farming-related businesses for 38 years, so I understand the importance of trying to preserve that. California is big in agriculture and we want that to continue.”

In very early results for the Modesto City Schools board race, dissatisfaction with state testing and standards appeared to have helped a challenger push ahead.

With only absentee votes counted, incumbent Amy Neumann held a commanding lead and veteran trustee Steve Grenbeaux appeared likely to hold his seat. For the third seat, John Walker held a slim 358-vote advantage over Chad Brown with 46 percent of the vote counted.

In Ceres, council members Bret Durossette and Mike Kline had big leads over challengers Don Cool and Gene Yeakley with 48 percent of precincts reporting. The incumbents each had about 38 percent of the vote to 15 percent for Cool and 8 percent for Yeakley.

Voters in the Oakdale Irrigation District seemed to be seeking new representation; challengers Linda Santos and Gail Altieri had hefty leads over incumbents Al Bairos Jr. and Frank Clark. Gary Osmundson, an incumbent recently appointed to the board, was winning handily over challenger Daniel Medina, who didn’t mount much of a campaign.

For more election results, call 209-578-3333.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Early Modesto election returns show Marsh leading for mayor, tax failing."