Riverbank sticks with incumbent City Council members
Incumbent City Council members Leanne Jones Cruz and Cal Campbell on Tuesday won four-year terms on Riverbank’s once-turbulent council, according to unofficial results reported by the county elections office Wednesday morning.
Small-business owner Larry King, who had self-funded his campaign, lagged behind in third place.
With 10 out of 10 precincts reporting, Campbell had 38.4 percent of the vote, Jones Cruz had 35.1 percent and King had 25.5 percent.
Campbell, a retired educator, first won his seat 17 months ago in a special election. Jones Cruz, a special education teacher, had been appointed to her council seat 12 months ago.
Both incumbents praised Riverbank’s current leadership for its ability to work together.
“We’ve got a City Council that has some goals in mind to get our city back on track,” Jones Cruz assured Tuesday night. “It will be nice to have a fully functioning council that’s moving forward in Riverbank’s best interest.”
Campbell voiced similar sentiments.
“We’ve got some big jobs ahead of us,” Campbell acknowledged. Having been in office for only a short time, Campbell said he’s glad to have four more years to focus on solutions. “I just really got my feet wet.”
The incumbents endorsed each other, while King ran a low-key independent campaign.
King’s biggest gripe about Riverbank’s current council was that virtually every action it takes passes unanimously. He questioned the wisdom of electing “five separate people who all agree.”
That hasn’t always been the case for that council, which has been in a nearly constant state of flux for most of the past decade.
Numerous council members have resigned for various reasons, and others were voted out of office after assorted controversies.
Jones Cruz was appointed to replace Dotty Nygard in September 2013. Campbell got into office in June 2013 to fill the council opening created when Richard O’Brien took over as mayor.
Bee staff writer J.N. Sbranti can be reached at jnsbranti@modbee.com or (209) 578-2196.
This story was originally published November 4, 2014 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Riverbank sticks with incumbent City Council members."