Voters shake up Patterson City Council

Mayor Luis Molina easily captured a third term Tuesday in an election that held mixed results for other Patterson City Council members.

Council challenger Dennis McCord was leading a crowded race for two council seats, according to unofficial returns as of 1:22 a.m. Wednesday. Incumbent Deborah Novelli appeared to hold onto her seat, but Larry Buehner is likely to lose his when all votes are tallied.

In the mayor’s race, first-time candidate Ralph Arredondo finished behind Molina but ahead of Dominic Farinha and Sheree Lustgarten, both council members trying to unseat the mayor. They will remain on the council because both are in the middle of four-year terms.

Molina captured 46.4 percent of the vote. Arredondo and Farinha received 22.8 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively, while Lustgarten trailed far behind with 10.9 percent.

Two years ago, McCord narrowly missed winning a council seat when he received eight votes fewer than Lustgarten. He took no chances this time, campaigning enthusiastically in the past couple of weeks with a series of house parties and an energetic social media push. “My Facebook page was going nuts,” he said Tuesday.

McCord topped the field with 25.5 percent, and Novelli was grasping the second seat with 23.5 percent. Buehner, who was appointed to fill a vacancy nearly four years ago but has never won an election, trailed with 15.8 percent. Political novice John Stobb took home 12.3 percent, while Carlos Gustavo Fierros, who ran unsuccessfully in 2012, obtained 13.7 percent.

Troy McMahan cited health reasons when he stopped campaigning several weeks ago, too late to remove his name from the ballot; he received 8.8 percent.

With a combined 10 candidates, both the mayoral and council races attracted more office seekers than other elections in at least the past decade. The campaign season also was unusual because all five sitting council members were listed as candidates; despite three losing on Tuesday, all except Buehner will return to their seats.

Molina relied on name recognition and an effective fundraising machine. He shrugged off notions of mutiny Tuesday but said it wasn’t clear why Farinha and Lustgarten came after him.

“The city’s not burning down. We’re not in bankruptcy,” the mayor said. “Maybe they don’t like me personally. I’m not sure. But you’ve got to outwork us (to win), and we’re going to work hard.”

Farinha had said he was a stronger candidate because of his eight years on the council, compared to Molina’s four. Lustgarten portrayed herself as standing alone in her desire to hike development fees to pay for more services, including additional police officers.

Novelli and Buehner were viewed as establishment candidates but did not campaign together.

Most candidates cited public safety as the city’s top concern, noting a troubling string of robberies presumably resolved with the arrest of a 37-year-old parolee on Friday.

This story was originally published November 4, 2014 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Voters shake up Patterson City Council."