No red tidal wave here in Stanislaus County elections. But maybe a ripple
It’s a mixed bag for both sides here in Stanislaus County, early election returns suggest.
If the names Brian Dahle, Angela Jacobs, Rob Bernosky, Lanhee Chen, Jack Guerrero, Nathan Hochman and Robert Howell don’t sound terribly familiar to you, it’s because they aren’t. But most Stanislaus voters preferred these Republicans running for governor and other statewide offices over those who actually won.
This suggests that the red wave predicted to sweep over the entire country did so here, too. Right?
Well, not exactly. The national red wave turned out more like a ripple, and anyone searching for a clear local mandate isn’t finding one.
Though the Modesto Irrigation District board is nonpartisan, everyone knows that Janice Keating is a strong Republican and former party operative, while her opponent, Frank Damrell, was backed by blue unions and worked for a Democratic legislator. Keating is ahead in that Modesto-centric race, so score one for Modesto conservatives.
But anti-tax, anti-spend dogma did not win the day in the passage of Measure H, a 1% sales tax increase in Modesto — despite the measure competing for attention with a high schools bond, not to mention national focus on the economy and inflation, a conservative battle cry. So score one for Modesto progressives.
Two of the local Democratic party’s brightest stars — Assembly candidate Jessica Self and Waterford Councilwoman Lise Talbott — probably will lose, once all ballots are counted. Score another for Stanislaus conservatives.
But most Stanislaus voters embraced Proposition 1, the abortion initiative codifying women’s reproductive rights, by nearly 52%. That doesn’t match the statewide landslide in favor of Prop. 1, but it still suggests that Stanislaus voters aren’t in lockstep with the national Republican platform.
Congressional races are too close to call, except for the Fifth District, where the GOP’s Tom McClintock was expected from Day 1 to thump Democrat Mike Barkley, and did. Democrat Josh Harder will win in the Ninth District, while the red wave that failed to take shape nationally has left Republican John Duarte in limbo in his campaign against Democrat Adam Gray in the 13th District.
Races for the California Legislature representing this area tilted right, with Juan Alanis beating Self and the more conservative of two Democrats, Marie Alvarado-Gil, edging Tim Robertson in the Assembly.
So this remains truly a purple region, neither red nor blue, influenced but not determined by the vagaries of national political storms. The Modesto Bee Editorial Board continues to advocate for the middle, because that’s where most of us are.
Best wishes to winners
In races with no party involvement, congratulations to Modesto Councilman-elect Jeremiah Williams and to incumbent Cindy Marks of Modesto City Schools, as well as Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak.
Like I said, the MID board isn’t political by party definition, but it’s definitely political in the struggle for power between board members representing mostly farmers and those representing mostly city folk. And farming interests scored a huge victory Tuesday, retaking control of the board majority with the elections of growers Bob Frobose and John Boer, who will join Larry Byrd and Nick Blom.
That leaves Keating the only board member representing an urban constituency. Even if she remains true to the interests of electricity customers, her one vote won’t mean much against the other four. With Byrd pulling the strings again, expect significant changes in the district office.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 9:45 AM.
