Election: County DA race tight for runoff; bridge toll hike poised to pass

Contra Costa County appears poised for two runoff elections for countywide seats after the district attorney and superintendent of schools contests saw no candidate receive the required 50%-plus voter support required to win the office outright in the primary, according to semi-official election results reported early Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the Bay Area-wide bridge toll increase proposal is on track to pass while local incumbents for Congress, State Assembly and assessor finished comfortably ahead on Election Night.

In one of the closest races possible, interim District Attorney Diana Becton finished Election Night with 49.59% of the vote, or 51,522 votes overall with all Contra Costa precincts reporting.

Becton, a retired local judge who was appointed as DA by the Board of Supervisors in September, needed 50% of the vote to win a full four-year term outright in the primary — coming up 423 votes short based on current voter turnout.

If the Election Night percentages hold true after all outstanding ballots are counting in the coming days, Becton will face senior deputy DA Paul Graves in the November general election.

Graves received 42.06% of the vote in the primary while the third candidate, attorney Lawrence Strauss, earned 8.2%. There were also 147 write-in votes.

The race to replace retiring Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Karen Sakata is also headed to a a runoff in November with deputy superintendent Lynn Mackey (45.13%) and Mt. Diablo school board member Cheryl Hansen (30.43%) finishing in the top two slots.

Concord City Councilman Ronald Leone ended the night in last place at 24.12%.

In other county elections, Auditor-Controller Robert Campbell (79.84%) won re-election over challenger Ayore Riaunda (19.88%).

Winning re-election while uncontested on the ballot were Assessor Gus S. Kramer, Clerk-Recorder Joseph Canciamilla, Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston and Treasurer-Tax Collector Russell V. Watts.

Regional Measure 3, the proposed bridge toll increase on the ballot in all nine Bay Area counties, was poised to pass on Election Night.

The measure needed approval from a majority of voters across the Bay Area, though the totals were still coming in, the measure was ahead in most of the nine counties, carried by strong support of 60%-plus in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.

It received on 43.93% support in Contra Costa County.

For the 15th Congressional District which includes San Ramon, incumbent U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) stood comfortably in first place with 69.2% of the vote as of 12:30 a.m., with 61.7% of precincts reporting.

Three-term incumbent Swalwell will face Rudy Peters, a Republican from Livermore, in the general election. Peters was second with 27.7%, well ahead of third-place Pleasanton resident Brendan St. John (3.1%), who ran without party preference.

For the 11th Congressional District which includes Danville and Alamo, two-term incumbent Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) ended Election Night easily ahead with 66.8%, with all precincts reporting.

DeSaulnier will face Republican small business owner John Fitzgerald in a runoff in November after Fitzgerald finished second in the primary with 24.82%.

In third was Democrat transportation manager and advocate Dennis Lytton (5.4%) and in last was civil engineer Chris Wood (3.13%), who listed no party preference.

Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) stood ahead on Election Night too with 58.3% over challenger Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) with 41.7% — with 67.5% of precincts reporting as of 12:30 a.m.

But because Baker and Bauer-Kahan were the only candidates in the primary election, they will automatically move on to face each other on the November ballot.

Contra Costa County election officials reported overall turnout was 20.74% as of Election Night, with 124,874 of the 602,171 registered voters casting a ballot.

The semi-official election results include early vote-by-mail tallies and totals reported by 100% of the precincts on Election Night.

The election percentages will likely change as final vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots and other ballots are processed, according to the California Secretary of State. Depending on the volume of these types of ballots, it may take up to 28 days for county elections officials to verify voter records and determine if ballots have been cast by eligible voters.

County elections officials must report their final results to the Secretary of State by July 6.