District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar stated she is not conceding her bid for a third term as San Joaquin County District Attorney. However she stated on Wednesday that it was a great honor to serve the county for past eight years
Challenger Ron Freitas has 22,881 votes (54.08 percent) to Verber Salazar’s 19,427 (45.92). The primary elections were held on June 7, but the count has been slowed considerably because scanning machines found hundreds of slightly smeared barcodes.
The San Joaquin County Registrar’s office dropped a healthy dose of election returns on Tuesday night. But they are still a long ways from finishing the count. In one of the marquee races of the Jun 7 primary, challenger Ron Freitas has 22,881 votes (54 percent) to Verber Salazar’s 19,427 (46 percent).
And Ron Freitas (54 percent) leads SJC incumbent District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar (46 percent).
In response to an inquiry about the results from Stocktonia News Service, Verber Salazar sent a text message discussing her two terms in office.
“I’m truly grateful to the community for eight amazing years of building community trust, victim-centered healing, a family justice center, tripling victim services and holding those who cause harm accountable,” Verber Salazar wrote said. “All I can say is thank you for a wonderful honor.”
The county announced that 54,468 of the approximately 134,000 votes cast have been tabulated. Officials must now count the marred ballots by hand instead of running them quickly through the machines.
California state law stipulates that all ballots must be counted and reported July 7. In the meantime, Candidates and their supporters are forced to wait out the process before results indicate winners, though some have more reason to be optimistic than others.
Michael Blower has a more than 40 point lead in the race for Stockton City Council District 3, with at least 1,500 votes over his opponents. But there’s too many ballots outstanding to make an official pronouncement.
“I feel good having 67 percent of the vote, but I’ll feel a whole better when all the votes are counted,” Blower said. “From what I’m hearing, I think (the county workers) are honestly doing everything they can to handle the situation.”
City Councilmember Paul Canepa is currently leading the field in his bid to represent San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors District 2 at 42% of the vote. If votes keep trending in the same direction, Canepa will face off with former Stockton Vice Mayor Elbert Holman Jr. (27%) in November.
“You just have to be patient,” Canepa said. “You want them to do their due diligence. You want them to get it right.”
However, little has changed in two of the election’s biggest primary race. Democratic incumbent Congressman Josh Harder (40 percent) and Republican Tom Patti (27 percent) appear to be headed for an unsurprising showdown in November for California’s 9th Congressional District.
The Registrar of Voters will release another round of election next Tuesday. For current race tallies, go to the county’s Registrar of Voters results page.
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