A judge in San Joaquin County Superior court ruled on Wednesday that two candidates who had been disqualified from running for Stockton City Council will in fact be on the ballot.
Former Councilman Ralph Lee White in District 6 and health worker Mariela Ponce in District 2 had their candidacies reinstate by Judge Jayne Lee. Both will compete in the March 5 primaries.
“Now, I work like hell to win,” said White, 80, who served on the city council for 16 years (1971-87) and has run for multiple offices over the years. “I’m not here just to run for fun. I’ve been registered to vote longer than any of my opponents have been alive.”
White stated that he was also awarded attorney fees for an amount yet to be determined. He will compete against against incumbent Kimberly Warmsley, businessman Jason Lee and Zoyla Moreno, Satnam Singh and Ronnie Murray in the primary. The 6th District encompasses most of South Stockton.
White and Ponce sued the City of Stockton and San Joaquin County to be put on the ballot. White filed suit after being informed he did not have enough valid signatures to qualify.
To qualify to run for the city council or Mayor, the Stockton City Charter states “nominating papers for candidates for the City Council and Mayor shall be signed by not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty-five (25) persons. White said he filed his paperwork, along with the 10 signatures, in late November, several days ahead of the December 8 deadline. According to White, he was informed 25 minutes before the deadline on Dec. 8 that three of his signatures were not valid.
On Friday, County Registrar of Voters Olivia Hale said the county would not contend his legal challenge.
City Clerk Eliza Garza released a statement to Stocktonia saying “Ponce was initially disqualified because her district verification came back with the status of ‘Not Registered Voter,’ which later was determined to be inaccurate.”
Attempts to contact Ponce were unsuccessful. She will compete for the midtown District 2 seat with Pamela Pettis-Houston, Waqar Rizvi and former mayor Anthony Silva.