Hollywood entertainer and Stockton native Jason Lee and Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley could be headed to a November runoff election for the District 6 seat on the Stockton City Council, according to preliminary results from Tuesday’s election.
Warmsley was running to keep her seat against challengers Lee, Ralph White, Satnam Singh, Ronnie Murray Sr. and Zobeyda “Zoyla” Moreno to represent the district located in the south Stockton area.
As of the initial results released in the hours after polls closed at 8 p.m., Lee had the lead at 37.98 percent with 730 votes, while Warmsley trailed behind at 615 votes with 32 percent.
White, Moreno, Singh, and Murray each held between about 6-8 percent of the votes.
| Candidate Name | Total Votes | Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JASON LEE | 730 | 37.98% | |||
| KIMBERLY WARMSLEY | 615 | 32.00% | |||
| RALPH L. WHITE | 157 | 8.17% | |||
| ZOBEYDA “ZOYLA” MORENO | 151 | 7.86% | |||
| SATNAM SINGH | 147 | 7.65% | |||
| RONNIE C. MURRAY SR. | 122 | 6.35% |
To be elected as a councilmember in Stockton, a candidate must receive the majority of all votes cast in that district in the primary election. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff election will be held at the general election in November with the top two vote-getters.
During election season, some voters questioned why Lee wanted to come back to Stockton and some questioned if he lived in the area.
Lee said at an election forum that he saw opportunities to help the youth in the area and, months prior to his election announcement, wrote on social media about being a Stockton resident for the past few years.
Warmsley, on the other hand, has been serving on the City Council for the last three years and said she intended to continue her progress if reelected.
Election result updates can be found online.
Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.
