Political newcomer Mariela Ponce, who did minimal campaigning and didn’t even have an election page, was ahead in the race for Stockton City Council District 2, according to preliminary election results Wednesday morning.
District 2 is located in the North Stockton area and is currently represented by Councilmember Dan Wright, who is vying for a chance to become Stockton’s mayor.
As of 9:39 a.m. Wednesday, Ponce held 923 votes at 39.26 percent of the vote with her and opponent Anthony Silva separated by 375 votes.
Opponents in the race include Silva who is Stockton’s former mayor, county technology manager Waqar Rizvi and Pamela Pettis-Houston.
Unofficial results showed Silva with 548 votes, with 23.31 percent with Rizvi trailing close behind at 536 votes with 22.80 percent.
Houston had 344 votes with 14.63 percent of the vote.
During the election season, Silva and Rizvi spoke at election forums and told voters what they would do if elected.
Although Ponce currently holds a lead she did not appear at forums, didn’t have a candidate page, and not much information could be found online about her. Attempts to reach her by phone were not successful.
Stockton’s election process states that to be elected as councilmember, a candidate nominated from a council district must receive the majority of votes cast by voters of that district in the primary election. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff will be held in November general election.
Ponce could be headed to the November election but it is still a close race to see if Rizvi or Silva will be joining her.
A ‘conflict of interest’ for Silva
Silva said at a forum that month that he was known by the community as the people’s mayor since he served from 2013-17, was the CEO of the Stockton Kids Club — a nonprofit organization — and was president of the Stockton Unified School District board.
During that time Silva was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on suspicion of committing financial crimes, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Prior to the arrest, a search warrant was served at his home as well as the Stockton Kids Club and he was charged with money laundering, embezzlement by a public officer and grand theft. The year before, he was also arrested on suspicion of recording a confidential conversation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conflict of interest as part of a plea deal.
“The conflict of interest related to Silva’s position as the Mayor of Stockton — while Mayor, he caused a disbursement of city funds to an organization he controlled,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Judge Charlotte Orcutt sentenced Silva to 90 days in county jail and ordered him to pay $19,783.69 in restitution.
Rizvi is also a familiar face to the city.
He attended San Joaquin Delta College and is on the Stockton’s planning commission.
In 2016, he ran for the same City Council position but did not win.
Election results can be found here.
