Early returns from Tuesday have Councilmember Claudia Jimenez narrowly leading Ahmad Anderson in Richmond’s mayoral race.
According to preliminary results published by Contra Costa County election officials, Jimenez has secured 52.2% of the votes counted to Anderson’s 47.8%.
Jimenez and Anderson were the two frontrunners to move on from the June primary election, earning more votes than Demnlus Johnson III, Mark Wassberg and incumbent Mayor Eduardo Martinez.
In that election, Jimenez secured 38.6% of the vote and Anderson 28%, but since neither of them received more than 50% of the vote, they went head-to-head again in Tuesday’s election.
An immigrant from Colombia with a background in architecture and environmental planning, Jimenez was elected to the Richmond City Council in 2020 to represent District 6, which spans the northern and eastern parts of the city.
In her candidate statement to the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, she lists public safety, improving environmental quality and protection for immigrants as priorities.
“I accept no campaign contributions from corporations, fossil fuel interests or developers. Being corporate-free means I work for the people, not special interests,” Jimenez’s statement reads.
Anderson, born and raised in Richmond, is a former chair of the Richmond Economic Development Commission and the Richmond NAACP Economic Development Committee. He refers to himself on his campaign website as someone who has worked in the private and nonprofit sectors as a human resources executive.
Making Richmond’s economy resilient, improving the quality of public infrastructure and public safety are some of the policy areas that he will focus on, according to his statement to the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
“Safety is not just about enforcement; it’s about creating conditions where crime is less likely to occur,” Anderson said in his statement. “I’ll lead investments in mental health response, violence prevention, youth opportunity and housing stability.”
The initial results included counted vote-by-mail ballots and in-person ballots from early voting sites. The final election night report was expected by midnight, but county elections officials said the election night report often only represents about half of the total votes cast. The next report will be posted by 5 p.m. Friday.