Voters in San Leandro’s only contested City Council election are leaning toward Lee Thomas in early returns from Tuesday’s election.
Thomas had about 60% of the vote while his opponent, Joseph Trujillo, had about 40%, based on numbers published on the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ election website.
Thomas is a former City Council member, and Trujillo is a California Department of Water Resources manager.
The election for the District 3 seat moved forward despite ballots that erroneously presented the candidates as running in an at-large election, even though the city has transitioned to a district-style system.
City and county officials say the election could continue as planned, however, and that every vote will be certified properly.
In June, the city’s voters approved Measure F, which changed City Council races from at-large to district-based elections — but the ballots that went out for the four open council seats in the Nov. 3 election don’t reflect that change.
City and county officials posted statements on their websites saying that people should follow the directions on their ballots.
“The Alameda County Registrar of Voters will provide the City with certified vote totals by precinct,” according to San Leandro’s online statement. “The city will use these totals to calculate the votes for each candidate within the applicable City Council district and determine the winners by district.”
It’s unclear when the city will present the final official vote count and winner in the District 5 race.
All of the other races on the ballot — districts 1, 2 and 5 — feature a single unopposed candidate.
The District 1 candidate is incumbent Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton, the District 2 candidate is incumbent James Aguilar and the District 5 candidate is incumbent Xouhoa Bowen.
