In a packed Nov. 3 patio watch party, progressives rejoiced with music, drinks and clapping as they watched Democrats sweep the midterms nationwide on large screens over the outdoor bar.
Spirits soared as Butte County’s preliminary results for Chico City Council were released. Those results had the three progressive candidates with leads over more conservative challengers. As more ballots were counted, the gaps widened.
Progressives are poised to win two to three seats on the Council — potentially flipping two conservative seats — and taking a 5-2 majority.
With more ballots on the way, the 52,791 ballots counted by 11:07 p.m. make up nearly 42% of eligible voters in Butte County. It is still too early to definitively call the City Council races, but progressive candidates are declaring success, riding a wave underway nationally.
Mayor might lose her District 2 seat
Shelby Hebert maintains a 396-vote lead over incumbent Kasey Reynolds in District 2.
Mayor Reynolds, who was with other conservatives at Parkside Tap House, said that Republicans tend to wait until the last minute to vote, and at about 9:30 p.m., said it was still too early to call the race.
The latest results were released at 11:07 p.m. Nov. 3. Those results show Hebert at 1,907 votes and Reynolds at 1,511.
Incumbent Winslow re-elected in District 4
District 4’s Addison Winslow, who when first elected four years ago was the sole progressive on Council, has a substantial lead over challenger Tracy Vincent.
“I’m proud of the campaign we ran, the conversations we had, and the people who came together to support it,” Vincent said in a Nov. 3 text to ChicoSol regarding the preliminary results. “I’m grateful to everyone who put their faith in me, and I look forward to seeing the final results.”
Winslow is sitting at 1,807 votes compared to Vincent’s 975.
Vincent congratulated Winslow on his reelection in a Facebook post this morning. She thanked her supporters and wished Winslow and the rest of the Council success.
Progressives and their supporters had packed into B Street Public House’s patio. As more votes came in and the gap widened, Hebert and Winslow gave victory speeches to a celebrating crowd. Winslow reflected on when he was first elected. He compared his position as the only progressive on Council for two years to the progressive majority he expects will be seated in January.
A tight District 6 race
District 6’s challenger Megan Thomas Petty also has a narrow lead over incumbent Tom van Overbeek. As ballot counts were released, Thomas Petty said she felt more confident in her lead.
But van Overbeek also said he felt confident, and as the votes streamed in, he remained positive. “I’m very confident I’m going to get reelected,” van Overbeek said at Parkside.
Thomas Petty maintains a narrow margin of nearly 4 percentage points over van Overbeek, with 2,345 votes while the conservative councilmember has 2,175.
Four years ago, van Overbeek won the seat against Jesica Giannola by more than 1,000 votes.
Councilmember Bryce Goldstein, a progressive who flipped a conservative seat two years ago, said that early voting for Chico City Council tends to skew progressive.
This was a sentiment that many of the conservatives held onto at Parkside, where a crowd watched as a blue wave took over the national stage. Several of the attendees called it a “hard night for Republicans.”
U.S. congressional District 1
Rep. James Gallagher, who is finishing out Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s term after his Jan. 6 passing, was at Parkside for a short time with his family. Gallagher said he’s proud of what he has accomplished during his short tenure in Congress. Gallagher, who was elected to Congress in the primaries under the pre-redistricted lines, said it’s “unjust for three people from the Bay Area to represent the entirety of the North State.”
State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from Healdsburg, is projected to win California’s District 1 congressional seat that has been held by Republicans for decades.
State Assembly District 3
The preliminary results still show Republican Dom Belza outpacing Republican Jamie Johansson for California State Assembly by approximately 14 percentage points.
Chico Unified School District Board of Education
Chico’s school board only had one contested race. Caitlin Dalby is maintaining a narrow lead over Lance Atkins for Area 5. Amy Ford is trailing far behind the two neck-and-neck candidates.
At the polls and clerk-recorder’s office
Keaton Denlay, Butte County’s clerk-recorder, said that Election Day went smoothly. He said there was a consistent flow of voters, as opposed to several long lines that formed in past elections.
This was noticed by pollworkers also. Manager Bertha Leyva has been working Election Day for 23 years and was stationed at Chico’s fairgrounds. “We didn’t have long, long lines, but it was steady and it was good,” Leyva said.
At polling stations across Chico, voters ChicoSol spoke with were focused on propositions, especially Proposition 40, the so-called billionaire tax.
This local election comes as the City prepares for a post-Warren Settlement era, and won’t face the same restrictions it has the past five years to enforce camping ordinances. Council is already revising ordinances, but how the City will carry out its enforcement and services may be decided by a Council with a progressive majority.
ChicoSol will be updating the vote count for Council candidates on its website as more ballot counts arrive. The next batch is Thursday.
Chris Hutton covers city government for ChicoSol.