Tag: Bennett

Conservatives win 4-person majority on City Council

Mayor to be selected Dec. 4
by Yucheng Tang | Posted December 3, 2024

photo by Karen Laslo
Councilmember Dale Bennett was re-elected.

Incumbent Dale Bennett has retained the District 3 seat, defeating challenger Monica McDaniel by only 93 votes in the closest race in the 2024 Chico City Council election.

The majority of the City Council remains conservative, but the number of progressive councilmembers has increased from one to three. A special meeting of the City Council will be held at 6 p.m. Dec. 4 in the Council Chamber at 421 Main St. Newly-elected councilmembers will be sworn in and the mayor and vice mayor selected.

The Butte County Clerk’s office released the official results of the Nov. 5 General Election this morning, with County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Keaton Denlay certifying the election result.

Former Police Chief Michael O’Brien won the District 1 race against Mike Johnson with about a 10 percent margin. In District 5, Katie Hawley secured a clear victory over Melissa Lopez-Mora. Bryce Goldstein won the District 7 race, unseating incumbent Deepika Tandon. read more

Key race in City Council election narrows to seven-vote difference

District 3 race will decide which slate has majority
by Yucheng Tang | Posted November 7, 2024

photo by Yucheng Tang
Monica McDaniel at the Green City Coalition watch party on election night.

Nov. 8 UPDATE: The vote gap between Monica McDaniel and Dale Bennett narrowed to just seven votes as of 4:30 p.m. today, with Bennett receiving 3,009 votes and McDaniel 3,002. Updated vote counts will not be available until next week.

Whether challenger Monica McDaniel or incumbent Dale Bennett secures the District 3 seat has become the key question in the 2024 Chico City Council election.

The District 3 candidates are in a tight race; Bennett led McDaniel by only 40 votes Nov. 7, according to the Butte County Clerk-Recorder’s unofficial count that had been updated Nov. 6. The District 3 race will determine which slate will become a majority on the seven-member panel for the next two years.

“District 3 is a swing district and a lot pivots” on the race, said McDaniel, adding that if her opponent isn’t ousted “we’ll just have a lot more of the same. There will continue to be challenges for service providers who want to help the homeless.” read more