Leaders in council race express hope and gratitude
Conder and Cervantes maintain large margins
Leaders in the Riverside City Council election expressed gratitude and excitement after voters put them ahead in their quests for council seats.
One set of results was released Tuesday night — based on ballots cast through Monday — and an update was issued Wednesday after adding ballots dropped off Election Day. Another update is expected at 6 tonight.
City Council member Chuck Conder and Clarissa Cervantes stayed on track to win seats following Wednesday’s update.
Conder, who had 56.2% of votes counted, stopped short of declaring victory Tuesday night, but said he expected his lead in Ward 4 to hold.
“This is a very solid first result from the people of Ward 4,” he said. “I feel real good.”
If the lead does hold up, Conder said he will dedicate his second term to his late wife, Sharon, who died in October 2018.
“You never expect anything,” Conder said, when asked if he was surprised by the early results.
“You always run to the end like you are 10 points behind. I did the hard work I needed to do and it was in the voters’ hands and God’s hands at that point.”
In the Ward 2 election, Cervantes took 52.3% of the votes in a field that drew six candidates. Her share of the votes slid downward slightly from 52.9% reported Tuesday.
“I’m humbled by the support our campaign received tonight from residents who live in every corner of Ward 2,” Cervantes said in a text message Tuesday night.
“Although a number of ballots remain to be counted,” Cervantes said, “we feel very good about these initial results. There is a lot of work ahead to reduce homelessness, get Riverside’s economy back on track, and protect the quality of life in neighborhoods. I can’t wait to get to work.”
If both candidates’ leads were to hold and they earn more than 50% of the vote, they would win the seats outright and avoid the need for November runoffs.
About 100 ballots and 50 provisional ballots still must be processed in the all-mail-ballot election.