Benny Lee led his closest challenger, Chris Crow, by a 60-40 margin in a four-way race Wednesday morning after ranked choice votes were counted, earning him a seat on the San Leandro City Council.
Lee will become the representative of council district four which covers Washington Manor. He joins incumbent Jim Prola, who handily beat challenger Hermy Almonte in a head to head race in council district six and the Mulford Gardens area.
But two races remain up for grabs in contests that prove how much each vote counts, especially in local election.
As of 10 am Wednesday, incumbent Councilwoman Ursula Reed led school board president Morgan Mack-Rose by 97 votes in a three-way race for district 2 which covers southeast San Leandro.
And Measure L, the $39-per-house school parcel tax, was a little over a percent shy of the two-thirds margin it needed to pass.
Local blogger and election strategist Mike Katz said that based on past voter turnouts in San Leandro there are likely more than 5,000 uncounted ballots, such as vote-by-mail packets that were filled out too late to send by postal service and had to be dropped off in person Tuesday.
The Alameda County Registrar of Voters estimates there could be 140,000 late or provisional ballots still uncounted. The county has 28 days to certify elections though final tallys will likely be done much earlier.
In the Reed-versus-Mack-Rose race, the critical dynamic is what happens to the second-place votes of the third candidate, Bal Theater owner Dan Dillman. Reed has lead all along in first place votes. But Mack-Rose has gained on the incumbent by grabbing a larger share of Dillman's second choice votes.
So at this point the outcome hinges on two unknowns: the number of uncounted ballots, and how Dillman's second-choices are split between Reed and Mack-Rose.
A similar dynamic is at play with the Measure L parcel tax, which needed a daunting two-thirds margin to pass.
Measure L had started the night with a yes vote in the low 60s and had slowly climbed as the count progressed to end Tuesday with 65.38 percent of the 14,475 votes tabulated thus far.
But Katz said more than 22,000 ballots were cast in the 2010 San Leandro mayor's race.
Again, the variables are: how many ballots remain uncounted and whether the parcel tax will continue creeping up in the vote count to jump that two-thirds hurdle.
Stick with Patch for continuing election coverage and analysis.
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Hey Janet, this is America, we have elections, obviously I am assuming the people you supported lost. Who ever supported you for the BZA should ask for your immediate dismissal. But since you are at large I am assuming the current mayor appointed you and doubt he has the moral fortitude to ask for your resignation.
I was not kicked off the Planning Commission because I was a flake. Yes, someone had been removed in the past because she failed to attend the meetings, but that was not me. The timeline and actions support the conclusion that I was kicked off because I put forth the real reason the city was trying to ban entertainment - as a response to cover themselves in the Faith Fellowship case. The week after I was removed the city called a "special" planning commission meeting to try and re-pass the ban that I lead an effort against. The Planning Commission was unanimous in rejecting the entertainment Ban and the City Council had one heck of a time trying to pass it themselves, until the City Attorney admitted on the record it was needed in response to Faith Fellowship litigation. Although I was removed with a 7 - 0 vote, all commissioners are appointed and removed 7-0. I went on to receive the endorsement in my race of 2 of those 7, so that should be obvious to reality checkers like yourself. I took my Planning Commission experience seriously, but I'm not sure any comments you read in the minutes will be exciting without the context of the actual meeting. As for my pot ticket, it was my mistake I did not take care of it when I was suppose to. As soon as I was made aware of it, I pleaded not guilty, the case was dismissed, and I paid no fine.
Sure sounds like an implied threat to me
Go ahead you negative posters, attack my throat for writing the truth. I won't be checking back.
Hey Marga, if you are sad to live in a city with Benny Lee does that mean you'll be doing us a favor by moving?
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/420904/november-07-2012/wind-power-s-health-hazards
In politics, like in life, you win some and you lose some. You take your losses as learning opportunities, and next time you do better. Being bitter about a defeat is a solid waste of time. But neither in politics nor in life it's ever OK to degrade a child. You, as a father, should know that. The fact that you tacitly condone the behavior speaks volumes.
The article is at: http://www.sanleandrobytes.com/archives/016511.html
Halus is a good local business. They play by the rules. They've jumped through every hoop. Yet some want to keep moving the goal posts, dragging this out and driving costs up so that Halus will leave. I hope Halus sticks it out. And I hope to see their generator spinning in the wind, soon. Until then we bare witness to the spectacle of a modern day Don Quixote & his trusty sidekick Sancho Panza preparing to slay the lone windmill.
Or how about we stick a straw in the ground and get some tasty, high-energy oil and natural gas. California has oodles of it just oozing into the ocean and elsewhere. There's a reason people moved on to fossil fuels. I'll leave it to you to try to figure it out. I'll give you a hint, energy density.
And let's be clear: every single reason the Heron Bay folks have given against the windmills is baseless. Again, read Mike's article. And don't forget to look at the photo simulation of how the wind mill will look once it's erected, any objective person would tell you that it actually improves the view significantly. http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?blobid=12426 As for the election, this was not an issue that any of the candidates brought up, and when Benny did speak publicly about it, he made sure to say he was remaining neutral. Clearly he didn't think the community was in favor of it.
I would think someone who touts capitalism and personal independence like yourself would be all for a new product in a new economy. Halus is a win-win for progressives and capitalists. Mike, Halus is not the Altamont Pass. Come on now. The election results don't mean that much about the Halus project. Benny will need to rally 4 votes to stop it, and he can no longer individually lobby BZA members like he has been. Benny had no interest in ever reviewing an environmental report like he said he did, his sole intention was to stop this company at all costs. He has expressed to me that he doesn't wish to see any wind turbines in San Leandro, and I'm sure the IBEW's Net Zero Energy building is really upsetting to him. There use to be a Rolls Royce Engine company at the end of Doolittle directly across the street from housing, including Jim Prola. That company needed to test their jet engines on-site. Instead of having the company cease all together the community worked out an arrangement to not test during the evening hours - they didn't say if we allow one jet engine company to test then the whole city will be full of jet engine noise.
The 21st century belongs to fossil fuels, as did the 20th century. There is no reason to "offset" our demand for oil, especially when the "offsets" are *more* expensive than oil. Not only are they more expensive than oil, they are far more expensive than oil "should be" if it weren't regulated out of existence in California, for example. If some innumerate fool wants to waste his money on a windmill, go for it. Problem is that my money is being wasted on this idiot vis a vis my taxes and all the bull**** subsidies thrown at "alternative" energy.
Also, oil is becoming more and more expensive by the minute it seems. The market is beginning to allow these alternative methods to be cost effective. And indeed Halus' main customers are for single turbines in communities that do not have the cheap access to oil, or the guarantee of supply like we do here. The market created the need for Wind Turbines, sure maybe aided by subsidies, by also by good ole supply and demand. Why don't you want this company to be as successful as it could be? Outside of being upset you're tax dollars are being used on new energy solutions...if that's your sticking point then I do understand your position, but strongly disagree.