Residents in the Oakdale-Riverbank-Escalon area will continue to have bipartisan representation at the state and federal level following the Nov. 3 election, as both of the incumbents representing Congressional District 10 and State Assembly District 12 held on to their seats.
Rep. Josh Harder will serve a second term in Congress after defeating his Republican challenger, former Turlock City Council member and veterinarian Ted Howze, in a race that was called in the Democrat’s favor by the Associated Press late on Election night. Assemblyman Heath Flora, a Republican from Ripon, is looking forward to a third term following his victory over Democrat Paul Akinjo, a Lathrop City Council member.
Harder’s district includes all of Stanislaus County and part of San Joaquin County.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve my hometown in Congress the past two years — and it is just as much of an honor to receive the support of our community once again. We proved that we can get more done by finding common ground than fighting each other,” Harder said in offering thanks to the voters. “I promise to build on the work we got done over the past two years to bring more water funding and good-paying jobs to the Valley and cutting the costs of health care while protecting everyone’s access. Once again, thank you to the people of the Central Valley for putting your faith in me. I won’t let you down.”
Harder emerged victorious in a race that saw his campaign raise $7 million compared to Howze’s $1.5 million — $740,000 of which Howze loaned to his own campaign.
Flora, who was first elected to the State Assembly in 2016, was also appreciative of the voter support that will send him back to Sacramento.
“I am honored the people of the 12th Assembly District have given our team another clear and strong vote of confidence to represent them for another term. I am privileged to continue to be their voice in Sacramento,” Flora said. “Public safety, local control and common-sense reforms will continue to be our legislative focus. Here at home we will continue to provide for our constituents who need help locally or with the state government. I look forward to continuing to fight for the Valley’s interests, defending our economy, and protecting local jobs.”
Meanwhile, the unofficial election results are in for the Riverbank City Council District 2 race, with challenger Rachel Hernandez winning election with 69.40 percent of the ballots and a total of 1,025 votes. The race with incumbent Cindy Fosi seems to be over as Fosi had received just 30.60 percent of the ballots and a total of 452 votes cast. There were eight non-qualified write-ins reported. Hernandez will serve a four-year term that will begin in January, 2021.
Mayor Richard O’Brien ran unopposed and will be serving another four-year term. Councilmember Darlene Barber-Martinez also ran unopposed for District 4 and will serve another four-year term on the Riverbank City Council.
For Stanislaus County Supervisor in District 1, representing Oakdale and Riverbank, Buck Condit had a 58 to 42 percent winning margin over Bill Zoslocki.
The General Municipal Election was held on Nov. 3 and election results are listed on stanvote.com.
News Reporter Virginia Still contributed to this report.
