Stanislaus County court operations manager Jeanine Tucker won the March 8 municipal election and took her seat on the Riverbank City Council at Monday night's meeting, March 14.
Competing against three other contenders for the seat left vacant by Danny Fielder's resignation last July, Tucker garnered 533 votes or 31.6 percent of the total to lead the field.
Longtime Riverbank school district trustee John Mitchell placed second with 465 votes or 29.32 percent while Modesto attorney Allison Nobert was third with 424 votes or 26.73 percent and retired veteran and student Carlos Verduzco came in fourth with 159 votes or 10.03 percent.
Voter turnout was very low, noted officials. Only 1,589 of the city's registered voters - a total of 8,946 - marked their ballots, for a turnout of 17.76 percent. Most ballots (1,331) were recorded by mail and only 258 on election day.
Taking her place on the dais this week, Tucker brought the council to its full complement of five members after it had struggled along with three or four members since last summer.
Joining Mayor Virginia Madueno, Vice Mayor Richard O'Brien and council members Dotty Nygard and Jesse James White, Tucker is scheduled to complete Fielder's unexpired term that ends in November of 2012.
"I am very happy to have this opportunity of representing the citizens of Riverbank," Tucker said following the election. "I'm looking forward to working with other council members, exploring their ideas and exploring new ideas. The main issues for me are to restore jobs in Riverbank and ensure a stable employment base here for the future. I'm concerned about police protection and I'm anxious to see the details of the sewer system plan. It's imperative we do not incur large fines. I don't think this will happen. But we must not burden the rate payers."
Tucker, 54, has served the Stanislaus County court system for 19 years and held her current court operations manager job since 2005. She has a bachelor's and a doctorate degree in law from Santa Clara University.
As manager she has created budgets, implemented policies and been a self-described watchdog of how funds were spent, she said of her job during the election campaign. She is experienced in managing people and services, budgeting and maintaining liaison with other government agencies.
A resident of Riverbank for five years, Tucker has been a member and officer of the Modesto Lions Club for 15 years and involved in other community services in Riverbank.
This was her second bid for a seat on the council. She ran last November and placed third after O'Brien and Nygard, who won the two available seats.
Tucker was endorsed by Madueno and Nygard in her latest election attempt and also backed by her previous opponents, Ric McGinnis and Israel Hernandez, along with the Sworn Deputy Association.
Competing against three other contenders for the seat left vacant by Danny Fielder's resignation last July, Tucker garnered 533 votes or 31.6 percent of the total to lead the field.
Longtime Riverbank school district trustee John Mitchell placed second with 465 votes or 29.32 percent while Modesto attorney Allison Nobert was third with 424 votes or 26.73 percent and retired veteran and student Carlos Verduzco came in fourth with 159 votes or 10.03 percent.
Voter turnout was very low, noted officials. Only 1,589 of the city's registered voters - a total of 8,946 - marked their ballots, for a turnout of 17.76 percent. Most ballots (1,331) were recorded by mail and only 258 on election day.
Taking her place on the dais this week, Tucker brought the council to its full complement of five members after it had struggled along with three or four members since last summer.
Joining Mayor Virginia Madueno, Vice Mayor Richard O'Brien and council members Dotty Nygard and Jesse James White, Tucker is scheduled to complete Fielder's unexpired term that ends in November of 2012.
"I am very happy to have this opportunity of representing the citizens of Riverbank," Tucker said following the election. "I'm looking forward to working with other council members, exploring their ideas and exploring new ideas. The main issues for me are to restore jobs in Riverbank and ensure a stable employment base here for the future. I'm concerned about police protection and I'm anxious to see the details of the sewer system plan. It's imperative we do not incur large fines. I don't think this will happen. But we must not burden the rate payers."
Tucker, 54, has served the Stanislaus County court system for 19 years and held her current court operations manager job since 2005. She has a bachelor's and a doctorate degree in law from Santa Clara University.
As manager she has created budgets, implemented policies and been a self-described watchdog of how funds were spent, she said of her job during the election campaign. She is experienced in managing people and services, budgeting and maintaining liaison with other government agencies.
A resident of Riverbank for five years, Tucker has been a member and officer of the Modesto Lions Club for 15 years and involved in other community services in Riverbank.
This was her second bid for a seat on the council. She ran last November and placed third after O'Brien and Nygard, who won the two available seats.
Tucker was endorsed by Madueno and Nygard in her latest election attempt and also backed by her previous opponents, Ric McGinnis and Israel Hernandez, along with the Sworn Deputy Association.
