Category: Local

  • Kevin Lincoln defeats incumbent Michael Tubbs in Stockton mayoral race

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    The general election for Stockton, California, was held on November 3, 2020. The primary election was held on March 3, 2020, and the filing deadline to run passed on December 6, 2019. In the mayoral race, Kevin Lincoln (R) defeated incumbent Michael Tubbs (D). As of November 19, Lincoln had earned 56.2% of the vote…

  • Recall petitions submitted against two Colorado school board members

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    Recall petitions seeking to remove Kurt Wassil and Stephanie Buker from their positions on the Elbert County School District C-2 school board in Colorado were submitted to the county for verification on November 13, 2020. The recall effort also initially included board member Stacy Morgan, but no petitions were submitted against her by the deadline.…

  • Washington Supreme Court sets timeline for appeal of recall petition against Seattle councilmember

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    The Washington Supreme Court will consider the appeal of a recall petition against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant before the end of the year. Sawant filed an appeal in October after a superior court judge certified that four of the six grounds in the recall petition against her were legally sufficient to move the recall…

  • Washington Supreme Court approves sheriff recall petition for circulation

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    The Washington Supreme Court ruled on November 6, 2020, that a recall effort seeking to remove Jerry Hatcher from his position as Benton County Sheriff could begin circulating petitions. Walla Walla County Superior Court Judge Scott Wolfram initially approved the recall petition on August 20, but Hatcher filed an appeal against that decision with the…

  • At least four mayoral offices changed partisan control in the 100 largest cities Nov. 3

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    Twenty-nine of the 100 largest U.S. cities held mayoral elections in 2020. Of the 24 elections called so far, four party changes have taken place, with Republicans losing three offices and Democrats losing one. Democrats and independents each flipped two offices: • In Honolulu, Hawaii, independent Rick Blangiardi won the open seat. Democratic mayor Kirk…

  • Abigail Spanberger (D) wins re-election in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District

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    Incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) defeated challenger Nick Freitas (R) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. Spanberger was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbent Rep. Dave Brat (R) 50% to 48%. Preliminary results indicate Spanberger won re-election by a similar 51% to 49% margin. The 7th District was one of…

  • Incumbent Mayor Ted Wheeler wins re-election in Portland, Oregon

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    Image of City Hall in Portland, Oregon.

    Incumbent Ted Wheeler defeated Sarah Iannarone and write-in candidate Teressa Raiford in the general election for mayor of Portland, Oregon. Wheeler was first elected in 2016. Nineteen candidates ran in the May 19 primary. Wheeler received 49.1%, Iannarone received 24%, and Raiford received 8.5%. In 2016, Wheeler won during the primary with 55% of the…

  • George Gascón defeats incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey

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    George Gascón defeated incumbent Jackie Lacey in the nonpartisan general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney, the nation’s largest local prosecutorial district. Gascón served two terms as San Francisco District Attorney, winning election to succeed Kamala Harris in 2011 and winning re-election unopposed in 2015. He did not seek election to a third term…

  • Washington, D.C. voters approved Initiative 81 76% to 24% according to unofficial election night results

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    Initiative 81 declares that police shall treat the non-commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi as among the lowest law enforcement priorities. Examples of decriminalized substances include psilocybin mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, peyote, and iboga. This makes D.C. the fifth city after Oakland and Santa Cruz, California;…

  • Voters to decide recall of fire district board member in Arizona on Nov. 3

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    A recall election seeking to remove Bruce Speirs from his position as chair of the three-member Sherwood Forest Estates Fire District Board in Arizona is on the ballot on November 3, 2020. Walter Krushinsky filed to run against Speirs in the recall election. Recall supporters said that Speirs’ actions while on the board had “demoralized…