A Nov. 2 runoff for District 5 on the City Council is becoming more likely as the county only has 4,000 provisional ballots left to process, and neither Jay Schenirer nor Patrick Kennedy have 50 percent of the vote. Schenirer has, however, held onto the lead over his main opponent. “I think we can safely say that the race has been decided, even if it’s not quite complete yet,” Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said. “Other than final, this is about as final as it’s going to get.” A candidate needs at least 50 percent of the vote plus one to win. Schenirer has 47.28 percent and Kennedy has 33.45 percent, as of 3:22 p.m. today. You can view the updated election results here. Schenire

Jay Schenirer leads the District 5 race for a seat on the City Council with 47.29 percent of the vote, but he has yet to lock in victory, according the the county election results website. A candidate needs 50 percent of the vote plus one to be declared the winner for City Council races. Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said she thinks that although there are still ballots left to process, it is unlikely that they will give Schenirer the votes he needs to avoid a Nov. 2 runoff election. Mizuno reports that the city has seen the incoming ballots distributed in a way that is reinforcing the current percentages. "Proportionately we haven't seen that much change," Mizuno said. She fu

The waiting game for the District 1 City Council race continues. The Sacramento County elections office released new vote tallies Friday afternoon, and has counted about 35,000 of the roughly 86,000 that remained after Election Day. However, the new ballots still don’t definitively show whether Natomas activist Angelique Ashby has won the District 1 seat, or if she will compete in a runoff in November with incumbent City Councilman Ray Tretheway. The county elections staff still needs to count more than 51,000 ballots. Voters cast ballots for many state and local candidates Tuesday, so it’s unknown how many of the 51,000 ballots include votes for the City Council races. With 5,405 votes

There will likely be a runoff between two District 5 candidates with backgrounds in the education field, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. With all precincts counted, education policy consultant Jay Schenirer was narrowly ahead of local school board member and attorney Patrick Kennedy. Schenirer had 47 percent of the vote to Kennedy’s 34 percent. Schenirer, with 2,267 votes, doesn’t have a majority of the votes that were cast, Mizuno said. Kennedy’s vote count is 1,654. District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Oak Park and Curtis Park. The election results have not yet been certified, Brad Buyse, the county’s campaign services manager said. More than 20,000 vote-by-m

Despite controversy in other City Council district races, District 5's candidates were civil and respectful of one another. "They were all polite and I have nothing but nice things to say about them," said Leticia Hilbert. "The civility and consideration of opinions has been really great," said Terrence Johnson. Henry Harry said that everyone ran a good campaign with no "cheap shots," while Jay Schenirer stressed that he felt that no one was running "against" each other. Patrick Kennedy did not seem to mind running against four candidates. "I ran my campaign as I would running against one other person, or 16," he said. "I ran on my 22 years in the district. It didn't really come into

11:21 p.m. UPDATE Angelique Ashby's supporters gather around the wide screen television to anxiously watch the results of tonight's election. With a lead of more than 10% on her closest competitor, incumbent Tretheway, Ashby supporters are anticipating the coming numbers. "We think we know the answer," volunteer Celia Hernandez said. "We just need it official!" Cheers, laughter and applause resonate throughout the police stationassociation, and tensions build as the night wears on, the final count looming closer and closer. "We're all excited," canvas coordinator Greg Pruden said. "Really looking forward to getting the final returns in and seeing what the final result is. We're reall

The Sacramento Press election team is pulling an all-nighter Tuesday to bring our readers City Council election results. We will continuously update our election coverage starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday until the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters stops releasing results late that night.  In addition to reporting the results from the polls, our staffers will be on-the-scene at election parties to cover the perspectives of candidates and their supporters. In Sacramento, polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Election results will start coming in after 8 p.m. "I'm out campaigning," City Councilman Steve Cohn said late Monday afternoon. "Tonight's the last time I'll be walking door-t

In a statement Tuesday on his blog, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson made his endorsements for candidates competing in the June 8 primary election.  A KCRA reporter asked Johnson at a Monday press conference if Johnson would endorse candidates who oppose a “strong mayor” form of government. Johnson is leading an effort to bring more authority to the mayor’s office. In response to the reporter’s question, Johnson said: “I think that’s not really the issue before people. I don’t think that people have had to make a decision on that. So, there’s not a litmus, in general, for that right now.” Johnson said the candidates he is supporting are not content with the status quo. He explained that h

Jay Schenirer’s City Council campaign has brought him face-to-face with Sacramento’s unemployed population. Joblessness in District 5, which includes Oak Park and Colonial Heights, is “horrific,” Schenirer said. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Schenirer (sha-NEER-ur), 53, is competing against four other candidates for Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s seat. Hammond is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones' seat against Kevin McCarty, her colleague on the City Council. Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento County Supervisor, is also running for the seat. Schenirer is an education policy consultant who has lived in Sacramento since 1981. H

Terrence Johnson said he wants Oak Park and surrounding South Sacramento neighborhoods to have more clout in City Council decision-making. “I felt as though the (District 5) neighborhoods didn’t have a voice,” he said. Johnson, 58, is one of five candidates competing for the seat held by Councilwoman Lauren Hammond. In addition to Oak Park, District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Curtis Park, Colonial Heights and Tahoe Park West. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Johnson is a 20-year Sacramento resident and the executive director of the Oak Park Business Association and the Stockton Boulevard Partnership. He is chairman of

District 5 City Council candidates came face to face with community members at the Oak Park Neighborhood Association's monthly meeting Thursday. Four of the five candidates met with residents at the Sacramento Food Bank to discuss their political plans in an open forum. Approximately 40 people attended to ask questions and gain more insight on their potential representatives. Candidates running are Terrence Johnson, Leticia Hilbert, Patrick Kennedy, Jay Schenirer and Henry Harry. Hilbert was absent from the meeting. Chairs formed a half-circle and faced the seated candidates. Questions were collected from the audience and presented by members of the neighborhood association's board of dire

All but four of 13 candidates running for a City Council seat in June received campaign contributions from sources outside Sacramento County from July to December 2009. It also should be noted that many of the candidates have received numerous contributions from individuals and groups in Sacramento. To provide information about contributions to candidates from sources outside the county, The Sacramento Press has prepared the following guide. The following contributions were made to candidates between July 1 and Dec. 31. DISTRICT 1 Angelique Ashby, City Council candidate Top outside contributions: Lewis Investment Company, Upland: $500 James Milliken, retired Superior Court judge, San

The Sacramento Press is reviewing campaign contributions for the candidates in June's City Council race. Here is a breakdown of the main contributions to the candidates in Districts 5 and 7 from July to December 2009. Read our guide to campaign contributions for Districts 1 and 3 here.  The June 8 election covers four City Council seats for Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. The July to December figures provide the most recent information on campaign contributions for City Council candidates. The next deadline for candidates to submit statements listing their contributions is March 17, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. Those statements will list contributions from Jan. 1 to March

It’s election season in Sacramento — do you know how to follow the money in the 2010 City Council campaigns? You can get the scoop on campaign contributions through the city of Sacramento’s Online Campaign Statement System.  The system, which is free and open to the public, provides information on contributions to City Council candidates. Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno gave tips Thursday on navigating the online system.   In the past, Mizuno said, the public would have to appear in person to request campaign information. “In this case, you can do it at home, at your computer.” There is a link to the online system at the city clerk’s website under the heading “Elections & Campaig