ANTIOCH, Calif. – Antioch could see a new mayor in the coming year as the race for the top position in the city was hard fought with three candidates offering different solutions to the community’s challenges.
Incumbent Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe is facing an uphill battle with the current vote counts. Former City Manager Ron Bernal declared victory just before noon on Tuesday, but the official results have not yet been released.
As of 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Hernandez-Thorpe had 7,903 votes and Bernal had nearly twice that: 16,765.
In a video posted Tuesday night, Hernandez-Thorpe faced the tough reality that he would likely lose the election.
“I’m not winning this evening,” he said on the video, “and I probably will not win as they continue to count the votes. I will leave Antioch in a stronger place than I found it, and I can confidently tell you that because I have the receipts.”
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