Modesto Mayor Zwahlen has huge lead in early returns as she seeks second term
Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen had an overwhelming lead Tuesday night against two opponents in her bid for a second four-year term.
The Stanislaus County Elections Office reported early results shortly after 11:30 p.m. showing Zwahlen with 13,588 votes, or 82.17%, Sebastian Jones with 1,678 votes, or 10.1%, and Dewey Bedford Jr. with 1,279 votes, or 7.7% of the votes cast for the three candidates.
“I will never say that until the last vote is counted. That is just me,” Zwahlen said when asked whether she was ready to declare victory. “... All I can say is that I’m really grateful to everyone who supported me.”
She attributed the early results to her and her family’s deep roots in Modesto and community involvement. Zwahlen, 69, is a retired emergency room nurse and served two terms as a Modesto City Schools board member.
Bedford, 46, is a full-time parent and serves on the city’s Culture Commission. Jones, 61, is a former Greyhound bus driver, a community activist and a member of the city’s Board of Building Appeals.
Zwahlen’s campaign consultant was more definitive when asked if the mayor has been re-elected. “I think we can safely say that,” campaign consultant Megan Belair said.
Voter turnout in the early returns was 11.7% countywide and 10.9% in the mayor’s race, according to the Stanislaus County Elections Office. Belair said she expected the final turnout to be in the mid- to high 20 percentage points.
In results released at 11:37 p.m. Tuesday, the Elections Office reported that turnout for the mayor’s race was 15.9%, with 18,188 of the city’s 115,190 registered voters casting ballots.
But 1,579 of the voters did not vote for anyone for mayor. The remaining ballots included three voters who voted for two mayoral candidates, as well as rejected and unresolved votes for write-in candidates. Turnout countywide was 16.2% in the updated results.
The final turnout was nearly 54% in Stanislaus County in the March 2020 primary election, which featured two competitive races for the county Board of Supervisors, several school bond measures and contested races for Congress and the Democratic candidate for president.
Belair said there was not lot on the ballot to excite voters Tuesday. The race for Congress, president and Assembly featured rematches, and the three members of the Board of Supervisors up for re-election ran unopposed.
Both Bedford and Jones were running for mayor for the first time. Zwahlen faced more experienced and competitive opponents during the 2020 mayoral election.
Belair said Tuesday’s results also are testament to Zwahlen’s leadership and ability to work with people from all perspectives and heal the dysfunction of the previous City Council.
Under Zwahlen’s tenure, voter’s approved the Measure H 1% sales tax in November 2022 and have trimmed more trees, added resources to public safety, spent more on parks and addressed other quality-of-life issues.
But the city continues to struggle with a lack of affordable housing, high rents and homelessness despite several city initiatives on those issues.
County supervisors Vito Chiesa, Channce Condit and Matthew “Buck” each received another four-year term Tuesday, and Superior Court Judges Joseph Distaso, Valli Israels, Sweena Pannu, Maria Ramos Ratliff, Stacy Speiller and Carrie Stephens run unopposed and were elected to six-year terms.
Zwahlen had a commanding fundraising lead and was endorsed by her six City Council colleagues.
She reported raising more than $50,000 since May 2023. Her contributors include the Modesto City Fire Fighters Association ($2,500), the Modesto Police Officers Association ($1,000), the California Association of Realtors ($2,500) and the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council ($2,500).
Jones reported raising $100. Bedford reported raising $6,000 from Joanna’s Bail Bonds ($300), California Flavored Nuts ($2,500), Bam Bail Bonds ($700) and the Palladium ($2,500).
Election night results: See the first results from state and local elections in Stanislaus County
