NEWARK — The East Bay’s closest Nov. 5 election race ended in dramatic fashion this week.
Newark’s five-candidate contest for two council seats was so close that last month the county registrar called for a rare manual recount. Even then, the contest wasn’t over: the candidate up by four votes on Tuesday, lost by three votes on Thursday.
After the election was certified Thursday, Julie Del Catancio had won by that slim margin over Jacinta Arteaga. She’ll join Terrence Grindall, the first-place finisher, as the two newest members of the Newark council.
Del Catancio said in an interview that she feels “grateful” to the residents who voted for her.
“I’m more energized than ever to serve and lead Newark, to lead families to a place where they feel safe, valued and supported,” Catancio said.
Grindall won early on with 7,490, but Arteaga and Del Catancio had exchanged leads for the second seat. In late November, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim DuPuis called for manually counting the ballots, which initially showed Arteaga up by four votes.
But Del Catancio took the lead this week with 6,452 votes over Arteaga’s 6,449 after ballots previously uncounted because of issues with their signatures were added to the official count.
Del Catancio received a law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a master’s degree in administration from the University of Kansas. She is currently a Newark planning commissioner and educator in the Newark Unified School District.
Del Catancio said that, assuming her lead holds and she makes the council, her top priorities would include addressing residents’ concerns about “responsible growth and safety.”
She said that she wants residents to feel safe, and she wants people of all demographics to feel comfortable supporting the city’s communities and businesses.
“I really believe in the potential of Newark and the power of our community to come together to make it even a better place to grow,” Del Catancio said. “I really appreciate everyone who put their trust in me and the process of these elections. So I definitely would never take that for granted.”
Arteaga did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.