The latest election results released on Friday, Nov. 11, show Margaret Becker, Housing and Human Concerns Committee Chair (41.02%), leading Chris Sturken (38.89%),San Mateo County LGBTQ+ Commissioner, by just 42 votes in the Redwood City City council district 2 race.
The next update will be released on Monday afternoon, according to the San Mateo County elections office.
The county, in an update posted on Wednesday, said that it had "many ballots to count" and that vote-by-mail ballots received after Saturday, Nov. 5, have yet to be counted.
At an election watch party Tuesday night before the polls closed, Becker said of the district 2 race that she felt “resigned and relaxed because whatever will be, will be.”
Others, such as former Redwood City mayor Barbara Pierce, praised her. Pierce said she was impressed by how Becker tackled issues on housing and human concerns, displacement, and homelessness and thought she was a great collaborator.
Former City Council member Janet Borgens, who endorsed Becker, spoke highly of her experience and track record as a committee member.
“Margaret has done a stellar job. I was on the Housing and Human Concerns Committee, and I know the challenges,” she said. “Our housing, our programs, our help—she knows how to bring them to the table…Without those nonprofit partnerships, no city can do what they need to do. And Margaret has been a real catalyst for those conversations.”
Borgens said her vote was not “against [Sturken], it’s a vote for someone who I’ve seen walk the walk.”
Cheers erupted when the first results came in at 8:10 p.m. showing Becker with an initial 37-vote lead over Sturken. Several attendees hugged her, while another wrote the preliminary results on the party’s whiteboard.
Becker was excited by her initial lead, which held throughout the night.
“Exciting night to cap off a memorable experience,” she said. “I’ve worked hard and am tired but hopeful.”
Spirits were high in the upstairs room at Angelica’s where the event took place. Roughly thirty people, including former mayor Ian Bain and Council member Diana Reddy, were in attendance.
A few blocks away, at the Hub on Broadway, city council members Elmer Martinez and Alicia Aguirre joined Sturken for his own watch party.
“I'm feeling good,” he told the Pulse. “I'm excited, and I think I have a good chance. [Margaret and I] are neck-and-neck.”
Sturken said that his age hadn’t made him any less of a competitive candidate.
“These are the results from early voters,” he said, gesturing at a TV monitor projecting the race results. “The work I did on a listening tour in every neighborhood in the district made a difference. And that difference is shown right there on the screen.”
Laura Moya, a HIP Housing colleague of Sturken’s, said she had full faith in his ability to succeed as a council member.
“I’m a strong believer that age isn’t a determinant of your ability, it’s more about experience,” she said. “And [Sturken] has depth of experience. He’s always seeking to educate himself and be informed.”
Moya, who praised Sturken for “representing the people rather than his own interests,” said she fully expected him to win. “I’m here ready to celebrate,” she said.
Alan Sturken stopped by to give his son a hug before heading out for the night. As to why Sturken would make a good council member, his father shrugged and said, “He cares about the small businessman, he cares about housing, he cares about the climate, he cares about traffic and he cares about people.”
Alan said his son had always had an interest in public service, and he wasn’t surprised to see him seeking elected office. Did he predict Sturken would win? “I think so. He’s right there,” he said.
Sturken complimented his competitors for a cordial and close race. He said Becker, in particular, was alongside him the whole way, knocking the same doors and hanging fliers on the same streets.
“Both of us have been out there in force,” he said. “Every door I came across, she had a flier there too.”
Supporters called for Sturken when updated numbers were released at 10 p.m. Squinting at the screen, he watched his tally rise from 397 to 400, just some 40 votes behind Becker.
“It did go up,” he said, laughing. “But really hasn’t changed.”
Madden, for her part, said she wasn’t able to run the campaign she’d planned. With several clients facing evictions and her own son in the process of moving out of Docktown, canvassing had become less of a priority in the last few months.
Even on election night, Madden’s mind was on her clients and her son. “I didn’t plan an event. I’m just so exhausted,” she said. “The universe makes certain things priorities.”
On the phone with the Pulse, she said she hadn’t even had a chance to look at the preliminary results and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had roughly half the number of votes as her competitors.
“Frankly, I feel successful. In a field like this, a strong field, I had a good showing,” she said.
Asked whether she had any thoughts of conceding, Madden said no. “Every vote should be counted,” she said. “I feel like conceding is old school. I just want to see how it pans out.”
Madden echoed Sturken with praise for her fellow competitors for a clean and overall positive campaign. She said the city would be lucky to have any of them elected to the council and called their campaign “one of the best races Redwood City has ever had.”
“Even though I wasn’t able to campaign the way I wanted to, there were a whole lot of good candidate forums,” she said. “I feel like that was good for the community.”
This report will be updated as results become available.
