ELECTION 2013: Council Incumbents Appear to be Headed Back to Council

UPDATE:

Volunteers with the city counted ballots for about 3 and a half hours last night, ending the count about 11:30 p.m.

But ballot counting is still being conducted, said Claremont City Clerk Lynne Fryman.

"We still sorting out provisional and vote by mail ballots," Fryman said. "The results will not be official until they are certified on March 19."

Still clear winners emerged last night as incumbents Mayor Larry Schroeder and councilman Cory Calaycay earned a combined 89 precent of the vote.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

With all precincts counted, Claremont’s voters appear to have re-elected Mayor Larry Schroeder and councilman Corey Calaycay.

The city held a public ballot counting at the City Council chambers. In the final, yet unofficial, tally posted on the city’s site, Schroeder led the count with 3,197 for 45.6 percent of the vote.

Following closely behind was Calaycay, with 3,048 votes -- 43.4 percent of the vote. Challenger, resident Michael Keenan, a local activist, earned 773 votes, or 11 percent.

 “I gave it my all. I went for the gusto,” said Keenan, who watched the count at City Hall Tuesday night.

It was Keenan’s fourth run at a council seat. The incumbents celebrated elsewhere, leaving volunteers, many of them city staffers who came in on their own time, to help with the election, city officials said.

“It looks good so far,” said current Mayor Larry Schroeder early in the evening. The mayor spent some of the night at an election night gathering at Casa Moreno restaurant blocks away from City Hall.

He was not going to count a victory until the results were final, he said.

“This is my way to thank my supporters and constituents,” he said motioning toward the crowd of more than 100 people at the eatery.

Calaycay celebrated at his home. A phone message left on his cell phone was not immediately returned.

The voter turnout was 17 percent, short of the 20 percent the city got at the last election. Schroeder said he was hoping for a similar turnout.

As the results began to come in, Keenan kept spirits up, but did express frustration over what seemed like low voter turnout as well. He had shaken more than 1,000 hands himself, he said.

He was getting votes, he said. This meant to him there are people out there who want to see change in the city. They just need to get out and vote, he said.

“I’m taking the initiative,” he said.