Marchand Widens Lead Over Nop

LIVERMORE, CA — Former Livermore Mayor John Marchand has grown his lead against realtor and former Livermore police officer Mony Nop in the race for mayor, according to new totals released Wednesday afternoon by Alameda County.

Marchand now leads Nop by over 1000 votes, as of Wednesday at 4:06 p.m. Marchand has 12,755 votes, or 52.53%, and Nop has 11,525 votes, or 47.47 percent.

The race has seesawed back and forth since Election Night: Marchand started off ahead on Nov. 8, but by the end of the night, Nop was ahead by a handful of votes. On Thursday, new totals showed Marchand ahead by just 14 votes. By Monday, Marchand’s lead had grown to 9,955 votes, or 51.59%, ahead of Nop’s 9,340 votes, or 48.41 percent of the vote.

California law mandates that mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 8 and received by Nov. 15 must be counted. Final results are expected by certified in December.

"When I made the decision to run for mayor, my goal was to give the voters the choice for proven, effective leadership,” Marchand, who served as mayor from 2011-2020, told Patch in an email. “I succeeded in my goal and kept my promise to the Livermore voters."

Marchand also told Patch that he expected the race to be close due to an onslaught of spending. “Yes, the election is very close but that is to be expected when my campaign was outspent 20:1,” he said. “This is the most expensive Council election in history. Over $1.2 million dollars was spent against us. Lyna Lam's PAC alone spent over $200,000 supporting my opponent. My campaign spent around $52,000, almost all of it from local workers and residents.”

Nop confirmed that the race is one of the most expensive in Livermore history, but did not comment on particular figures.

“It’s very much a roller coaster ride, but I just believe in the people of Livermore, and am so darn grateful to be able to run in a democratic society,” he told Patch. “I believe that people want to be heard, and truly believe that people would like to see a change in Livermore, and it’s time for some fresh approach and ideas and people at the table.”

Livermore City Council

The rest of the Livermore City Council race has remained fairly static. Since election night, Planning Commissioner Evan Branning has held a comfortable lead against teacher Carol Wahrer in the race for District 1, and Livermore Lions Club President Ben Barrientos has held a comfortable lead against Mel Chiong, a General Plan Advisory Committee member and community activist.

As of Wednesday, Branning is ahead 2,567-1,764, or 59.27%-40.73 percent. Barrientos leads Chiong 2,861-2,362, 0r 54.78-45.22 percent.

LVJUSD Board

Two incumbents and one newcomer are leading the race for three open seats on the Livermore school board. As of Wednesday, incumbent Emily Prusso leads with 12,314 votes (19.56%), followed by President Craig Bueno with 11,463 (18.21%), followed by newcomer and CSU Stanislaus Education Professor Steve Drouin with 9,944 (15.8 percent.)

Six more candidates: Deena Kaplanis, Anna E. White, Alexandra Izarraz, John Kupski, Hayden Sidun, and Kristina Mazaika (all received thousands of votes in a crowded race.

Measure G

Measure G, a bond for $450 million bond to fund school facility improvements, appears increasingly unlikely to pass. 12,887 Livermore residents have voted “No” (51.08%) and 12,343 (48.92%) have voted yes. The measure needs at least 55 percent to pass.

In Pleasanton, Measure I, a $395 million school bond to fund facility improvements, exceeded 55% support Wednesday after spending a few days limping toward the finish line.