A small number of votes separate two candidates in the race for an open seat on Coronado’s City Council, but the mayoral race is more clear-cut.
Mark Fleming is poised to be elected to one of the open seats. But as vote-counting continues, Amy Steward and Laura Wilkinson Sinton were still nearly tied for the other one heading into the weekend — Steward was leading by just six votes Friday evening.
The race for the second vacancy has been close since preliminary results were first posted on election night Tuesday. Early election-night results showed Sinton with a small lead before Steward overtook her as more votes were counted.
In the city’s three-way mayoral race, Councilmember John Duncan is poised to win, with about 46% of the vote as of Friday. Casey Tanaka, who had drawn 41%, conceded to him Thursday evening. Mike Donovan trailed at 12%.
But votes in all of the races are still being counted, and the election results won’t be certain until the race is certified.
“It’s a very narrow margin,” Sinton said of the council race Friday afternoon, adding that she’s eager to know the results.
Steward, who is traveling abroad, could not be reached but said earlier this week she would comment once results are final.
Sinton and Steward have run distinct campaigns, but both have backgrounds in environmental issues.
Steward is the president and founder of the Coronado Emerald Keepers, an environmental nonprofit that holds community educational events and promotes clean beaches and waterways in Coronado.
Sinton is the founder of Stop the Sewage, which advocates for an end to the Tijuana River sewage crisis, and has met with local and federal leaders in an effort to mitigate the pollution.
Whichever of them comes out ahead in the final election results, the other could have another shot at a council seat soon.
Duncan’s apparent win in the mayoral race will open another vacancy on the city council, because he is only halfway through his four-term council term.
The city will need to determine how to fill his seat for the remaining two years, whether by special election or council appointment. His opponents also serve on the council but face term limits.
“I called Mayor-Elect Duncan to congratulate him on his victory,” Tanaka, who previously served as mayor from 2008 to 2016, wrote on Facebook Thursday. “I wish Mayor-Elect Duncan all the success in the world and hope he has a productive and exciting time as Coronado’s 52nd Mayor.”
This year’s Coronado races were steeped in partisan politics, an element that some of the candidates attributed to deeper political divisions nationwide.
Many of Coronado’s issues don’t fall neatly along party lines, but a majority of the candidates were endorsed by a major political party this year — including Sinton, who was endorsed by the local Democratic party, and Fleming and Duncan, who were supported by the Republican party.
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