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East Bay Regional Parks District Ward 5 incumbent Olivia Sanwong holds a commanding lead over opponent in her bid to serve a second term on the board.
As of about 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sanwong had 74.4% (65,029) of the vote, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Henry, chair of the district’s Park Advisory Committee, had 25.6% (22,373). There were still 432,710 ballots unprocessed ballots countywide, according to the Registrar of Voters, though it’s unclear how many of those include residents of Ward 5. The next updated tally from the county is expected by the end of the day on Monday.
Sanwong said in a statement on Wednesday that she was grateful for support of voters in the dsitrict, which includes Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and Sunol, along wtih Fremon, Newark and unincorporated areas of eastern Alameda County.
“The early numbers are encouraging, and they humble me,” she said.
Still, she said, she would wait until all ballots are counted before officially declaring victory. despite her considerable lead, and before Friday’s latest polling numbers, Sanwong said she wants to wait for the county to finish counting all the ballots before officially calling the race. The next update from the Registrar of Voters was expected by 5 p.m. Monday.
“I am confident in where the race stands, but I will wait for the county to count the remaining ballots and certify the results before calling it,” she said. “Every vote deserves to be counted.”
Henry, however, said that based on the initial numbers, “it’s clear that the incumbent will be re-elected.”
“I knew this would be a very challenging race running against an incumbent in a low ballot race covering six cities,” Henry told the Weekly on Wednesday. “I had no name recognition, and I was significantly outspent.”
He noted he entered the race late, as Sanwong didn’t file for reelection until the deadline on Aug. 7 and added it had been a couple of decades since an incumbent was unseated.
Sanwong is a lifelong Tri-Valley resident who worked in the science and technology industries before being elected to the Zone 7 Board of Directors in 2018. She was reelected for a second term on the water agency board in the June 2022 primary but then made the decision to run for the EBRPD Ward 5 director position that November. She won the four-year seat in an uncontested race.
Last week, she expressed gratitude twoard her campaign volunteers and other supporters.
“My promise remains the same: to protect our land, water, wildlife, and open space because time in nature restores us all,” she said.
Henry said he was thankful for the opportunity to offer voters a choice on the ballot, something he said is important in any election. He noted his work on the Parks Advisory Committee would continue.
“I look forward to increased focus on opening (the Garms Staging area at West Las Positas and Foothill), wildfire mitigation and frequent meetings with neighboring agencies,” Henry said. “That will benefit EBRPD regardless of who represents Ward 5.”
