It appears likely that first-term Redwood City council member Lissette Espinoza-Garnica won’t be re-elected, though it will be by the slimmest of margins. She appears to be losing to a candidate she beat four years ago.
As of Wednesday evening, challenger Isabella Chu had 1,398 votes (50.23%) to 1,385 (49.77%) for Espinoza-Garnica, a 13-vote difference.
The only ballots left to be counted are those considered by election officials to be “challenged” because there is a question about whether the voter was eligible to vote or the signature on the ballot doesn’t match the signature on file at the elections office.
Voters who cast challenged ballots will need to come to the county elections office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo by Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. to “cure” their ballot. Workers for each campaign are free to contact voters who cast challenged ballots and take them to the elections office to cure their ballot.
Elections officials don’t know how many ballots were challenged in Redwood City District 3, but countywide, 1,323 ballots fall into the challenged category.
The final outcome of the race will be announced Dec. 3 at 5 p.m.
Since Election Night, Chu has been leading, but Espinoza-Garnica as each update is announced.
The two candidates are vying for District 3 on council, which represents the Friendly Acres area. Chu and Espinoza-Garnica ran against each other in 2020, and Espinoza-Garnica won.
Chu is on the planning commission and co-chair of the Friendly Acres neighborhood association. She works at Stanford.
In her four years on council, Espinoza-Garnica supported converting three motels into homeless shelters and backed an initiative for rent control and stronger tenant protections.
Four years ago, Espinoza-Garnica came in first in the District 3 race with 1,363 votes (41.93%), followed by incumbent Janet Borgens with 1,142 votes (35.13%) and Chu in third with 746 votes (22.95%).
This time, Chu leads Espinoza-Garnica in a two-way contest.