Patterson Irrigator

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Patterson Mayor Becky Campo will serve for another two years, voters decided Tuesday.

Campo won the election with 2,078 votes, or 55.5 percent of the vote. Challenger Luis Molina received 1,648 votes (44.0 percent), according to the county clerk’s website.

Patterson Mayor Becky Campo celebrated her victory over Luis Molina on Tuesday at Las Gaviotas. Photo by Elias Funez.

“I’m not conceding,” Molina said. “But I’m not naive (enough) to think there are 400 votes out there.”

Both candidates said it had been a hard fought election.

“I have to give Luis credit,” Campo said. “He got substantial votes and was a worthy opponent.”

Tuesday night, each candidate gathered with supporters to watch election results. Campo and her people packed the local restaurant Las Gaviotas. As results started to roll in, the party grew more and more raucous.

Councilwoman Annette Smith got on the microphone to let the crowd know Becky had won. Shortly after the announcement, Campo was at the front of a dance line. A DJ kept the music playing well past midnight.

On the other side of town, Molina and his supporters gathered at his home. When the first counts came in showing Molina trailing slightly, optimism was high. However, Molina would never make any significant gains, and around 10 p.m., the county clerk put Campo ahead by a large margin.

With most of the precincts already reported, it seemed clear Molina would not be the victor.

“We’re disappointed,” Molina said. “(But our opponent) had to work hard.”

Both candidates have expressed frustration with how the campaign unfolded. Initially, it was Campo who complained of a negative campaign after someone defaced her signs and broke the shadow box in front of her office.

Mayoral candidate Luis Molina (center) awaits election results at his home Tuesday night. Photo by Elias Funez.

Copies of articles detailing what happened were left at the Irrigator’s office. Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini provided copies to the Modesto Bee. An anonymous person had left the documents in front of DeMartini’s house, he said.

Molina suspects the supervisor played a greater role than simply the delivering the message. He believes he was targeted because he wanted to change Patterson’s traditional power structures.

“We weren’t running just against the mayor,” Molina said. “We were running against special interests, and even a county supervisor made an appearance.”

This mayoral race was a stark contrast to 2006, the last time voters elected a Patterson mayor. Campo won that race with nearly a 60-point margin, and only 2,371 voted in that election.

This year, more than 3,700 people voted for mayor in a contentious race that even divided the City Council. Council members Sam Cuellar and Dejeune Shelton supported Molina, while Smith and Dominic Farninha supported Campo.

Campo said she will not have a problem working with the councilors that supported her opponent.

“I still have a high level of respect for them and can move on,” Campo said.

The entire council will remain intact, as both Smith and Farinha won their elections. Two years ago, this council made a couple of firsts for Patterson. Campo became the city’s first Latino mayor, and Shelton became the first black council member.

With no lame-duck members, the council will be able to get back to the issues quickly. Monday will be their next meeting, when they discuss funding for a proposed water treatment facility.

But on Tuesday night, before the pressing matters of the city would need to be dealt with, after fighting her hardest campaign, Campo danced past midnight surrounded by her supporters.

She tried to resist the cries for a speech, but with a few tears coming down her cheek she managed to get a few words out.

“Now, can we go back to celebrating?” she asked, before people piled back onto the dance floor. 

Contact John Saiz at 892-6187 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Comments (2)

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The Winner!
written by PI Reader , November 13, 2008

Um..is that a beer bottle? Tsk, tsk....

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congratulations
written by fred ross , November 17, 2008

Two more years of misery and empty promises. Special note to the mayor, if you can address ONE community level problem over your next and final term, please address the M Street crossing, it won't be long before someone is seriously injured, due to every elected official who has sat on the council for the past twenty years. So I'm not solely blaming you, but please consider my plea.

Note: we have a teenage drinking problem, please refrain from throwing back beers when you know the PI will be taking your picture, thanks.

Fred Ross

www.pattersonirritator.com

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