Politics & Government
Clarkson Defeats Rowley For Mayor; Perkins, O'Loane Win Council Seats
Mayor Wilson loses bid to win a term on the City Council
Former school board president was elected San Ramon's new mayor Tuesday night, easily defeating City Councilwoman .
In the City Council race for two seats, incumbent and Measure W opponent Phil O'Loane finished first and second. Mayor H. Abram Wilson came in third.
With all absentee ballots and all eight precincts counted, the Contra Costa Elections Office online vote tabulation showed Clarkson with 4,979 votes, slightly more than 57 percent of the vote. Rowley had 3,638, about 42 percent.
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At his election night headquarters at Union Bank, Clarkson talked with an excited group of supporters as they waited for the results to come in.
He said he felt good about his campaign because they walked a lot of precincts, posted a lot of signs and talked about issues residents care about.
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"I think what we talked about resonated with voters," Clarkson said.
At her Election Night party at The Brass Door, Rowley tried to remain upbeat as the early voting showed her significantly behind Clarkson.
"I'm very optimistic. We ran a wonderful campaign," she said.
Rowley noted she attended 30 neighborhood coffees during the campaign and she felt she had made a connection with voters.
Rowley raised more than $38,000 in the campaign compared to $23,000 for Clarkson.
Rowley has lived in San Ramon for 42 years and worked for 30 years as a teacher and principal at Country Club Elementary School.
Clarkson served three terms on the San Ramon Valley Unified School District board of education. He is the president and founder of Golden Hills Brokers. He's also the past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce as well as a past president of the local Rotary Club chapter.
In the City Council race, Perkins won going away, collecting 5,749 votes, about 38 percent of the total.
O'Loane grabbed the other council seat with 4.932 votes, about 33 percent of the total.
Wilson finished with 4,200 votes, 28 percent of the total.
Perkins, who raised the least money of the three candidates, credited his campaign's success to the fact he walked every street in San Ramon outside of gated communities during the past year.
"I listened to every issue in every neighborhood and they are not all the same," said Perkins.
At his election headquarters on Fostoria Way, O'Loane was buoyed by early results showing him solidly in second place.
"I'm encouraged. There's a long ways to go, but I'm cautiously optimistic," he said.
O'Loane was facing an incumbent mayor and an incumbent councilman in this three-person race, but he said voters were looking for a new voice on the council.
"I think people were looking for something different. I think they want a change," he said.
O'Loane also raised the most money in the council race. He took in more than $26,000 compared to $13,000 for Wilson and almost $12,000 for Perkins.
Perkins shared his Election Night Party with Clarkson. He said he and Clarkson have been friends for 31 years. He added he has also enjoyed working with Rowley on the council the past eight years.
Wilson could not be reached for comment. Perkins, along with others, noted the mayor's campaign was somewhat lackluster.
"Abram did not give it his best effort," said Perkins.
has been the city's mayor for the past eight years. He couldn't run for the post again due to term limits. He is a retired investment banker who worked at both Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
O'Loane is a medical director who has served on the Planning Commission. He also is active in the Dougherty Valley Athletic Boosters and is a lector at his church. O'Loane was one of the leaders of the campaign last year against the urban growth boundary proposal.
Perkins has been on the City Council since 2003. A retired Navy captain, Perkins has worked at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory since 1980.
There were eight polling places in the city on Tuesday. One of them was the Community Center on Alcosta Boulevard.
Volunteers said 200 people had voted there by 2 p.m. That number was higher than the poll workers anticipated.
"We didn't expect this kind of turnout. It's been pretty steady all day long," said poll volunteer Dan Johnson.
Two of those voting were a husband and wife who identified themselves as Carl and Brenda. They both said they came out to exercise their democratic right.
"It's a civic responsibility," said Carl. "It's an important thing to do for the community."
"It's a privilege," added Brenda, "to help choose the people who govern the city."
There were elections in Lafayette, Pittsburg and San Ramon in Contra Costa County. The turnout for those three combined was more than 26 percent.
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