Yepez, Davis in tight battle in Lodi City Council contest

Nov. 7—Lodi City Councilman Ramon Yepez is currently holding onto his District 4 seat this week as the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters released its first three rounds of election results Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

As of noon Wednesday, Yepez tallied 386 votes for 38.76% of ballots cast, surpassing challenger Lyndsy Davis, who took an early lead as polls closed on Election Night.

Davis was just 24 votes behind Yepez Wednesday, garnering 36.35% of ballots cast, while Alex Aliferis tallied 248 votes.

Yepez is seeking re-election after being appointed to the post in 2022 following the resignation of Shakir Khan, who was arrested and later pleaded no contest to election fraud charges stemming from the 2020 election.

A native of Michoacan, Mexico, Yepez has lived in Lodi for 26 years and is the co-founder and CEO of ARgrid, an augmented reality platform that serves as a marketplace for shopping, advertising and entertainment that launched last year.

Yepez said he has been an advocate for District 4 long before his appointment to the council last year, and since that time, he said the city has invested more into it than ever before. He said he wants to continue that momentum.

Davis and Aliferis have been fixtures at council meetings over the last few years, with the former asking city officials to install more traffic safety measures on the Eastside.

Originally from Mountain View, Davis moved to Lodi a few years ago and said she is a strong and dedicated individual who has fought throughout her life to make things right.

Aliferis, a substitute teacher for Lodi Unified School District, regularly urges the city to better manage its finances when he speaks at meetings.

The ROV will post its next round of updates at www.sjgov.org/department/rov/results by the end of the day Friday, Nov. 8.

In Galt, three long-time residents are vying for two seats on the city council vacated by Jay Vandenburg and Kevin Papineau.

Tim Reed, who ran for Galt City Council in 2022 and currently serves as disaster services division chief for the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, was leading as of Wednesday, collecting 3,132 tallies for 42.5% of the vote, according to the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters.

As a candidate for city council Reed said he is driven by a "deep-seated" dedication to making Galt the best town it can be for residents.

Former Galt Joint Union High School District trustee Mathew Pratton was in second Wednesday with 2,188 votes for 29.69% of ballots cast.

Being a member of the Galt community his entire life, Pratton said he shares the same intentions as his fellow residents — to have a safe and fiscally healthy city, and provide as many amenities as possible to ensure their best quality of life.

Bonnie Rodriguez, former owner and publisher of the Galt Herald, was third with 2,050 votes for 27.82% of ballots cast.

Rodriguez said she ran for council because she loves Galt, and wants to stand up for it, adding she believes she knows Galt better than almost anyone in the community, given she spent 20 years with the Herald attending countless city council, school board and supervisor meetings, among others.

Aleida Suarez and Dean Dockery were leading the five candidates vying for Isleton City Council's two open seats. Suarez earned 56 votes for 29% of ballots cast, while Dockery secured 53 for 27.46%.

E. Kelly Hutson tallied 40 votes, while Paul Steele and Jose Morquecho garnered 27 and 17 votes, respectively.