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Monez, Phillips take early leads in city council races
Monez and Phillips
Turlock City Council District 4 candidate Erika Phillips (left) and District 2 candidate Rebecka Monez were both ahead of their respective challengers when the mail-in ballot results were released on Tuesday night (Photos contributed).

Incumbent city councilmember Rebecka Monez, first elected to her District 2 seat in 2020, held a slim lead over challenger Milt Trieweiler after mail-in results were released Tuesday night by the Stanislaus County Elections Office.

“Last time, I had a lead when the mail-in results were released and then the lead continued to grow and grow,” said Monez. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen this time, but that’s what happened last time, but there were also three of us in the race, not two. So, who knows? I respect the voters. If the voters vote in Mr. Trieweiler, I respect that. I just hope he advocates for them as vigorously as I have.”

The other seat up for grabs this election cycle, certain to go a newcomer since District 4 councilmember Pam Franco stepped aside to run for treasurer, saw businesswoman Erika Phillips take a commanding early lead — 1,718 to 982 — after the first batch of mail-in tabulations were released.

“I feel good,” said Phillips, a professional bodybuilder who owns Fit Kitchen Meal Prep. “I’m confident and I’m ready for whatever comes next.”

Franco, meanwhile, trailed political newcomer Michael Abram 6,392 to 4,848, a difference of more than 1,500 votes for the treasurer’s seat.

Another election of note was Measure C, which asked Turlock citizens to approve an increase of the Transient Occupancy Tax, more commonly referred to as a hotel tax. The measure proposed to raise the tax from 9 percent to a nebulous rate of “not to exceed 14 percent.” It was getting trounced by nearly 2,500 votes (60.4 percent to 39.6 percent) in the early stages.

In races for Turlock Unified School Board seats, challenger Anna Ramirez held a slim lead over Paola Maldonado-Padilla; Debbie Martinez had slim advantage over incumbent Daniel Benedict; and Patrick Shields led by a slim margin over incumbent Joe A. Souza.

In the battle for the Turlock Irrigation Division 1 seat, incumbent Michael Frantz had received a whopping 78 percent of the vote, leading challenger Mary Jackson by nearly 4,600 votes. 

For updated local election results, check by at TurlockJournal.com or in Saturday’s paper.