What Friday’s vote count update in Madera County shows about Measure T, Madera city races
A Madera County vote count update Friday afternoon shows Measure T, a 0.5% sales tax that has funded transportation projects in the county for decades, is still trending toward renewal despite formidable opposition. The percentage of “yes” votes for Measure T remains slightly above the minimum threshold it needs for approval.
In the city of Madera, updated results show a tighter race between the top two of four candidates in the mayoral race, with District 1 City Councilmember Cece Gallegos leading incumbent Santos Garcia by just two percentage points.
In District 3, City Councilmember Anita Evans holds a strong lead in her re-election bid against challenger Derek Robinson.
In District 6, incumbent City Councilmember Artemio Villegas has taken the lead after falling behind Tuesday in a close race against challenger John Jasper.
The outcome of these races could shift leadership in the town of about 66,000 as large residential and commercial projects start moving forward in the growing city. Similarly, the outcome of Measure T’s renewal attempt could have dramatic effects on the county’s roads, proponents and opponents agree.
Here is a roundup of these elections as of Friday afternoon. The next update by the Madera County Clerk-Recorder’s office will be Wednesday by 5 p.m.
Measure T
As of 3:25 p.m. Friday, 22,454 votes, or 52.4%, said “yes” to the citizen initiative on the ballot to renew Measure T, while 20,413 votes, or 47.6%, said “no.” As a citizen initiative, approval of Measure T requires only a simple majority of more than 50%.
Different versions of a 0.5% sales tax for transportation projects have been in place in Madera County for more than 30 years. The current Measure T was approved in 2006 and expires in 2027. A renewal attempt failed in 2022, when 52% of voters chose to approve the measure, but it required a supermajority approval of 66% to pass.
This year, as the draft of the renewal proposal made its way through local government, a group of county citizens gathered enough signatures to launch the proposal as a citizen initiative. The citizen initiative is almost identical to the one that was drafted as a government initiative, which was created after several months of work with citizens steering committees consisting of members from across the county.
The renewal proposal document says Measure T is expected to generate $22 million annually for a total of $440 million in the next 20 years. Here is the proposal’s investment plan for the anticipated revenue:
▪ Local streets and roads: 80%, or $352 million, with 10% set aside for disadvantaged communities.
▪ Regional projects: 14.5%, or $63.8 million.
▪ Transit: 4%, or $17.6 million
▪ Administrative expense cap: 1.5%, or $6.6 million
Proponents of the measure say the renewal proposal say the investment plan reflects what county residents asked for and addresses the complaints made in 2022, when not enough voters chose to renew the tax. Opponents of the measure say the ordinance is not strong enough and keep elected officials from taking money from the local streets and roads fund and assigning it to regional projects, and call for a restructuring of the Madera County Transportation Authority, which is completely composed of elected officials and administers Measure T.
The county’s Measure T consultant disputed the viability of that type of restructuring and disagreed with opponents’ claims that the language in the proposed ordinance was drafted without citizens’ input.
Madera mayoral race
Gallegos, the District 1 Madera councilmember, has held a slight lead over Garcia, the incumbent mayor, since the first results were reported Tuesday night. The two other candidates, government revenue consultant Wayne Padilla and Madera Unified School Board President Lucy Salazar have remained in third and fourth place, respectively, the entire week.
As of 3:25 p.m. Friday, Gallegos had 4,349 votes, or 35.2%, while Garcia had 4,099 votes, or 33.2%. The gap between the two has closed by just over half of a percentage point since Tuesday night. On Friday, Padilla had 2,268 votes, or 18.4%, while Salazar had 1,629 votes, or 13.2%.
Gallegos is challenging Garcia for the mayoral seat as the incumbent seeks a second term. They have served together since 2018, when Garcia was first elected as a city councilmember. Gallegos was elected to the city council in 2016, making her the longest-serving current member.
Both campaigned on the improvement to the city’s budget during their concurrent time in office, noting that just years before Madera operated on deficits and paid its past city manager hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. They have also touted the city’s planned residential growth — a lot of it will be in Gallegos’ District 1, where a master-planned community could produce 10,000 homes in the future.
Padilla ran on increasing community engagement through town hall-style efforts that will inform both the public and city officials. His resume on local government work is stacked: Padilla was the city’s finance director until 2005, and has since worked for cities including Chowhilla, Modesto and San Luis Obispo, as well as in the private sector.
Salazar is a realtor and small businesswoman who campaigned on accountability and bringing unity to what she said is a divided city council. She is the president of the school board for Madera Unified, and also touted her experience voting on issues that impact 20,000 students.
District 4 Madera City Council race
Evans, the District 4 Madera City Councilmember, has held onto a comfortable lead against Robinson since Tuesday. This race is a rematch from 2020, when Evans first won the District 4 seat from Robinson, who has served as a city councilmember for eight years at the time. Evans won that race with an overwhelming 75% of the vote.
As of 3:25 p.m. Friday, Evans had 782 votes, or 62.16%, while Robinson had 476 votes, or 37.84%.
Evans, a known active community member, has started organizations in Madera that organize Black History Month and Juneteenth events. She campaigned on the accomplishment of road upgrades and traffic safety projects in District 4, and also noted the improvement of the Fresno River, a place where homeless people often camp, which she said is much cleaner than it was four years ago.
Robinson is a retired U.S. Army veteran and former juvenile hall counselor. During his campaign, he said the current council is failing Madera’s citizens. He criticized what he said was a misplaced interest in filling the downtown area with cannabis stores. Instead, Robinson said, the city should have paid more attention to upgrading its infrastructure and to Madera Community Hospital. The hospital has been closed for nearly two years but is expected to reopen soon.
Geographically, District 4 is the city’s smallest but also its most densely-populated. The district stretches north to Ellis Street, west to the Pan-American Park area, south to the Fresno River and east to Raymond Road. Multiple large apartment complexes are included in District 4, including the Madera Garden, Lakewood Terrace, Bridgeview, Creekside, Lakeland and Valley Vista communities.
District 6 Madera City Council race
In a reversal of the results at the end of Tuesday night, Villegas, the incumbent District 6 councilmember, now holds a slight lead against Jasper, the challenger.
Jasper was confident his lead would hold earlier this week, when he held 36 votes more than Villegas. As of 3:25 p.m. Friday, Villegas had 854 votes, or 51.63%, and Jasper had 800 votes, or 48.37%.
District 6, the southeastern part of the city, is one of the districts slated for large residential growth. One large project could add almost 1,000 homes within the district’s current boundaries just west of Highway 99. Jasper said that project concerned his neighborhood, which is adjacent to the site of future contruction.
Jasper, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and law enforcement officer, is a first time candidate. He campaigned on giving the city’s police officers better retention incentives. He also noted his experience as a local SEIU union leader, saying that it will help him find the best outcomes for the city’s public safety workforce. Jasper is concerned that irresponsible development could put a strain on the city’s resources.
Villegas is a retired farmworker who was elected to the Madera City Council in District 6 in 2020. Like other current councilmembers, he said the city of Madera is ready for residential growth. He campaigned on the relate-ability of his working class background and on transportation assistance to the farmworkers who live in Madera. Villegas also pointed to traffic safety projects that are now slated for construction near schools in the district, where children walk, as well as public park improvements that have been completed.
