In Concord, Benavente ousts Birsan, Obringer cruises to easy win; Enea leads pack in Clayton; La edges out Lewis in Pleasant Hill

CONCORD, CLAYTON and PLEASANT HILL (Nov. 10, 2024) — The city of Concord will lose longtime Councilmember Edi Birsan, currently mayor, as challenger Pablo Benavente surged ahead in the vote count released Nov. 8.

In unofficial results, Benavente held a slim percentage point lead over Birsan, 35.5% to Birsan’s 34.5%, or 3,274 to 3,185 in District 4. But a dejected Birsan said the lead was projected to grow.

Birsan, who said he “did the math” in his head, had expected Benavente to pull away once all the votes had been tallied, despite an earlier lead on the morning after the election. Although all the precincts had weighed in, there are still votes delivered on Election Day that had yet to be counted.

“Although votes are still being counted, the trend seems to be moving in my favor,” a cautiously optimistic Benavente told the Pioneer. “This represents a victory for all of us who believe in building a more inclusive, equitable and vibrant Concord.”

Also in Concord, Carlyn Obringer easily handled challenger Eric Antonik, 75% to 24.3%, or 6,734 to 2,164 in District 2.

Birsan said he would not demand a recount, saying he was “very hurt and disgusted” by what he claimed was an ugly race and election. The local Democratic Party did not endorse him, despite his 12 years on the Concord council.

“I’m just mad,” he said.

The other District 4 challengers were Myles Burks, with 19.25% percent of the vote, or 1,775, and Matthew Dasnher, with 10.7% of the votes, or 985.

Clayton

In Clayton, Mayor Jim Diaz appears to have narrowly escaped elimination with 23.7% of the votes, or 3,097 over fourth-place challenger Maria Shulman, who held 21.6% of the votes, or 3,084, This allowed Diaz, who also served as mayor this term, to retain his council seat.

A jubilant Richard Enea led the pack of four with 3,544 votes, or 27%. He was followed by incumbent Holly Tillman with 3,367 votes, or 25.7%.

“I am just very thankful for the faith the people of Clayton have in me,” Enea said. “We had similar issues in Crescent City, and I intend to make the level-headed decisions the people of Clayton deserve.”

He says that finance, public safety and landscaping will be his top three priorities.

He is no stranger to the dais, having served two terms as a councilmember in Crescent City, where he lived sandwiched between his stints in Clayton.

Pleasant Hill

In Pleasant Hill’s first election with council districts, Belle La held a razor-thin lead over Marshall Lewis in District 1. In the Nov. 22 vote update, she led 1,239 to 1,210. The two had swapped leads since vote counting began.

In District 5, Amanda Szakats increased her lead with 54.3% of the votes, or 1,806, over Oliver Greenwood, who has 1,518 votes, or 45.7%.

Legislative and Congressional races

It didn’t surprise many when Congressman Mark DeSaulnier won the District 10 seat easily against Republican challenger Katherine Piccinini, 66.6% to 33.4%.

In the District 9 California State Senate race, former Concord Mayor and Assemblyman Tim Grayson moved up the ladder, in a closer than expected race, defeating fellow Democrat Marisol Rubio 54.5% to 45.5%.

Taking Grayson’s State Assembly seat will be Democrat Annemarie Avila Farias, who defeated Republican challenger Sonia Ledo 64% to 36% in a highly blue district.

 

Read more stories by Peggy Spear.