A runoff election for District 7 of the City Council is nearly inevitable between Ryan Chin and Darrell Fong. Neither of the candidates has enough votes to be declared the winner, and with only 4,000 provisional ballots left to process, not much is expected to change. “With 4,000 ballots left, I would suspect that the race is close to final,” Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said. “Other than final, this is about as final as it’s going to get.” A candidate needs at least 50 percent of the vote plus one to win. Chin has 37.57 percent and Fong has 32.6 percent, as of 3:22 p.m. today. You can view the updated election results here. You can view a map of the geographical distribution

A Nov. 2 runoff for District 5 on the City Council is becoming more likely as the county only has 4,000 provisional ballots left to process, and neither Jay Schenirer nor Patrick Kennedy have 50 percent of the vote. Schenirer has, however, held onto the lead over his main opponent. “I think we can safely say that the race has been decided, even if it’s not quite complete yet,” Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said. “Other than final, this is about as final as it’s going to get.” A candidate needs at least 50 percent of the vote plus one to win. Schenirer has 47.28 percent and Kennedy has 33.45 percent, as of 3:22 p.m. today. You can view the updated election results here. Schenire

Sometimes you can want something so much, and push for it so hard, that you end up creating the opposite of what you wanted. Which is perhaps how we've ended up with such a weak mayor. That was never more clear than on Tuesday night, when Mayor Kevin Johnson's dogged pursuit of a "strong mayor" remake of the city charter went down - spectacularly - at the hands of a city council united against him. Smart, driven, confident and somewhat charismatic, Johnson came into office on a tide of support that gave him what pundits like to call political capital. But he also came in at a difficult time, with a city government at its most stressed and dysfunctional, and with questions about his char

Jay Schenirer leads the District 5 race for a seat on the City Council with 47.29 percent of the vote, but he has yet to lock in victory, according the the county election results website. A candidate needs 50 percent of the vote plus one to be declared the winner for City Council races. Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said she thinks that although there are still ballots left to process, it is unlikely that they will give Schenirer the votes he needs to avoid a Nov. 2 runoff election. Mizuno reports that the city has seen the incoming ballots distributed in a way that is reinforcing the current percentages. "Proportionately we haven't seen that much change," Mizuno said. She fu

 With the city budget and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s updated strong mayor proposal on the City Council’s agenda, the public is likely to see political fireworks at two meetings Tuesday. During the first meeting, at 915 I St. at 2 p.m. the City Council will discuss key issues related to the city’s budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The city must settle a $43 million budget gap. Council members will consider whether to scale back proposed cuts to the city’s fire, parks and police departments. Read the report on some of the planned budget cuts here.  Another issue on the council’s afternoon agenda is the Utilities Department budget. Find information on that budget here.  The City Council wi

In a statement Tuesday on his blog, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson made his endorsements for candidates competing in the June 8 primary election.  A KCRA reporter asked Johnson at a Monday press conference if Johnson would endorse candidates who oppose a “strong mayor” form of government. Johnson is leading an effort to bring more authority to the mayor’s office. In response to the reporter’s question, Johnson said: “I think that’s not really the issue before people. I don’t think that people have had to make a decision on that. So, there’s not a litmus, in general, for that right now.” Johnson said the candidates he is supporting are not content with the status quo. He explained that h

    SACRAMENTO WOMEN’S CHORUS PERFORMS BENEFIT CONCERT FOR WEAVE OCTOBER 24. One Nonprofit Helping Another   The Sacramento Women’s Chorus (SWC) will perform Oct. 24, 2009, with a peace concert “Singing for Our Lives”, benefiting Women Escaping A Violent Environment (WEAVE).    Special guests include Irina Rivkin and the New Freedom Choir.   WEAVE is the primary provider of crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County.   WEAVE provides services for women, men, teens and children who are survivors of domestic and sexual assault.   Free services include: 24-hour Crisis Line Counseling Emergency Response Legal Advoc