Trump calls for counting of legally-cast ballots to stop;  Biden takes slim lead overnight in two key battleground states.  Both candidates retain paths to victory.

By Miriam Raftery

November 4, 2020 (San Diego) – With millions of votes remaining to be counted in key battleground states, both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden retain potential paths to victory.  Though some predicted a blue wave, the end result is a nail-biter in which neither candidate appears to have an overwhelming mandate from voters.

As of this morning, Biden has 227 electoral votes and Trump 213, as both edge closer to the 270 needed for victory. 

Update November 9, 2020:  Barbara Bry has conceded the race to Todd Gloria.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Photos: Barbara Bry (left, twitter profile picture), Todd Gloria (right, wikipedia profile picture)

Nov. 3, 2020 (San Diego) – Two democrats vied for the position of San Diego Mayor: Todd Gloria and Barbara Bry. Gloria, as of election night, has a sizable lead, with 56.29% of the vote over Bry at 43.71%.

Both gave election night speeches. Bry spoke earlier in the evening and thanked supporters of this “independent woman.”

Gloria, a third generation San Diego resident, talked about “breaking barriers.” If he prevails, which appears likely as of election night, he will be the first openly LGBTQI, first Filipino, elected Mayor of San Diego, and first Latino/Native American in recent memory.

Mara Elliott has a substantial lead over candidate Cory Briggs. She had 67.59% of the vote over Briggs, 32.41%, in the race for San Diego City Attorney.

The five odd numbered City Council seats 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, in the City of San Diego, were up for election.

By Henri Migala

Photo: Steve Vaus (left), Joel Anderson (right)

November 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - County Supervisor District 2 candidates Steve Vaus and Joel Anderson are virtually tied at the latest update provided by the San Diego Registrar of Voters unofficial election results.

At the latest update, posted at 10:26 p.m., Steve Vaus held a slight lead with 50.94% of the votes, and Joel Anderson having 49.06%.

Vaus and Anderson are running to fill the seat being vacated by Dianne Jacob due to term limits.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors controls a $5 billion budget and makes decision over a wide variety of social service programs, and on issues affecting your health and safety. Four billion, or 80%, of that budget is related to state and federal programs the county is required to administer, and one billion, or 20%, can be used for the Supervisors to establish their priorities.  Most of the $1 billion comes from local property taxes, so it is important for local citizens to know the supervisors’ priorities.

By Kendra Sitton

November 3, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- In the race to replace Representative Susan Davis in the 53^rd District, Sara Jacobs took a decisivie lead over City Council President Georgette Gomez. As of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Gomez trailed by over 40,000 votes and conceded the race to Jacob.

Both candidates ran as progressives in a heavily blue district.

Georgette Gomez is San Diego’s current City Council President and representative of District 9. Before holding office; she was an environmental justice organizer.

Sara Jacobs has not held elected office before but she is the granddaughter of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs. She has previously worked in the State Department and is a childhood anti-poverty advocate.

Both women are vying to fill the seat vacated by Susan Davis who is retiring. She previously held the seat for almost 20 years and was considered more moderate than her district.

November 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Magazine will be livestreaming a special election night show  with East County elections results from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Watch live at https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyMagazine. 

Also follow EastCountyMag on Twitter for results.

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, San Diego

November 3, 2020 (San Diego) — The United States Attorneys for the Southern District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California and Central District of California and the District Attorneys of San Diego, Sacramento, Alameda and Ventura counties launched an online outreach campaign Thursday to help victims of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Attorneys and District Attorneys are joined by Childhelp, a national nonprofit organization aiding victims of child abuse.

The outreach campaign was created to combat an unintended consequence of COVID-19 public health measures— an alarming rise in domestic violence with victims trapped at home with their abusers under increasing stress. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (www.thehotline.org or 800.799.SAFE [7233]) has reported an increase in contacts to the hotline during COVID-19. Reports show...

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Mayoral candidate Barbara Bry drops off her mail-in ballot at the La Jolla branch library on Election Day. Photo by Chris Stone

November 3, 2020 (San Diego) - As Election Day begins, nearly 1.3 million San Diego County residents have already voted — a 66% early turnout that matches the total turnout in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

By Miriam Raftery

November 2, 2020 (El Cajon) – Stacie Hoover, a candidate running for Cajon Valley Union School District board against trustee Jim Miller, says she is considering legal action against Miller for posts on Defend East County and other sites that she contends are false, defamatory, and racially insensitive.

The Defend East County (DEC) website was shut down by Facebook this week after months of complaints that include racist, violent and defamatory content, though Facebook has not stated exactly why it deleted the site. Miller, a member of the group, posted, “I appreciate your support as my opponent is a BLM backer who was recruited to run against me by the far left.”

Elsewhere, Miller for Cajon Valley School Board posted, “My opponent and her ANTIFA backers continue to tear down my signs and we continue to replace them up to the end.”

ECM asked Hoover, a retired paralegal raising a grandson in the district, about Miller's posts. She replied,“Nobody recruited me. If he has a problem with me supporting black lives, I feel sorry for him and those families in this district and the world.  I don’t have any ties to Antifa. I do not support violence or intimidation from anyone, including him. Now I know how Jill Barto feels.”

Trump rallies caused over 30,000 COVID cases and 800 deaths, Stanford researchers find

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2020 (Washington D.C.) – On Friday, the U.S. reported 100,233 new coronavirus infections in a single day – the highest daily total ever for any nation, Reuters reports.  The spike belies President Donald Trump’s claim during last week’s debate when he stated, “We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.” 

Every second, the U.S. is now adding a new coronavirus case, overwhelming hospitals in many cities.  USA Today reports that some hospitals are running out of beds and staffers; as a result, the situation is so dire that some hospitals report they may soon have to ration care. 

Despite surviving coronavirus himself, the President has refused to set a role model for others to avoid transmission. Shortly after leaving the hospital he resumed holding in-person rallies to large crowds,  most not wearing masks. Now, Stanford researchers have found that Trump’s rallies between June and September alone were directly responsible for 30,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 700 deaths – including deaths of people who never attended the rallies, but were exposed by Trump supporters who did attend, CNBC reports.

By Briana Gomez

October 31, 2020 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Arab and Muslim Community Coalition recently held its fourth biennial Community Forum last week. This year’s forum took place in the unprecedented zoom fashion due to COVID-19 and public health concerns.

The Coalition is comprised of 16 local organizations that deal directly with the Arab and Muslim communities (which sometimes overlap). Many of these organizations also deal with other social justice issues and are inclusive of other non-Arab, Middle Eastern minorities such as Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Kurds who have large populations in the East County suburbs.

The forum was attended by various prominent community members, including representatives of elected officials and local figures.

East County News Service

Photo: Together We Can Do More: The Leon Williams Story (available now at shopaztecs.com)

October 30, 2020 (San Diego) -- On October 22, 2020, the Leon L. Williams San Diego County Human Relations Commission met to discuss the election climate and inform residents how to report voter intimidation or harassment.

The Commission released the following statement:

“The Leon L. Williams San Diego County Human Relations Commission promotes positive relations, respect, and the integrity of every individual regardless of gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or citizenship status. The Commission condemns racism, bigotry, white supremacy and hatred of any kind. Appreciating and respecting one another is of utmost importance during the election season. We want to reassure voters that our Commission and law enforcement is making safe peaceful voting a top priority. All eligible citizens have the right to vote in a peaceful manner. We urge all to respect differing points of view and to be able to peacefully disagree with one another. We implore the public to continue this level of understanding after the election and call for civility while exercising our civic duty.”

East County News Service

October 30, 2020 (Sacramento) - State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced today that all California-based school districts, county offices of education and classroom-based charter schools can apply for the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), a $45 million grant-funded initiative to support and expand existing community schools.