Villapudua, Patti hold onto S.J. supes seats

STOCKTON — Miguel Villapudua and Tom Patti retained their San Joaquin County Supervisor seats, and Robert Rickman and Rhodesia Ransom will face off in November.

Villapudua defeated Terence West in District 1; Patti beat Elbert Holman in District 3; and Rickman and Ransom will run off on Nov. 6 for the District 5 seat vacated when Bob Elliott termed out.

With all precincts reporting, Villapudua earned 62.9% of the votes (3,983) to top West (36.5%, 2,309). District 1 has a population of 133,112 residents and includes south Stockton.

Villapudua said he most proud of his collaboration with county supervisors, county department heads and constituents during his first term.

Villapudua sits on 19 committees and said he tries to collaborate with the community to make things better for residents of his district, which includes Stockton, and the county.

Patti won re-election over Holman, a former Stockton City Councilman and vice mayor, who had a 34-year career in law enforcement before he entered politics.

Patti received 55.3% (7,669) of the votes to Holman’s 44.3% (6,145). District 3 has 133,122 residents and includes large swaths of Stockton, as well as Lathrop and Manteca.

Patti said the biggest issue facing the county is homelessness.

“We certainly have to address the substance abuse and the mental health issues,” Patti said. “We need an emergency shelter with wrap-around services. That’s a big, big focus, and it’s not finished yet. We’re having a lot of dialogue, we’re looking for the location and I’m very passionate about making a positive impact with our greatest needs right here in San Joaquin County.”

Attempts to reach Holman on Wednesday were not successful.