Local races set for Tuesday primary

As is the case every midterm election, Solano County residents will have a lot on the ballot for Tuesday's primary election, concluding races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, senator and other state and national races.

It also includes plenty of local races too. Vacaville will not have to worry about electing a county supervisor as its representative, John Vasquez, is running unopposed. Fairfield and Suisun City, however, have a major race on the ballot: the Solano County Board of Supervisors District 3 race.

With Jim Spering retiring after four terms, the seat is wide open. Vying to succeed Spering on the board are longtime legislative staffer and business owner Jennifer Barton, retired law enforcement officer Joe Joyce, Solano Irrigation District board member Pete Sanchez, Fairfield City Councilman Chuck Timm and Suisun City Councilwoman Wanda Williams.

Unlike the partisan races, the top vote-getter stands a chance of avoiding a runoff if they clinch a majority — 50% plus one — of the vote. If no candidate lives a majority, the top two vote-getters will face off in November.

However, all of the county will be able to vote in the local Assembly race. The newly redrawn Assembly District 11 comprises all of Solano as well as portions of Contra Costa and Yolo counties, and both the candidates are Solano residents. Former Suisun City Mayor Lori Wilson, a Democrat, has occupied the seat since April, having won an unopposed special election to succeed Jim Frazier who retired in December. Wilson is running to keep the seat, but her challenger is Jenny Callison, an independent Vacaville resident, Army veteran and legislative advocate with the California Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Solano has two congressional races on the ballot. The newly redrawn District 4 — which includes Dixon, Rio Vista and the bulk of Vacaville — is being sought by Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat who currently represents Benicia and Vallejo in Congress as part of District 5. His challengers include Matt Brock, a Republican and supervisor for Contra Costa Water District; account executive Andrew Engdahl, a Democrat; information systems technician Scott Giblin, a Republican; parts adviser Jimih Jones, a Republican; and Jason Kishinieff, a homemaker and peace activist not aligned with any political party.

The other race is for District 8, which includes Benicia, Vallejo, Fairfield, Suisun City and part of Vacaville. This seat is being sought by John Garamendi, a Democrat who has represented the majority of Solano County in District 10 and later 3 since 2009. Also vying for this seat are Rudy Recile, a Republican and small-business owner; Christopher Riley, a Democratic teacher and business consultant; Edwin Rutsch, a Democratic community organizer and mediator; and Cheryl Sudduth, a Democratic contracts negotiator and scientist.

In all partisan races, the top two vote-getters will square off in the November election, even if both are from the same party.

Other Solano nonpartisan races of note include the district attorney's race between incumbent DA Krishna Abrams and Chief Deputy DA Sharon Henry and the sheriff's race between incumbent Tom Ferrara and retired deputy Daryl Snedeker.

For a listing of all races and candidates and to check vote-by-mail status or find ballot dropoff or polling locations, go to Solanocounty.com/depts/rov/.

On Tuesday evening, The Reporter's website (www. TheReporter.com) will publish results as they come in. Articles on the results as they stand will be published in Thursday's print edition.