Three seats for Stockton City Council are on the ballot in the June 7 primary. Candidates will need a majority of the vote or 50% plus one vote to be elected outright. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters in each district will move on to the November general election. Here’s who’s running.
District 1
District 1 incumbent councilmember Sol Jobrack is seeking a second term. Prior to his election to the District 1 seat, Jobrack served as a Stockton Planning commissioner for four years. A graduate of Bear Creek High School and San Joaquin Delta College, Jobrack has spent the past four years on city council focusing on his core issues of supporting public safety, holding city hall accountable fiscally and tackling the homelessness crisis.
Challengers include:
- Social worker Felix Ogbah. His areas of focus are addressing homelessness and affordable housing, bringing a livable wage to more Stocktonians and fully funding the city’s Office of Violence Prevention to address this year’s crime wave.
- Educator Michelle Padilla. Her priorities include addressing the homelessness crisis through decentralizing services and streamlining service protocols, reducing crime by putting well trained officers with cultural and equity awareness into the police departments’ ranks and investing in Stockton’s youth.
District 3
The District 3 seat is open as Paul Canepa has reached the two-term limit. There are three candidates seeking the position.
- Real estate broker Michael Blower is making his second run for city council. Blower was appointed to the council in 2016 and served the remainder of the year before being defeated by Susan Lenz in the 2016 election.
“We can only accomplish what Stockton needs through teamwork,” Blower’s campaign website reads. “Only by bringing everyone to the table and listening to all perspectives will our diverse city find solutions to our problems.”
Blower, the three-time Stockton realtor of the year is a lifelong Stocktonian who’s served as the president of the Rotary Club of Stockton, a board member on the Stockton Police Chaplaincy board and regularly volunteers at the Stockton Emergency Food Bank. Assisting the homeless, public safety, creating better-paying jobs and holding the city government fiscally accountable are his priorities. - Environmental health and safety engineer Shoua Lo, who was unsuccessful in a bid for mayor in 2020. His platforms are youth programs, rezoning downtown and the Miracle Mile to revive Stockton’s economy, public safety and solving Stockton’s homelessness crisis.
Lo says he is the first Hmong-American to run for public office in Stockton. His campaign statement says he aims to work closely with the Measure A citizens oversight committee to ensure the funds are being used as promised to voters to fund police officer positions. - Substitute teacher at Lincoln Unified School District and lifelong Stocktonian Bridget Hawley-Ortiz is also running for the District 3 seat.
District 5
Vice Mayor Christina Fugazi is terming out of the District 5 seat after serving for eight years. Two candidates will vie to fill the seat, and the race could be decided in the June 7 primary election.
- Stockton Planning Commissioner Brando Villapudua, the brother of state Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua. Brando Villapudua would like to invest in Stockton’s fundamental resources, implement strategic practices with efficient methods for business development and improve sustainability by establishing benchmark goals with reviews for assessments for improvement, revision or expansion.
- Jewelian Johnson, a pre-law student at University of California, Berkeley and former student at San Joaquin Delta College. Johnson interned under former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and serves as a youth advisor for Allcove, a mental health nonprofit, and the Reinvent South Stockton Coalition.
Johnson’s platform focuses on putting housing first to address Stockton’s homelessness crisis, divesting from the Stockton Police Department and investing in Stockton’s youth, green spaces and infrastructure.
Record reporter Ben Irwin covers Stockton and San Joaquin County government. He can be reached at birwin@recordnet.com or on Twitter @B1rwin. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.
