Unless his challenger can overcome a deficit of more than 1,500 votes in the coming weeks as mail ballots roll in after the election, Tom Patti will likely represent Manteca north of Yosemite Avenue, Lathrop, and South Stockton on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors for another four years.

Patti, a Stockton businessman that has been a staple at community functions for the last five years and has gone out of his way to represent the communities that fall into his district, holds a 55.5 to 43.3 percent lead over challenger Elbert Holman for the District 3 seat on the Board of Supervisors – with thousands of ballots still outstanding.

While California’s “Top 2” primary will ensure that even two-person races at the state and federal level will advance to a November runoff, that rule only applies to local races if one of the candidates does not hold a simple majority – a mark that as of right now Patti has easily cleared.

The race for the other seat on the Board of Supervisors that has a stake in Manteca, however, is far from over.

Currently Tracy Mayor Robert Rickman holds a lead of more than 20 percent over the next closest challenger, but with only 46.3 percent of the current vote has failed to amass an overall majority. If the election were to end today, it would be Rickman and fellow Tracy City Council member Rhodesia Ransom advancing to a runoff in November to see who gets to carry the title for the next four years and represent the South County which includes Tracy, parts of Manteca south of Yosemite Avenue, and Mountain House.

Currently Ransom has 25.53 percent of the overall vote, while Veronica Vargas, who also serves on the Tracy City Council, has 17.96 percent of the vote.

The next round up updated election information is scheduled to be released today and will be the last election update until next week when the Registrar of Voters releases another on March 10. With the majority of voters in San Joaquin County registered to vote by mail, thousands of ballots are still outstanding and are eligible to be counted as long as they are mailed by election day.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.