Gary Singh — who came  to the United States from India as a 3-year-old when his parents moved to America to work toward building a better life for their family — appears poised to become Manteca’s next mayor.

As such he would become the first naturalized American to serve as mayor.

As of 1 a.m. this morning, Singh had 50.52 percent of the votes counted or 5,096 votes.

Incumbent Ben Cantu was second with 2,503 votes or 24.81 percent of the count tally. Newcomer Lei Ann Larson was a close third with 2,488 votes for 24.67 percent of the count as of 1  a.m.

Countywide, 18.6  percent or 71,901 of the 385,678 votes cast had been counted.

There is no way of knowing where the votes that are remaining to be counted are from.

But to give you an idea, there were just over 21,000 votes cast in 2018 when Cantu defeated then incumbent Steve DeBrum for the mayor’s post. There were 10,099 votes cast for mayor that have been counted so far this election or just under 50 percent of the final number of ballots cast in the 2018 mayoral race.

The final count may take weeks as the ballots dropped off several days prior to the election  as well as on Tuesday need to be verified against signatures on the official roll of voters before they can be counted.

“I think the people of Manteca are ready for Manteca to move forward,” Singh said Tuesday night.

At age 40, Singh would also be the youngest mayor in Manteca at least since the direct election of mayors started in 1980. Singh was the youngest council member in at least modern history when he was elected to the City Council in 2016 at age 34.

He also would be the first Sierra High graduate elected mayor.

That fact ties directly into the rough and tumble campaign for mayor that saw a number of unusual and unorthodox claims. Among them was a claim that Singh did not graduate from Sierra High where he was in the top percentage in terms of academic rankings. He also graduated from the University of the Pacific, a fact Larson contended was not true.

 Singh said he was grateful for the support.

He also vowed to work to bring “old and new” Manteca together and to try an get everyone to work together for the common good of the community.

 Mike Morowit with 3,269 votes counted so far for the District 4 City Council seat representing Manteca north of Louise Avenue except for east of Highway 99 looks like the clear winner.

As of 1 a.m. he had 84.09 percent of the tally or 3,269 votes. His challenger, Nancy Watson, had 15.91 percent of the count or 563 votes.

Morowit also can claim a first for Manteca elections — at least going back as far as 1980.

He is the first council member to be turned out of office and then stage a successful comeback by being elected and not appointed to a council vacancy.

Morowit was defeated in 2018 in his bid for a second term by Jose Nuno who beat him for the second spot on the council during the  at-large election.

 “I’m pretty humbled,” Morowit said of the District 4 voters giving him a second chance.

Morowit pledged to make addressing homeless issues as well as having the city being more focused on generating private sector jobs as his top priorities for the coming four years.

That includes pushing for a homeless commission.

“I will do my part to help make the city better,” Morowit said. “I live in the city, I work in the city, my children went to school here, and the city has been good to me,” Morowit said. “Instead of complaining I want to work to be part of the solution.”

Morowit, just like Singh, views the voters’ message of wanting change.

“People are looking for real change,” Morowit said. “They want some change. They don’t want a big flip.”

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com