Lerner, Aliga, Jones are the likely winners of the Vallejo and Benicia school board races

SOLANO COUNTY – Judith Lerner and Rizál Aliga are the likely winners in the Vallejo school board races, and Barbara Jones has likely won the Benicia school board race, according to initial election results released Tuesday. 

While there are still votes left to be counted, Lerner, Aliga, and Jones have large leads over their opponents. Well over half of expected ballots countywide have been tallied.

Lerner has the biggest lead. In Vallejo’s Trustee Area 1 school board race, she currently has 2,155 votes, roughly 73% of the total. Clarence Martin trails her with 435, or about 15% of the votes, and Reba “Jill” Brown has 350 votes, or about 12% of the total.

“I’m very thankful for all the support,” Lerner told the Vallejo Sun. “Now begins the real work.”

Lerner said she plans to reach out to her opponents to ask for their advice, and that she learned a lot while campaigning, including what’s already right with district schools. She said she’s looking forward to working with the current board, and that, after taking a moment for reflection, she intends to be available to the community, including the many people and organizations she met while campaigning.

Martin said he’d like to thank all his supporters and that he wishes Lerner success. He also said this likely won’t be the last time he runs for school board.

“This experience of running for office is very demanding,” Martin said. “But I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.”

Brown said she wishes Lerner luck.

In Vallejo’s Trustee Area 3 race, Aliga currently has 2,963 votes, or about 59% of the total, while his opponent Irene Reynolds has 2,023 votes, or roughly 41% of the total.

Aliga, who grew up in Vallejo, said that he’d “like to thank God for the privilege of serving the community that raised me.” He said his campaign “demonstrated the power of teamwork.” Aliga thanked his supporters, who he said contacted 16,000 potential voters on his behalf, and also thanked all the school board candidates for a “competitive and respectful campaign.”

“As your Area 3 Trustee, my priority is bringing people together around a common goal: improving outcomes for our children,” Aliga said.

Reynolds has not responded to an inquiry from the Vallejo Sun.

In the Benicia Trustee Area 1 race, Jones got 742 votes, or about 59% of the total, while her opponent, Dan Smith, got 509 votes, or roughly 41% of the total.

Jones said she’s “honored to serve the students, families and employees of the Benicia Unified School District,” and that she’s looking forward to her tenure on the school board and appreciates the work her opponent does.

“I look forward to collaborating, listening, and to making decisions which have a positive impact on students,” Jones said. “I appreciate Dan Smith’s willingness to serve our community.”

Smith, the chairman of Solano Open Space and a member of other Benicia-based organizations, said he congratulates Jones and wishes her the best.

“People have spoken,” Smith said. “So I will just move on with my other community involvement.”

The total votes per candidate will change in the coming days, and the percentage each candidate got could also shift. While roughly 93,000 votes across Solano County have already been tallied, an estimated 57,000 remain to be counted, according to the Solano County Registrar of voters website.

Solano County Registrar of Voters John Gardner said more ballots in addition to the estimated 57,000 could come in over the next few days, as mail-in ballots sent on Election Day or just before are still being delivered from the post office.