Sonny Dhaliwal will get another two years to continue the work that he  has done on the Lathrop City Council for the last decade.
According to the final tallies from Tuesday’s election, Dhaliwal holds a 2,291 to 1,501 lead over challenger Steven Macias for the Lathrop Mayor’s race. While 100 percent of the ballots that were cast on Tuesday at polling places have been counted, there are still as many as 20,000 absentee and provisional ballots in Southern San Joaquin County that have not yet been counted and won’t be added to the tallies for another week.
While that likely won’t affect the outcome of Dhaliwal’s race, it could play a part in changing the outcome of the council race. While Martha Salcedo almost assuredly secured another four-year term on the council by securing 32 percent of the vote in a five-person field, current councilman Mark Elliott – who was appointed earlier this year to serve out the remainder of the first half of former Councilman Omar Ornelas’ term – he resigned to pursue a career in education in Sacramento – currently trails Ruben Sandoval by 79 votes – 1,198 to 1,119.
In 2014, Connie Lum Perez was leading right up until the unofficial final results – which included all of the provisional and late absentee ballots – were posted, which leapfrogged Omar Onrleas over to the top to secure a second term.
He resigned his position roughly one year later.
In the race for the Lathrop Consolidated Fire District Board of Directors, newcomer John Gish – a French Camp-McKinley Fire District Captain – almost assuredly earned himself a spot by securing nearly 27 percent of the vote in a six-person field where three were elected. Currently Board Chairwoman Gloryanna Rhodes is in second place with 16.6 percent of the vote, while newcomer Jeremy Coe holds a 21-vote lead over incumbent Bennie Gatto for the third position. 
Those numbers are likely to change as more votes roll in over the next week, and the election won’t be finalized until the San Joaquin Registrar of Voters office sends the final results to the California Secretary of State for certification.

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