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$61K raised so far in Lathrop mayor race
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To date Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal has raised more than $40,000 for his bid to seek a third term as the city’s head elected official. 

And his opponent – a political novice – has raised roughly half that amint. 

According to campaign filing statements submitted last week by both Dhaliwal and Steven Macias, the challenger in the race has taken in more than $21,000 in contributions from various local entities. 

Macias, who has made the fight against allowing a Pilot/Flying J Truck Stop to annex into Lathrop’s city limits as one of his core campaign platforms, has received more than $7,000 from the owner of Lathrop’s existing truck stop owner Dalwinder Dhoot, who owns Joe’s Travel Plaza on Harlan Road, as well as a variety of other fuel stations in both Tracy and Stockton. Since his initial filing and the required 460 forms for contributions in excess of $1,999.99, Macias has taken in more than $12,000 to bolster his campaign to unseat the two-term Mayor that has been a staple on the Lathrop City Council for a decade. 

Listed on his most recent filing form, Macias got help from Davis-based Tera Investments who gave him $1,000, and Stockton-based K&K Trucking who donated $2,000 to his campaign. He had three $500 donations that were listed – one from a Sacramento fuel stop owner as well as two from trucking entities – and a Tracy gas station chipped in an additional $1,000. 

Dhaliwal took in just over $3,000 to add to his war chest in the second filing period – $2,000 of which came from the waste management company that the City of Lathrop is contracted with for refuse collection and disposal. He also had donations from four Lathrop residents totaling $711 and another $200 from a Lathrop-based trucking company that had already donated that amount to his campaign. Stockton-based Global Allianz Immigration Consultants rounded out his donations during the time frame with a $250 check. 

Combined, the two Mayoral candidates have raised more than $61,000 for the race.

To compare, none of the candidates that are vying for one of the three available council seats that are up for grabs this year even formed a committee – meaning that they’re planning on spending less than $2,000 over the course of 12-months for their respective efforts. 

The race between the two has become heated at times with both campaigns accusing the other of destroying campaign signs and strategically placing their own signs to block out the other. The issue of torn down and defaced campaign signs in Lathrop isn’t exclusive to just mayoral candidates either – at least one candidate running for the Lathrop Manteca Fire District board reported that their signs were also vandalized. 

Dhaliwal contends that he has become a political target for voting in favor of the truck stop – which will be located on Roth Road off of I-5. While Macias has made his opposition a cornerstone of his campaign – claiming that it will bring crime, pollution and traffic to the community – Dhalwial has reinforced his position that the business was going to be constructed at that location regardless of whether it was annexed, and adding it to the City of Lathrop to earn the sales tax that the facility will generate was a smart fiscal move. 

 

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