Chalamcherla, Rodriguez hold Folsom City Council leads

While absentee and additional mail-in ballots continue to be tallied, results from Sacramento County Elections show two candidates standing strong to fill the two open seats on Folsom City Council. From the moment the first data was release by Sacramento County, Rosario Rodriguez and YK Chalamcherla both held somewhat significant margins in the field of 7 candidates. The duo was in a dead heat for the lead throughout election night, each grasping 22% of the vote. Just prior to press time on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Chalamcherla had gained additional votes to climb to 23% of the vote, with 7,924 votes to his name. Rodriguez still maintained 22% of the ballots, with 7,849 votes to her name. Mark Moore is the candidate currently trailing the top two, with 17% of the overall vote. The 2020 race is the second consecutive run for a council seat by Chalamcherla. It was the maiden campaign for Rodriguez. Anyone who has driven the streets of Folsom over the last several weeks, surely witnessed Chalamcherla as he made himself visible on various street corner, complete with his campaign signs and friendly waves to passersby. Chalamcherla has been part of the Folsom community for the past 10 years and his professional resume includes 25-years of leadership roles in the public sector as he has been a longtime employee of the State of California and involved in numerous community roles. "It is a big day for everyone who put tireless efforts to run for public office to serve our communities. I am one of them for the Folsom City Council," read an online statement from Chalamcherla Tuesday. "I am fortunate to get a lot of help from my family, friends, and volunteers for my campaign activities," he continued. "I want to express from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your generous assistance. During this journey, I have made so many friends and well-wishers. I enjoyed every interaction with all of you; for me, this is a win, irrespective of the outcome tonight. " Rodriguez has been a local restaurant owner for the last 5 years in Historic Folsom. Prior to her business venture, she held a 24-year career in healthcare management. Since opening her business, Rodriguez has been embedded in the Folsom community in a variety of capacities including commission positions, seats on load non-profit boards and chamber ambassadorships. In her first campaign, Rodriguez has spent much of her time hosting virtual meet and greets, holding socially distanced pop up discussions in Folsom neighborhoods and more. "I was so pleased to see my name in the top two positions after the first election results came out. Nine months of campaigning and running a business in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions made this one of the most interesting years of my life," said Rodriguez. "There is so much hard work that happens behind the scene, but it was all worth it, she continued. "I knew if I won, I worked as hard as I could and if I lose, I worked as hard as I could. All of this was made possible with a group of seven friends who became part of a committee. The strategizing and pressure was undoubtedly worth it all. I'm ready to return to work full time soon." At press time, Moore's 17% of the vote equates to trailing Rodriguez by 1,915 votes at this time with absentee and mail-in ballots still being reviewed and counted. Moore is a retired fire caption with a career spanning 30-years in public service. He has attended every council meeting for more than three years straight along with local and regional commission meetings, a passion that he stresses has prepared him well should win a seat on the council. As of Wednesday morning, Jaya Badiga held 13% of the vote for the council race with 3,940 ballot punches to her name. Justin Raithel sat at 11% with 3,940 while Justin Sanders earned 3,540, earning 10% of the vote and a healthy margin over Janine Bedley. FCUSD school board race In the race for Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board seats incumbants top the votes so far. In FCUSD area 2, Joanne Reinking sits wth 37% of the vote over Tim Hooey with 34% nd Hari Shetty at 28%. In area 4, Christopher Clark tops the numbers with 61% of votes over Larry Leroy Ladd who hold 38%. In the race for the Los Rios Community College Trustee Area 3, Chris Yatooma holds a lead of 41% over John R. Knight who has 33% of the vote. Susan Didriksen has 24% of the vote in this Area 4 has Kelly Wilkerson holding the lead at 43% over Katie Vellegas at 34% and David Sandino at 22%. Pamela Haynes leads early results for Los In Area 5, Tami Nelson leads with 64% of the votes ahead of Scott Schmidt with 35%. 107 and 109 preceints have reported. El Dorado Hills area races El Dorado Hills races In El Dorado Hills races, the El Dorado Hills Community Services District contest for two open seats is currently lead by Noelle Mattock with 22% of the vote over Benjamin Paulson with 21%. Sita Burgess is just over 19% in this race. Dan Sozzi holds just 5% of the votes. In the race for the El Dorado Hills Water and Fire Board show Charles Jim Hartley significantly leading the race with nearly 60% of the vote. Gartha I Willyard who sits at 17.12% according to El Dorado County Elections as press time.The race for El Dorado Irrigation District Board Area 1 shows a close race with George Osborne holding 46% of the vote over Sue Taylor with just over 40%. El Dorado Irrigation District Area 3 is being led by Brian Veerkamp with 36%. Craig Schmidt sits at 25% and Michael Raffety trails at 24.78%. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors District 1 race is being lead by John Hidahl at nearly 63% over Ron Briggs with 22%. The District 2 race is being led early by Ken Pimlott with 46% of voting over George Turnboo with 42%. All election results in this article are currently unofficial and remain uncertified as of press time. For ongoing updates and for a full recap of all area elections, including the results of local measures and statewide propositions please continue to visit www.goldcountrymedia.com.