Although a worker at the Santa Clara County Registrar’s Office said this afternoon that there are still a few ballots straggling in, Teresa Alvarado has thrown in the towel in her bid for the District 1 Supervisor’s seat. “I finished just 62 votes short of a second-place finish. Clearly, every vote counts,” she wrote in a statement. Although the gap between Alvarado and former City Council member Forrest Williams was just a few dozen votes, former Los Gatos mayor Mike Wasserman trounced both candidates in the primary by over 14,000 votes.

Some had speculated whether Alvarado would call for a recount, but today’s announcement silences those questions. Wasserman, a fiscally conservative Republican, will face Williams, a labor-backed Democrat, in the November run-off. Alvarado says she will not be endorsing either at this time.

Wednesday’s tally:
Forrest Williams           19.25%    11,886
Teresa Alvarado       19.15%    11,824

Read Alvarado’s full statement below:

The final votes have been counted and I regret to inform you that I will not be in November run-off election. According to the Registrar’s final tally, I finished just 62 votes short of a second-place finish. Clearly, every vote counts.

I congratulate the top two finalists, Mike Wasserman and Forrest Williams, and wish them the best of luck. However, I do not intend to make an early endorsement of either candidate.

Instead, I look forward to hearing both of them during the course of the fall campaign. I believe strongly in the importance of County government in our community and I hope the candidates will speak about the County’s services, constituents, revenues, and expenditures in an informed and meaningful way.

I also hope these two gentlemen will actively engage with the residents of District 1 over the coming months. The constituents of southern Santa Clara County deserve elected leaders who view them as their top priority.

Sincerely,
Teresa Alvarado