June 14 Election Review: Municipal elections in Nevada and Washington, D.C.

June 15, 2016

By Ballotpedia's Municipal government team

Ward 7 challenger Vincent Gray (D)

Ward 7 Councilwoman Yvette Alexander (D)

Voters in Washington, D.C., shook up the district council by ousting three incumbents in Tuesday's Democratic primaries. Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), Yvette Alexander (D-7), and LaRuby May (D-8)—all allies of Mayor Muriel Bowser—were defeated by margins ranging from 2.5 percent for Orange to 27.1 percent for Alexander.

Former Mayor Vincent Gray's victory over Alexander attracted the most attention due to Alexander's close relationship with Bowser and clashes over the dissolution of an education nonprofit funded by the city. May's loss to Trayon White (D) in Ward 8 followed her 78-vote victory over White in the 2015 special election. D.C.'s council primaries could tip the balance from a narrow pro-Bowser majority to an anti-Bowser majority in the November general election.

In Reno, Nevada, city council primaries for the At-Large and Ward 1 seats advanced a self-identified Democrat and self-identified Republican to the general election for each seat.

Reno

See also: Municipal elections in Reno, Nevada (2016) and Partisanship in United States mayoral elections (2016)

Two of the four city council seats up for election in Reno, Nev., required primaries on Tuesday, with the top two vote recipients in each race advancing to the general election on November 8. While the elections are nonpartisan, self-reported party affiliations from candidates show a Democrat and Republican advancing in both of the contested races. Both of the contested incumbents have self-identified as Democrats and have been endorsed by Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve, who is also a Democrat.

Ward 1 City Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus, a Democrat, faced two challengers, both of whom had been vocal critics of her first term on the council. Despite these critiques, Brekhus was the top vote recipient in the primary, earning more than 53 percent of the votes cast. Victor Salcido, a self-described "business Republican," came in second place with 39 percent of the votes. As of the most recent campaign finance filings, Salcido had outspent Brekhus by more than $15,000, despite being more than $17,000 behind her in campaign contributions. Richard VanGogh placed last, with less than 7 percent of the total votes being cast for him. Brekhus and Salcido will go head-to-head in November.

At-Large City Councilman David Bobzien, also a Democrat, was also the top candidate in his race, earning more than 63 percent of the vote in that primary contest. He faced three challengers, but Republican-identified Sam Kumar was the only one of the three to file any campaign finance activity. Kumar also advanced to the general, but received less than a quarter of the number of votes cast for Bobizen. These two will face off in November. Political newcomer James Lewis and repeat candidate Sam Dehne, meanwhile, lost in the primary, each earning about 10 percent of the votes cast.

The contested Ward 1 and At-Large races will be joined by the unopposed Wards 3 and 5 on the general election ballot. Ward 3 City Councilman Oscar Delgado and Ward 5 City Councilwoman Neoma Jardon are both running unopposed for their second terms in office. While Delgado did not indicate a partisan affiliation in his campaign finance activity, he has been endorsed by the Democratic Party of Washoe County. Jardon is a self-identified Republican.

Washington, D.C.

See also: Municipal elections in Washington, D.C. (2016)

Primaries were held for five out of six district council seats on Tuesday, with Ward 2's Jack Evans (D) unopposed. In the four contested primaries, three incumbents supportive of Mayor Muriel Bowser were ousted by challengers. Robert White, Vincent Gray, and Trayon White won Democratic primaries for the At-Large, Ward 7, and Ward 8 seats, respectively. Gray's victory was notable because of his loss to Bowser in the 2014 mayoral election. The lone incumbent to survive the Democratic primary was Ward 4's Brandon Todd, who spent more than $265,000 in the three-month period prior to winning 50 percent of the vote.

Bowser allies held a 7-6 majority on the district council entering the 2016 election season. White, Gray, and White are favored to win in the November 2016 general election due to the district's heavy Democratic presence. The primary portends clashes between Bowser and the district council, with vocal opponents displacing known supporters. The following table details the pro-Bowser and anti-Bowser factions on the council entering the 2016 election:

Council support for mayoral proposals
Supporters of mayoral proposals	Opponents of mayoral proposals
Anita Bonds (At-Large)	Phil Mendelson (Chair)
Vincent Orange (At-Large) (defeated in primary)	David Grosso (At-Large)
Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1)	Elissa Silverman (At-Large)
Jack Evans (Ward 2) (won primary)	Mary Cheh (Ward 3)
Brandon Todd (Ward 4) (won primary)	Kenyan McDuffie (Ward 5)
Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) (defeated in primary)	Charles Allen (Ward 6)
LaRuby May (Ward 8) (defeated in primary)

See also

• United States municipal elections, 2016
• Municipal elections in Washington, D.C. (2016)
• Municipal elections in Reno, Nevada (2016)
• Partisanship in United States mayoral elections (2016)