Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Municipal elections in Bakersfield, California (2016)
2017 →
← 2014
|
| 2016 Bakersfield elections |
|---|
 |
| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 16, 2016 & August 12, 2016 |
| Primary election: June 7, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor and city council |
| Total seats up: 4 |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
Elections
General election
Candidate list
Mayor of Bakersfield
- Note: Incumbent Harvey Hall did not run for re-election. Although elections in Bakersfield are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia identified the partisan affiliation of the candidates in this race for informational purposes.
- ☐ Kyle Carter
- ☑ Karen Goh
Ward 2
- ☐ Terry Maxwell (i)
- ☑ Andrae Gonzales
- ☐ Kevin Blanton
Ward 5
- ☐ Harold Hanson (i)
- ☑ Jeffrey Tkac
- ☐ Ryan Nance
Ward 6
- ☑ Jacquie Sullivan (i)
- ☐ Bobby Cloud
Results
| Mayor of Bakersfield, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Karen Goh |
52.75% | 59,355 |
| Kyle Carter | 47.25% | 53,157 |
| Total Votes | 112,512 | |
| Source: Kern County Elections, "Official Final Results," December 1, 2016 | ||
| Bakersfield City Council, Ward 2, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Andrae Gonzales |
55.94% | 6,369 |
| Terry Maxwell Incumbent | 33.75% | 3,843 |
| Kevin Blanton | 10.30% | 1,173 |
| Total Votes | 11,385 | |
| Source: Kern County Elections, "Official Final Results," December 1, 2016 | ||
| Bakersfield City Council, Ward 5, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jeffrey Tkac |
51.89% | 9,817 |
| Harold Hanson Incumbent | 24.97% | 4,725 |
| Ryan Nance | 23.14% | 4,377 |
| Total Votes | 18,919 | |
| Source: Kern County Elections, "Official Final Results," December 1, 2016 | ||
| Bakersfield City Council, Ward 6, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jacquie Sullivan Incumbent |
68.41% | 9,565 |
| Bobby Cloud | 31.59% | 4,416 |
| Total Votes | 13,981 | |
| Source: Kern County Elections, "Official Final Results," December 1, 2016 | ||
Primary election
Candidate list
Mayor of Bakersfield
- Note: Incumbent Harvey Hall did not run for re-election.[2]
- ☐ Kevin Blanton
- ☑ Kyle Carter
- ☐ Addison Chavez
- ☐ Joseph Crotwell
- ☐ Gilberto De La Torre
- ☐ Marc DeLeon
- ☐ T.J. Esposito
- ☑ Karen Goh
- ☐ Nannette Gonzalez
- ☐ Michael Harmon
- ☐ Roy Charles Keenan
- ☐ Kameron Kephart
- ☐ Tony Martinez
- ☐ Alex Merrill
- ☐ William Minnick
- ☐ Scotty Monroe
- ☐ Opal Morland
- ☐ Nathan Nemnich
- ☐ Valiant Robinson
- ☐ Tyrone Smith
- ☐ Gregory Tatum
- ☐ Tanner Thompson
- ☐ Brett Vigil
- ☐ Benjamin Weigel
- ☐ Kenneth Whitchard[3]
Results
| Mayor of Bakersfield, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Karen Goh |
33.03% | 20,116 |
| Kyle Carter |
31.80% | 19,369 |
| Alex Merrill | 5.15% | 3,139 |
| T.J. Esposito | 4.06% | 2,470 |
| Tony Martinez | 3.26% | 1,983 |
| Gregory Tatum | 2.58% | 1,570 |
| Gilberto De La Torre | 2.57% | 1,567 |
| Nannette Gonzalez | 2.43% | 1,477 |
| Marc DeLeon | 2.24% | 1,364 |
| Addison Chavez | 2.05% | 1,250 |
| Kevin Blanton | 2.02% | 1,232 |
| Tanner Thompson | 1.42% | 865 |
| Tyrone Smith | 1.19% | 722 |
| Opal Morland | 0.91% | 554 |
| Brett Vigil | 0.76% | 463 |
| Roy Charles Keenan | 0.68% | 415 |
| Michael Harmon | 0.64% | 392 |
| Valiant Robinson | 0.62% | 379 |
| Kenneth Whitchard | 0.60% | 363 |
| Scotty Monroe | 0.54% | 327 |
| Joseph Crotwell | 0.45% | 274 |
| Benjamin Weigel | 0.44% | 265 |
| William Minnick | 0.29% | 174 |
| Kameron Kephart | 0.20% | 119 |
| Nathan Nemnich | 0.10% | 58 |
| Total Votes | 60,907 | |
| Source: Kern County Elections, "July 7 Primary Election Results," June 30, 2016 | ||
Issues
Largest number of mayoral candidates in over a century
Thirty-five would-be candidates submitted papers to run in Bakersfield's mayoral race, with twenty-five receiving final certification. According to Bakersfield City Clerk Roberta Gafford, this was the deepest field of mayoral candidates in Bakersfield since 1915.[3]
Gafford cited the decision of incumbent Harvey Hall not to seek a fifth term in 2016 as a reason for the abundance of mayoral hopefuls:
| “ |
I can tell you if Mayor Hall were running, we would not have this. A majority of people said, ’I would never run if Mayor Hall were running.’[4] |
” |
| —Roberta Gafford[3] | ||
Jeff Adler, a political consultant, argued that it is not uncommon to see much deeper fields of candidates than usual after the retirement of a longtime incumbent:
| “ |
It’s not unusual after the term of a longtime incumbent comes to an end to see a wide range of candidates because there’s a lot of pent-up pressure within the political system from all kinds of directions. That prompts people to run and promote their agenda.[4] |
” |
| —Jeff Adler[3] | ||
A primary was held on June 7, 2016. In order to win in the primary, a candidate needed to receive greater than fifty percent of the vote. Hall was able to win by such a margin in all four of his elections, but never faced more than nine opponents. With such a deep field, no candidate managed to win over 50 percent in the primary in 2016.[3]
About the city
- See also: Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city in California and the county seat of Kern County. As of 2010, its population was 347,483.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Bakersfield uses a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[5][6]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Bakersfield, California | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | California | |
| Population | 347,483 | 37,253,956 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 149 | 155,857 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 67.7% | 59.7% |
| Black/African American | 7.6% | 5.8% |
| Asian | 7.4% | 14.5% |
| Native American | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 12.4% | 14% |
| Multiple | 3.8% | 4.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 50.2% | 39% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 80.1% | 83.3% |
| College graduation rate | 21.9% | 33.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $63,139 | $75,235 |
| Persons below poverty level | 17.4% | 13.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bakersfield California election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Bakersfield, California | California | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
External links
- City of Bakersfield
- Kern County Elections
- Bakersfield.com, "It's official: three contested council races," August 12, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ Bakersfield Now, "Bakersfield City Council nomination papers due in coming weeks," July 11, 2016
- ↑ The Bakersfield Californian, "Hall will not seek fifth term as Bakersfield mayor," February 16, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Bakersfield Californian, "Bakersfield mayor's race yields 25 candidates, shattering city record," March 16, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bakersfield City Charter, "Art. III," accessed on October 29, 2014
- ↑ City of Bakersfield, "Form of Government," accessed October 29, 2014
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
