Del Rey Oaks Mayor Alison Kerr wins in a landslide victory, with her progressive slate inching toward victory.

This election was different for Del Rey Oaks Mayor Alison Kerr in a lot of ways than when she first ran for office in 2018. It wasn't just because it was a pandemic and campaigning became a whole different animal, done virtually and by mail and at a distance. This time, she was not an outsider, although she often finds herself as a lone vote on council. (As evidence of the schism, look no further than her competition—councilmember Pat Lintell, midway through a four-year term, ran against Kerr.)

This year, Kerr ran as part of a slate of progressive-leaning public water proponents for council. Gary Kreeger and Kim Shirley backed Kerr two years ago, and were compelled to run when they saw she needed a majority on council to advance her agenda. 

"It quickly became clear that Alison cannot do this on her own," Kreeger said in an interview before the election. "I decided to run to support her more inclusive governance vision."

The three endorsed each other. Meanwhile, Lintell endorsed incumbent Kristin Clark for reelection, and Planning Commissioner Scott Donaldson in a competing slate all rooting for each other. 

Early returns show Kerr holding onto the mayor's seat with 75 percent of the vote. But the rest of the would-be slate may be divided. 

Shirley leads in the four-way contest for two seats, with 408 votes; Clark, the lone incumbent, has trailed in fourth place since the first election results were reported the night of Nov. 3. 

For the second council spot, Donaldson and Kreeger are neck and neck, alternating with who's ahead based on the latest vote count reported. As of this writing, Donaldson has a one-vote lead, with 369 votes. 

"This would be a historic win for Del Rey Oaks," Kerr says. "Our city government has always been conservative.

"My highlight of this election is watching Kim Shirley and Gary Kreeger raise their hands and put their hats in the ring," she adds. 

On election night, the three gathered in a small Zoom meeting with a handful of supporters to watch the results come in. County supervisor candidate Wendy Root Askew stopped in briefly to congratulate them before results came in, showing Askew also in the lead in her race.

The small group of supporters are neighbors, in addition to political allies. When one woman logged on, the first question for her was about how her sick dog is doing. 

When the initial results showed Kreeger leading Donaldson by seven votes, one man said, “Seven fucking votes. I love small-town politics.”