Mike Moeller leads Marina’s mayoral race as Measure Q heads to a resounding defeat.

In a corner of Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Marina, surrounded by signs supporting Mike Moeller for mayor and opposing Measure Q, more than 20 people are eagerly checking their phones to see when the Monterey County Elections Department would release the first round of election results on Tuesday night, Nov. 3.

The first count, expected to be released at 8pm, was late, leaving many glued to the multiple televisions on the wall, where NBC News was displaying results from around the nation. The so-called “blue wave” seemed to be sweeping the country, leading to an upbeat atmosphere inside the pizzeria.

At last, at about 8:25pm, early results appeared on the county elections website, so a Weekly reporter handed Moeller his phone to show Moeller how the mayor’s race was shaping up.

Moeller, putting his hand to his mouth, sat in stunned silence for a few seconds as his supporters cheered and clapped around him.

As of 8:27pm, Moeller led challengers Liesbeth Visscher and Ana Luz Acevedo-Cabrera with 46.5 percent of the vote, 432 votes ahead of the second-place Visscher.

Those gathered at Mountain Mike’s had even more to celebrate: Measure Q, a 7-percent utility users tax, was being hammered at the polls. In early results, 76 percent opposed it.

Moeller is a health care professional who is hoping to become the city’s first new mayor in 18 years following the retirement of Bruce Delgado.

“Never count your chickens before they hatch,” Moeller says as he looks at the numbers. “It’s a strong lead and I’m really happy with that, but it’s not over until it’s over.”

At Visscher’s gathering at her home, groups of people sit in the living room and around the dining room table, as Councilmember Jenny McAdams is watching national results from a laptop and reporting the latest to all who walk by.

Before the Monterey County results roll in, County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew shows up, and multiple party-goers commend her interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at the Monterey County Jail on Oct. 27.

Earlier in the day, Visscher says she began her morning “human billboarding” for her campaign.

“Whatever happens with the vote will happen,” she says.

In the race for the District 4 seat on the Marina City Council, Brad Imamura led Mike Simmons by one vote for the lead in early results, while Athena Burciaga, with 29 percent of the vote, came in third.

After the first results were announced, Burciaga thanked everyone for coming to a party hosted by the Central Coast Democratic Socialists of America at 6th Avenue Studios in Seaside. She was celebrating the results, adding more Democratic ballots will be counted last. 

“We might make up that 6 points within a couple of hours,” she says.

6th Avenue Studios is located in Seaside, but geographically, it’s almost Marina, adjacent to the CSU Monterey Bay campus on the former Fort Ord. This watch party belongs to Burciaga, who welcomes every supporter showing up at the door, and asks for their name. It feels like a house party, with about 25-30 ethnically diverse people hanging out in a relatively quiet, dark room with Steve Kornacki live on a muted TV. 

There’s R&B playing in the background, pizza and bottles of water. The crowd leans young, like Burciaga herself, with a handful of people over 50.

Burciaga is wearing a red jacket and black pants. She is full of energy and periodically jumps on the stage at 6th Avenue Studios to update the audience. She dances and helps to DJ. 

“You don’t have to tear down the minorities to win in a conservative state,” she says about James Talarico’s Senate win in Texas. “You just have to lower the cost of living for people living there.”

Burciaga also opposed Measure Q on the campaign trail.

“Measure Q is dead,” she announced at 8:36pm.