Longtime Los Banos Leader Ahead in Controversial Race to Replace Incumbent Mayor

Local Elections

By The Merced Focus

Published 8 months ago on

November 9, 2024

Los Banos voters signal desire for change as former mayor leads race and recall efforts gain momentum. (Michael Amabile for Mayor)

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Los Banos voters spoke at the ballot box Tuesday, and their message clearly appears to be a desire for change.

Merced Focus Staff

The Merced FOCUS

Case in point, the incumbent mayor is currently dead last in a three candidate race. Plus, two council members appear to be on the losing side of a recall effort.

The latest results from the Merced County Registrar of Voters put candidate Michael Amabile in the lead for the Los Banos mayor’s race with 43.71% of the vote.

Amabile, who served five previous terms as mayor, is ahead of former councilmember Refugio Llamas, who has 34.33% of the vote. Incumbent Mayor Paul Llanez is in third place, with 21.29% of the vote.

Recall Efforts Gaining Traction

Los Banos District 2 Councilmember Doug Begonia Jr. and District 3 Councilmember Brett Jones were both targeted by recall efforts. Those appear to be on track to succeed, as 81.04% of all votes counted so far support recalling Begonia, while 72.13% support recalling Jones.

According to reporting in The Westside Express, if the recall is successful, the three remaining council members will either have to appoint interim replacements in districts 2 and 3 until the next regularly scheduled election, or set in motion a special election to fill the newly-opened seats.

In other council races, Tommy Leyva is leading incumbent District 1 Councilmember Kenneth Lambert, 50.68% to 48.51% respectively.

Incumbent District 4 Councilmember Deborah Lewis is leading over challenger Travis “TJ” Loebig, 52.91% to 48.51% respectively.

Controversy Surrounding City Manager

The Westside Express has reported extensively on the election and the circumstances surrounding it.

Much of the controversy has centered around City Manager Josh Pinheiro and how he was supported by most of the current council, except Lewis.

Last year the council voted 4-1 to rehire Pinheiro after he’d been fired.

Plus, the council decided to give him tighter job security and pay him $1.8 million from the city’s general fund as part of a deal to prevent him from filing a lawsuit over his termination.

The majority then voted to require both “cause” and a 5-0 vote in the event Pinheiro were dismissed. Most city managers are at-will employees who can be fired by a simple majority vote, the Westside Express reported.

Last October, all five of the city’s employee unions signed a letter of no-confidence in Pinheiro’s leadership.

Vote Counting Continues

There is still a long way to go before the vote numbers are final. The Registrar of Voters has until Nov. 12 to receive all outstanding mail-in ballots. Plus, officials are still counting provisional ballots.

The Registrar of Voters Office is expected to post another results update at 5 p.m. Friday. Under California law, all counties must certify their vote count by Dec. 3.

About the Author

The Merced FOCUS is a Merced-based newsroom covering issues that matter to the San Joaquin Valley.