Did you know that Alameda’s election results still aren’t final? The Alameda County Registrar of Voters last released an unofficial count on November 20, and a note on the page says the next round of results will be posted on Tuesday, December 3, just before the December 5 deadline for county election officials to certify the results.
However, with only a few ballots left to count, the results are clear for the races outstanding from our last report update on November 12: Jesse Areguín was elected to the California State Senate for District 7 and will succeed Nancy Skinner; Measure 32 to raise the minimum wage narrowly failed; and Measure 34, targeted to restrict spending by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, passed by just 1.6%. Other results we have reported have not changed. Michele Pryor and Greg Boller will be seated as the City of Alameda’s newest councilmembers and newcomer Meleah Hall will be seated with incumbents Heather Little and Jennifer Williams on the AUSD Board of Governors.
But the election topic that remains on most people’s minds is the return of Donald Trump, who will assume the office of President for a second time on January 20, 2025. After being impeached twice during his first term, indicted on felony charges for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent January 6 insurrection, and being convicted of 34 felonies since losing the 2020 election, he won the Electoral College in a decisive fashion, 312-226, with 50% of the popular vote nationwide. He was not the preferred candidate for most California voters, garnering just 38.2% of the statewide vote, and did worse still in Alameda County, where he received only 21% of the total.
Gauging local reaction
“How are you feeling now that the dust has settled after the Presidential election? Happy? Sad? Empowered? Discouraged? Nonplussed? Have your plans for the next four years changed? How?”
We reached out to our readers via our weekly newsletter and social media channels to ask these questions and solicit results from our readers. We received about a dozen responses, whose authors will remain anonymous in this article but are known to us.
One reader was incensed that we would even ask the question. “Even from the Alameda Post? Biased, one-sided reporting. The election is OVER. Move on already or at least present both sides of an issue. How about that for a welcomed change?”
A common sentiment from both supporters and opponents was disbelief that the former President had been returned to office. “I am surprised, but not shocked,” one reader wrote, while another stated, “I was very shocked that [he] won, so I was in a state of disbelief for several days.” Others were more sanguine: “The most difficult thing for me has not been the outcome of the election. That is a done deal.”
What worked for Trump
Although the results of the election may have come as a surprise to some, others had already determined how the vote would go. “Anytime you have a group, whether it be right or left, go too far in that direction there’s a problem,” one person noted.
“I’m actually pretty disturbed at how many people are surprised that Trump won,” said a supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris. “[Democratic] party leadership failed to prove that our values are winning values and failed to turn our outcry into a winning strategy.”
One voter felt that “Trump had a good message. He talked about what really mattered to the people: the border, inflation, security, prices at the grocery store.” Another stated, “No one candidate is perfect and will do everything you want. So, one has to go with the candidate who does most of what you want. That was undoubtedly Trump… the choice was to go with someone who had proven that they can do what they say.”
A Trump supporter explained that they felt Harris had been a one-issue candidate. “So those people who voted for Harris because of abortion, I do not get it, frankly. I mean, they are willing to have open borders, high inflation, grocery prices through the roof, people telling us we cannot buy cars we want to buy, they want all of these things, just so a few women out there can have abortions!”
Some locals very happy with the outcome
Local supporters of the incoming president were very enthusiastic about the victory and expressed optimism for his coming term. “I am delighted with the outcome of the election.” “I am very pleased with the election.” “I for one, am thankful and have a lot of hope for this incoming administration!” “I’m excited to see what the next four years are going to bring.” “I wish the new administration the very best of luck.”
Supporters also professed their displeasure with the current administration. “I am a lifelong resident of Alameda and have been very sad at the way things have been going,” one said. “Hopefully this country will get back to a commonsense way of thinking and get rid of the progressive crap that has been foisted on us with Biden and his crew of idiots,” a supporter wrote. Another echoed the same sentiment, “Common sense won out this time.”
Notably, there wasn’t much generosity expressed by those on the winning side. “The world is not going to end just because the MaMAJORITY (sic) of voters disagree with liberal politics,” stated one. “The people of the US made their choice, both in the electoral college as well as the popular vote. Trump won,” stated another.
Yet one Trump voter was slightly more open to fostering discussion. “I know people that supported the other side don’t agree with me, but when we have a conversation, I say let’s just give it a chance.”
Others’ fears raised by the incoming administration
Overall, the proportion of responses in favor of the incoming president mirrored the local vote. Most of those who provided comments expressed concern over the incoming administration and cataloged fears for the future of the country, highlighting economic issues, human rights, and public health, among others.
A Harris voter felt that the country had been on the right track. “Just when the Biden Administration’s policies are starting to pay off, we’ve elected an administration with the main stated goal of making sure the U.S. can’t have nice things. It feels like we as a society worked really hard to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.”
Others shared concerns about the economy. “Save your pennies, because inflation will get worse.” “I expect we’ll have no more than a year of a recovering economy before the debilitating leading indicators of the incoming administration’s social and economic policies are felt.” “Those on limited incomes … will be negatively impacted by tariffs increasing prices.”
One response went into greater detail on the outcome from proposed tariffs. “Tariffs, on top of a fragile economy, will result in a rise of all poverty-related issues—property crimes, nutritionally preventable deaths, pollution related injuries, suicides & homicides, substance abuse, domestic violence, rapes, etc.”
On the topic of human rights, a reader listed concerns for several marginalized groups. “I worry about an increase in attacks on trans youth in athletics, hate speech, fear among immigrant families (and possibly children losing parents due to deportations), attacks on LGBTQ rights (especially trans), battles against inclusive curriculum and other DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusivity) measures. We will probably see a loss of funding, especially funding that supports underserved students (low income, special education).”
One comment cautioned, “Anyone who isn’t a straight white male with money in the bank will be at risk. Any woman who’s ever had a D&C for any reason. Any immigrant. Any child. Any person of color. Anyone who isn’t the right flavor of Christian Right. Anyone who doesn’t conform.”
RFK Jr. singled out
Readers were especially anxious about the future of healthcare, after the first Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their fears have been amplified by the announcement that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted anti-vaccine activist who supports many debunked conspiracy theories, is the incoming president’s choice to be appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services. Among his many outrageous claims, Kennedy recently stated that heroin use—for which he was arrested, and which caused the death of his brother David—improved his study skills and class ranking in school.
“I morbidly wonder how many millions more deaths Trump Administration policies will cause,” wrote one, while another mused, “Too many still mourn those who died through [Trump]’s insane approach to COVID-19… and now he’s putting RFK Jr.… into place overseeing our national health program. Will children be immunized? Will ‘foreigners’ be blamed for the inevitable epidemics that can happen when one infected person boards a plane or rides a subway? Are we going back to polio’s iron lungs, or the horrific birth defects caused by rubella, or a generation of youth slaughtered by flu?” That sentiment was echoed in another comment. “We may also see an increase in preventable childhood diseases due to misinformation about vaccines and threats of not funding schools that require vaccinations.”
Lack of consensus on what comes next
Although many readers expressed concerns for the future, few have made or changed plans based on the election. One reader has chosen to study to become an interfaith minister because they believe that is “important to counter ‘Christian’ nationalism by showing that all major faith traditions and spiritualities embrace the call to love one’s neighbors.” Another mentioned increasing their philanthropy for organizations supporting civil rights and community needs.
One voter shared fears of increasing rifts within the country. “I’m concerned about the divisiveness in our country which I fear will only get worse under Trump, who is promising persecution of those who disagree with him.” But another response espoused maintaining the schism. “Yesterday I was in a conversation with a few people about something entirely unrelated when the subject got changed, as it so often does, to the right-wing doom that lies ahead. I simply turned and walked away.”
Others spoke of the need to tune everything out and not think about it at all. “For my personal sanity I’m spending more time in nature and with friends to cope with the stress of the situation,” wrote one reader. Another lamented, “I blocked all the right-wingers on social media years ago, and now I have to block—or at least ignore—all the prophets of doom who are liberal/radical thinkers as well.”
Some were unsure what the next four years will bring. “I don’t know whether this administration’s policies will throw the entire world into a final tailspin, or whether it will galvanize a new ‘greatest generation.’” “I deeply fear that there will be lasting suffering, and that the USA as a democratic republic may actually fall to corporate and foreign influences.”
Nevertheless, one level-headed reader cautioned against letting our fears run wild. “We are killing ourselves over a future that has not yet arrived, as though there is no possibility that any check or balance can prevent the total annihilation of every single thing that we hold dear. It’s important to know what the possibilities are, but even more important to not assume that they will be fulfilled.”
A similar opinion was far more succinct. “I deeply hope my pessimism is unwarranted.”
Adam Gillitt is the Publisher of the Alameda Post. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt.
