2024 Election Results for 1245 Recommended Candidates

On Friday, December 13, 2024 and November 17, 2024 the California and Nevada Secretaries of State certified the 2024 elections.

82% of IBEW 1245 endorsed candidates won their races, an exceptional feat given the large number of open seats and highly competitive campaigns. The extraordinary success rate was due, in part, to the campaign work of 1245’s Organizing Stewards in collaboration with 8 Central Labor Councils across California and Nevada.

UNION ENDORSEMENTS

The Union only endorses candidates that clearly support the  interests of IBEW 1245  members: their job security, safe working conditions, and high wages and benefits.  20% of the candidates 1245 helped elect are Republicans, giving the Union support from elected officials on both sides of the aisle.

NEVADA

Though the Union’s endorsed candidate for president lost,  1245’s endorsed candidates  won nearly every other Federal and state race in Nevada, which will help us greatly in the fights we expect during the 2025 legislative session. Additionally, we defeated a key ballot question which would have required Nevada elections to be governed by ranked choice voting.

At the local level, IBEW 1245 helped elect  four council members in Reno, two council members in Sparks, one Washoe county commissioner and one Fernley council member, giving the Union key allies for 1245 members at Truckee Meadows Water Authority and City of Fernley.

CALIFORNIA

In California, 1245 candidates won critical races up and down the ballot.  The biggest win was electing Adam Gray to Congress from the Central Valley.  We also won three open State Senate seats in the East Bay and San Joaquin County and seven open Assembly seats in the same area.  In each case we beat back anti-1245 opponents, making both the Senate and Assembly friendlier places for our members.

At the local level, we elected 1245 friendly candidates to Mayor and City Council in Alameda, Vallejo, Roseville, Sacramento, West Sacramento, Lodi, SMUD Board and San Joaquin County.  These candidates will help our members who work  for PG&E, SMUD, SacRT, AMP, Roseville, Lodi Power and City of Vallejo.

Big results included open seat wins by 1245 endorsed candidates Patrick Ahrens (AD 26, San Jose/Campbell), Chris Rogers (AD 2, Sonoma/North Coast), Catherine Stephanie (AD 19, San Francisco) Dave Tangipa (AD 8/Calaveras/Tuolumne/Mariposa/Madera/part Fresno), and Alex Mercado (AD 33, Fresno/Tulare/ Cupertino) and Dawn Addis (SLO/Monterey/Santa Cruz).  In each race our candidates defeated opponents who were decidedly opposed to the interests’ of 1245 members.

Despite all the success, we experienced a few very difficult losses.  Nick Blom, a longtime friend of 1245 on the MID Board, was defeated. When first elected, Nick helped show MID members the value of winning elections by pushing over a long-stalled contract and firing the General Manager who was standing in our way.  Evan Low lost a difficult race for Congress in the South Bay. But we live to fight another day.

Many thanks to the IBEW 1245 staff, Organizing Stewards,  family and friends who dedicated time and energy to bring home these important election victories for our members and the labor movement.

– Hunter Stern, Assistant Business Manager