Antioch voters will fill two City Council seats on Nov. 3, and both incumbents want to keep their jobs. In District 1, Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker is again facing Joy Motts, the former vice mayor she has beaten twice. In District 4, Councilmember Monica Wilson, who was first elected in 2012, is running against three challengers.

District 1: a third rematch

Torres-Walker unseated Motts in 2020 and held off her again in 2022, when a recount left Torres-Walker ahead by four votes, 1,467 to 1,463, according to Hoodline's review of county results. Motts has also served as president of the Antioch Unified school board. The city's final candidate list also includes Diane Gibson-Gray as a qualified District 1 candidate.

District 4: four names on the ballot

Wilson is up against Andrew Becker, a housing development consultant; Matty Mathews Alappat, an information technology engineer; and Sandra White, a human resources executive and Antioch Rotary Club president who previously chaired the city's Police Crime Prevention Commission. This is White's third run at the seat after campaigns in 2020 and 2022, the Antioch Herald reported. In her county ballot statement, Wilson lists economic development, fiscal responsibility and holding absentee commercial landlords accountable as priorities.

Money and homelessness

Whoever wins will inherit tight finances. The East Bay Times, as cited by Hoodline, reported that Antioch closed about $12 million of its deficit in the 2026-27 budget, partly with roughly $4.6 million from reserves, and still projects a $15 million gap heading into the 2027-28 cycle.

Homelessness remains a dividing line. In July the council voted 3-1 to reject a $34.9 million state Homekey+ grant that would have turned the Comfort Inn on Mahogany Way into 85 supportive housing units; Wilson cast the only no vote, and Becker has criticized the decision. Among the other candidates, White has proposed a county mental health stabilization center, while Motts favors a community model involving nonprofits, faith groups and businesses.

Economic development is another common theme. Torres-Walker wants a vacancy tax aimed at absentee owners of blighted commercial property, Wilson says the city needs a strong economic development director, and Becker favors targeted incentives to draw new business.

Contra Costa County's election office posts candidate statements for both districts on its voter information site.