Beaumont City Council: Knight Ousts Gall in Race

The residents of Beaumont spoke at the polls Tuesday night, and their voices said they are ready to change things up on the local city council.

In Tuesday's race for two seats on the council, preliminary results indicate that local small business owner Brenda Knight has secured a victory, along with incumbent Jeff Fox.

With 100% of the 31 precincts reporting their results Wednesday, Knight had more votes than incumbent Nancy Gall-- and than Jeff Fox.

Results indicated that the actively involved community member had secured 4,698 votes, or 39.57%.  Fox came in second with 3,945 votes, while Gall had 3,231.  There are still some 180,000 ballots that need to be counted countywide, though, and the election results won't be certified until then, according to the registrar.

"I’m very,very excited to be where I am, right now," Knight told Banning-Beaumont Patch on Election Night, as the results were coming in her favor.

"It’s been a long haul," she added.  "I’m just very appreciative of the support I have … and the people who have worked very hard for me.” 

Gall told Patch that despite her unexpected loss, she made sure to reach out to Knight.

"I called Brenda this morning… left her a message and wished her well," she said Wednesday.

As for why she thinks she did not come out ahead herself, Gall said she thinks she could have spent more money to put out campaign materials.

"We’ve been looking at what I could have done to win," she said.  “We were thinking we should have sent a mailer.”

Gall also told Patch that she thinks the council will be lacking without her presence, as she tends to be the one dissenting vote when the other four members vote in favor of agenda items.

"Well, it’s been difficult because my vision of what the city should be, and the vision of the four men that I served were not the same thing," she said.  "I wanted them to be more transparent.

"In one way I’m disappointed, in another way I’m relieved," Gall said of the results. "I got a lot of negativity directed towards me."

When asked Wednesday morning if the other current councilmembers had reached out to her at all, Gall said no.

"That would be the last thing in the world I’d expect.  They don’t much like me at all.”

As for the more time that she'll have on her hands once she is done with her council duties, Gall said she hopes to help out with some charities in town, and continue to participate in local government, down the road.

Knight is expected to be sworn into office in the first meeting after the Registrar of Voters certifies the election, which will likely happen in the next couple weeks.

Fox did not immediately return phone calls for comment on this article.