Napa City Council member Liz Alessio carves out huge lead to become next Napa County District 2 supervisor

Liz Alessio, who outraised her opponent 20-to-1 in the race for the Napa County Board of Supervisors District 2, has seen that disparity reflected in voting numbers.

As of the most recent results, at 11:17 p.m. Tuesday, Alessio had carved out a large advantage over Doris Gentry, with 2,639 votes to Gentry’s 816 votes — or 76.4% to 23.6%.

“It means the world to me,” Alessio, currently a Napa City Council member, said Wednesday morning. “I’m here to serve everybody in Napa.

“This is a non-partisan position. When I was canvassing, people sometimes asked what my party was. I understand that. But it’s really serving needs county-wise, regardless. And I think my track record has proven that. I’m here to serve everyone.”

Alessio said moving from the city to county levels of government will allow her to pursue a couple crucial goals. One is to increase access to mental health services, largely through the county’s Health and Human Services Agency.

“The other is bringing together agriculture and the vintners with environmentalists,” she said. “I really see common ground there. The last four months, I’ve been working hard talking to everybody. And everyone says agriculture is critical to preserve and maintain, but so are natural resources.

“I’m hearing that from both sides.”

District 2, which has 18,701 registered voters, includes most of the Browns Valley community in the city of Napa and areas close to the Sonoma County line, from Napa to Oakville.

Of the county’s three supervisor contests, this one presented the starkest dividing line, though both women have Napa City Council experience, with Gentry serving in that capacity from 2016-20.

Gentry’s time on the City Council proved highly divisive. Her detractors accused her of making anti-gay comments and questioned her stated business and education credentials. In helping organize a Blue Lives Matter rally in downtown Napa while most other cities were celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020, Gentry drew fire by inviting a media personality with links to the Proud Boys — a group the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation has labeled a far-right extremist organization.

Tuesday, hours before the polls closed, Gentry shared a Bible verse from Deuteronomy on Facebook that read, “Foreigners who live in your land will gain more and more power, while you gradually lose yours. They will have money to lend you, but you will have none to lend them. In the end they will be your rulers.”

Alessio, by contrast, has hewed to the mainstream during her time on the City Council. She received endorsements from U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, California State Sen. Bill Dodd, Napa County Sheriff Oscar Ortiz and the mayor of every city in Napa Valley.

Alessio’s great-great-grandfather was a Napa County Supervisor around the turn of the 20th century.

Gentry sounded somewhat resigned at a low-key election night gathering at Trancas Steakhouse in Napa on Tuesday night. She didn’t file her candidacy until Nov. 16, forcing her to play catch-up over the past four months. Because of that uphill climb, Gentry said, she didn’t feel comfortable trying to raise large sums of money.

“It was a very old-school campaign,” she said. “And I’m not disappointed at all. Because we didn’t leave anything on the table. There was nothing more we could have done.”

Gentry had nothing but praise for opponent, recalling a face-to-face meeting before Alessio ever ran for office.

“She’s a precious young lady,” Gentry said. “She has a bright future ahead of her. And Napa is lucky to have her involved in their future in politics. She’s hungry, and she’s invested and she’s a worker.”

Gentry emphasized her life experience — she says she cared for 300 foster children over a span of 25 years — and volunteerism during the campaign, calling herself “pro-business, pro-Napa and a fierce advocate for reasonable solutions for economic growth.”

She highlighted fire safety and balanced budgets as areas of importance.

Alessio reported raising $33,000 in 2023 and more than $75,000 in 2024. Gentry reported $746 in contributions at the end of 2023 and has raised about $4,000 this year.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.