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With the lion’s share of votes counted, Kriss Worthington has slightly widened his lead in the squeaker Berkeley City Council District 7 race, according to the Alameda County registrar of voters. In fact, all the winners increased their winning margins. 

Damaged absentee votes and provisional ballots (those, generally, cast by voters at polling places other than where they are registered or by voters whose names do not appear on the polling place list), which have yet to be counted, make up a much smaller number than those counted over the weekend, according to Guy Ashley, spokesperson for the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. 

The votes counted over the weekend were absentee ballots people hand-delivered to the polls on election day or that were received in the registrar’s office on election day. The number of uncounted Berkeley ballots is still unknown, Ashley said.  

In District 7, at about 1 p.m. on Monday, Worthington had picked up 429 additional votes for a total of 1,893 votes, or 52.73 percent, and Beier had picked up 346 votes for a total of 1,679, or 47.42 percent. 

With the additional 775 votes counted, Worthington increased his lead from 131 to 214 votes. 

On Monday afternoon, the councilmember, while optimistic, said he wouldn’t declare victory until the last provisional ballot was counted. 

“It’s nice to be ahead by 6 percent,” he said.  

But the nasty race was still on his mind.  

“I’m still upset by the lies. I feel, personally, so offended,” Worthington said, referring especially to the distortions of his record by the Beier campaign and the Chamber of Commerce PAC, particularly regarding Worthington’s support for adding police on Telegraph Avenue.  

“I’m happy that voters here were able to see through the lies,” he said. 

Beier was out of town and unavailable for comment. 

In the mayor’s race, incumbent Mayor Tom Bates slightly increased his lead from 62.65 percent of the votes to 62.72 percent. Zelda Bronstein also increased her percentage from 30.94 percent to 31.09 percent, with Zachary Running Wolf and Christian Pecaut losing percentage points.  

Bates’ total vote was 23,093 and Bronstein’s was 11,447. Running Wolf had 1,665, or 4.52 percent, of the vote and Pecaut had 457, or 1.24 percent. 

In Berkeley’s District 1 Linda Maio picked up 750 votes, bringing her total to 3,386, or 76.33 percent. Challenger Merrilie Mitchell picked up 258 votes, leaving her with 23.46 percent of the total. 

In District 4, Councilmember Dona Spring also kept her strong lead, picking up 634 votes, slightly increasing her lead from 70.76 percent to 70.85 percent. Challenger Raudel Wilson received an additional 137 votes, leaving him with 28.43 percent of the vote. 

In District 8 Councilmember Gordon Wozniak also increased his lead, picking up 557 votes for a total of 2,492 votes, or 64.01 percent. Challenger Jason Overman’s share of the vote fell, even with an increase of 289 votes to a total of 1,387, or 35.63 percent.