LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The general election in Lake County saw voters casting ballots for numerous local races, from city councils to school and fire boards, with the final count set to start this week.
"It was busy today,” said Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez on Tuesday evening.
Valadez said there was “steady turnout” throughout the day.
She and her staff worked into the early morning hours on Wednesday to complete the preliminary tally of votes.
Challenges with the county’s website led to results not being posted online until late Tuesday night.
By 1 a.m. Wednesday, Valadez’s office had issued the last preliminary ballot count of the night, which included the election night initial count for all 80 Lake County precincts.
The Registrar of Voters Office now moves into the canvass period to finalize the results and certify the election.
The preliminary count included 7,842 ballots, or 21.2% of Lake County’s 37,165 registered voters.
However, as is usual in elections, those numbers will change throughout the canvass period as more vote-by-mail ballots arrive at the elections office to be counted, and as other ballots — including provisionals — are tallied.
The Secretary of State’s Office said election results will be certified across the state by Dec. 16.
School board seats among leading races
With assessor-record, district attorney, sheriff and supervisorial races decided in the primary, the key contested races this fall were with local school boards.
For the Kelseyville Unified School District Board, two seats were up for election, with three candidates: Incumbents Allison Panella and Rick Winer, and challenger Janet Rykert.
The preliminary results have Panella and Winer heading for victory, with Panella receiving 40.28%, or 1,034 votes, followed by Winer with 33.39%, or 857 votes. Rykert received 26.33% of the vote, or 676 ballots cast in her favor.
In the Konocti Unified School District race, the three incumbents whose seats are on the ballot led in early results: Bill Diener, 25.28%, 1,089 ballots; Pamela Bening-Hale, 20.59%, 887 ballots cast; and Joan Shelley Mingori, 19.17% or 826 ballots cast.
Trailing in early returns are challengers Marty Aarreberg, 18.38%, 792 ballots, and Jennifer Hughes, 16.57%, or 714 ballots cast.
The Middletown Unified School District had two separate races on the ballot, one for a two-year unexpired term and another race for three full terms.
For the two-year unexpired term, incumbent Larry Allen had a substantial lead in the preliminary returns, with 64.67%, or 736 ballots cast in his favor, to the 402 ballots, making up 35.33% of the vote, cast for challenger Hank Lescher.
For the three full terms, appointed incumbent Chris Ochs led with 661 ballots, or 29.9% of the vote, followed closely by Annette Lee, who he campaigned with and who received 651 votes, or 29.44%.
Ochs and Lee were followed by appointed incumbent Allison Berlogar, with 515 votes, or 23.29%.
In fourth position was Eileen Anderson, whose name was on the ballot but who dropped out early in the race. She received 17.37% or 384 ballots cast.
Annexation, city council seats on the ballot
The city of Lakeport’s long-running effort to conclude an annexation project was up for election.
A small number of voters appeared to have made a decision against Measure P, which would have approved annexing an area along South Main Street into the city of Lakeport.
The early results showed that just three ballots were cast by residents of the annexation area, all of them against the annexation.
Voters in the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport also had council seats to decide.
For Clearlake City Council, incumbents Russ Cremer and Dirk Slooten ran unopposed for reelection. Cremer received 51.41%, or 748 ballots, and Slooten received 48.59%, or 707 ballots.
The city of Clearlake’s treasurer position, which hasn’t had an elected individual in the seat for more than a decade, received no votes, including no write-ins.
For the Lakeport City Council, Mayor Stacey Mattina won a fourth term uncontested, receiving 56.10%, or 437 votes.
Mireya Turner, who served nearly two terms on the council and was on the ballot for a third, received 43.9% of the vote, or 342 votes. However, Turner, who resigned from the Lakeport City Council in August after being appointed Lake County’s Community Development director, is expected to resign the newly won seat, which will then go to an appointment.
In the race for a seat on the Lake County Board of Education, the preliminary count showed Nancy Hudson leading with 74.13% of the vote, or 1,103 ballots cast, followed by Jeffrey Lyon, with 25.87%, or 385 votes.
For Yuba Community College District Trustee Area No. 7, appointed incumbent Douglas M. Harris received 58.21% of the vote, or 1,617 ballots, with challenger Jeffrey Dryden receiving 41.79%, or 1,161 ballots cast in his favor.
Races for special district and fire board seats
There also were several other seats on the ballot for special districts and fire boards.
For the Northshore Fire Protection District’s at-large director seat, incumbent James Burton led with 685 ballots cast in his favor, or 52.81%, to 47.19% or 612 ballots cast for challenger Leah Robbins.
Northshore also had two other seats on the ballot, for the Lucerne and Nice zones.
For Lucerne, challenger Becky Schwenger led with 68.34%, or 177 ballots, to 31.66%, or 82 ballots, for incumbent Gerald Shepherd.
For Nice, John Barnette led with 62.34%, or 149 votes, to 37.66%, or 90 votes, for challenger Lori Carter-Runyon.
The Lake Pillsbury Fire Protection Board had one seat on the ballot, an unexpired two-year term. Heather Hasler received 11 votes, or 78.57%, while Warner Henderson received three votes, or 21.43%.
Three seats were up for the Anderson Springs Community Services District Board of Directors. Karen Coker, Carol Ohsiek and Donna Taylor tied with eight ballots each, or 29.63% of the vote, followed by Cynthia Weber, who received three votes, or 11.11%.
For the three open seats on the Cobb Area County Water District Board of Directors, Joshua Dixon received 32.62%, or 167 ballots; Steve Barnes, 30.47%, or 156 ballots; Joel Pyska received 25.20%, or 129 ballots; and David Peters received 11.72%, or 60 ballots.
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Registrar of Voters Office issues preliminary results for Tuesday’s general election; canvass process to begin
- Elizabeth Larson