LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In countywide races on Tuesday, voters selected the next assess-recorder, reelected the longtime District 2 supervisor and chose a retired biologist as their next District 3 representative on the Board of Supervisors.
Richard Ford was voted in as the county's next assessor-recorder, while Jeff Smith won the District 2 supervisorial race and Jim Steele was the winner in District 3.
In the June primary, it initially had appeared that Ford had won the assessor-recorder's race outright in a three-way race; however, the absentee ballots tallied during the official canvass required a runoff between Ford and Sorhna Li Jordan, an attorney who lives in Hidden Valley Lake.
The preliminary numbers from Tuesday night showed that Ford took 58.3 percent of the vote, or 6,439 ballots, to Jordan's 41.7 percent, or 4,610 ballots.
Early Wednesday, Ford posted a brief thank you to his supporters on his campaign Facebook page.
In the supervisorial races, Smith won another term over challenger businesswoman Jeri Spittler, who for the last four years has served on the Clearlake City Council.
Preliminary absentee ballot numbers along with the nine reporting precincts put Smith in first place with 908 votes, or 55.6 percent. Spittler received 724 votes, or 44.4 percent, based on Tuesday night's returns.
Across the lake, the race to succeed District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing – who chose not to seek a third term – appeared to have a wider margin, according to the Tuesday night returns.
With all 18 Northshore precincts reporting, the preliminary numbers indicated Steele had won the District 3 seat over John Brosnan with 1,384 votes, or 57.3 percent. Brosnan received 1,031 votes, or 42.7 percent.
On his Facebook page late Tuesday, Brosnan acknowledged that Steele had won the election.
“All we can do is wish him well in his seat of representative for District 3 and wish the district good fortune. I can say we gave it our best shot, see you all tomorrow or on the road to making Lake County and District 3 a better place for us all,” Brosnan said.
In addition to Smith and Steele, the Board of Supervisors in 2015 will include incumbents Jim Comstock, District 1; Anthony Farrington, District 4; and Rob Brown, District 5.
The Registrar of Voters Office now must complete the official canvass to finalize the election numbers, a process which takes about 28 days.
The finalized count – which will include remaining provisional and absentee ballots – will then be sent to the Board of Supervisors next month for certification.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.