LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The final results are in for the Nov 6. statewide general election, with the updated count showing that a south county fire tax passed and the placement in two school board races changed.
Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley released the results of the official canvass on Thursday night.
Fridley, who retires Dec. 28, wrapped up her final official canvass on the day of the deadline. Election officials have 30 days to complete the canvass and certify the election results.
One of the notable findings in the official canvass is that voter turnout was a strong 65.7 percent. That’s just 7 percentage points below the November 2016 presidential election.
Absentee, or vote-by-mail, voters remain in the majority in Lake County, casting 47.2 percent of the total ballots, while precinct voters accounted for 18.5 percent.
In local races, key changes in the results included Measure L – the South Lake County Fire special benefit tax – getting a small boost in support that pushed it over the two-thirds supermajority it needed.
In preliminary results, Measure L had 66.2 percent, and needed 66.7 percent to pass. The final results showed that the measure received a yes vote of 67.9 percent versus a no vote of 32.1 percent, giving it the margin needed to go into effect. Fire officials have said it is necessary to maintain service levels across the south county.
Another notable change is that the result in the race for Lake County Board of Education’s Trustee Area No. 5 flipped.
Incumbent Madelene Lyon had led by a slim 0.6 percent in the preliminary count over challenger Anna Rose Ravenwoode. In the final count, Ravenwood edged Lyon out, 51 to 48.5 percent, respectively.
The other change in standings was in the race for three seats on the Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees. The preliminary results showed Joan Mingori leading the field, followed by Bill Diener and Pamela Bening-Hale. In the final results all three were still elected, with Mingori maintaining the top spot but Bening-Hale’s vote count just edging out Diener’s.
In what was the year’s most notable race, for Superior Court judge, Shanda Harry strengthened her commanding lead over Don Anderson to win the seat.
Harry, a deputy county counsel for the county of Lake, won with 59.1 percent of the vote to 40.5 percent for Anderson, the sitting district attorney.
With her election, Harry becomes the second woman to sit on the bench in Lake County’s 157-year history.
Lake County Superior Court officials said Harry’s swearing-in ceremony will be held Jan. 7.
In the race for Clearlake City Council, Dirk Slooten remained the top vote-getter with 40.5 percent. Elected along with Slooten is Russell Cremer, with 35.6 percent. Russell Perdock finished out of the running with 23.4 percent of the vote.
The final vote count also showed across-the-board strengthening of support for school bonds, all of which passed.
Measure H, which will raise $28 million for Middletown Unified’s schools, received a 60.8 percent yes vote in the final count, up nearly 3 percent from the preliminary count.
Upper Lake Unified School District placed two measures on the Nov. 6 ballot: Measure I, a $10 million bond for high school improvements, and Measure J, a $12 million bond for elementary and middle school renovations and upgrades.
The measures passed with 65.9 and 64.3 percent yes votes, respectively, with Measure I gaining 3.3 percent approval and Measure J another 2.1 percent when the final results came in.
A rundown of the final official results is published below.
FINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS
Judge of the Superior Court, Department 4
Shanda Harry: 11,574 ballots, 59.1 percent
Don Anderson: 7,928 ballots, 40.5 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 75 ballots, 0.4 percent
Lake County Board of Education, Trustee Area No. 3 (vote for one)
Denise Lee Loustalot: 1,735 ballots; 50.3 percent
Joanne Breton: 1,697 ballots, 49.2 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 18 ballots, 0.5 percent
Lake County Board of Education, Trustee Area No. 5 (vote for one)
Anna Rose Ravenwoode: 2,014 ballots, 51 percent
Madelene M. Lyon, 1,913 ballots, 48.5 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 19 ballots; 0.5 percent
Mendocino-Lake Community College District Governing Board, Trustee Area No. 5 (vote for one)
Philip “Ed” Nickerman: 789 ballots, 54.7 percent
Camille Schraeder: 642 ballots, 44.5 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 11 ballots; 0.8 percent
Mendocino-Lake Community College District Governing Board, Trustee Area No. 6 (vote for one)
John H. Tomkins: 2,303 ballots; 57.3 percent
Andy Anderson: 1,698 ballots; 42.2 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 20 ballots; 0.5 percent
Middletown Unified School District Board of Trustees (vote for three)
Larry Allen: 2,026 ballots; 30.1 percent
Latrease Walker: 1,764 ballots; 26.2 percent
Thad R. Owens: 1,686 ballots; 25 percent
Christina Braden: 1,250 ballots; 18.6 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 11 ballots; 0.2 percent
Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees (vote for three)
Joan S. Mingori: 2,994 ballots; 26.7 percent
Pamela Bening-Hale: 2,911 ballots; 26 percent
Bill Diener: 2,858 ballots; 25.5 percent
Herb Gura: 2,410 ballots; 21.5 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 30 ballots; 0.3 percent
Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees, four-year term (vote for two)
Carly Alvord: 2,426 ballots; 39.4 percent
Jennifer Hanson: 2,340 ballots, 38 percent
Thomas W. Powers: 1,092 ballots, 17.7 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 307 ballots; 5 percent
Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees, two-year term (vote for one)
Daniel Buffalo: 2,233 ballots; 60.3 percent
Dennis Darling: 1,447 ballots; 39.1 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 22 ballots; 0.6 percent
Upper Lake Unified School District Board of Trustees (vote for five)
Ronald L. Raetz: 1,529 ballots; 20 percent
Ana Santana: 1,442 ballots; 18.9 percent
Diane Tomkins Plante: 1,318 ballots; 17.2 percent
Franklin Gudmundson: 1,151 ballots; 15.1 percent
Claudine M. Pedroncelli: 1,138 ballots; 14.9 percent
Don "Donnie" Meri: 1,041 ballots; 13.6 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 24 ballots; 0.3 percent
Clearlake City Council (vote for two)
Dirk C. Slooten: 1,847 ballots; 40.5 percent
Russell Cremer: 1,624 ballots; 35.6 percent
Russell Perdock: 1,070 ballots; 23.4 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 22 ballots; 0.5 percent
Clearlake city treasurer
No candidate filed
Write-in candidate(s): 202 ballots; 100 percent
Redbud Health Care District director, Zone 2 (vote for one)
Sandra M. Richards: 572 ballots; 58.8 percent
Brice Trask: 238 ballots; 24.5 percent
Mark Burkdoll: 161 ballots; 16.6 percent
Write-in candidate(s): 1 ballot; 0.1 percent
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Registrar of voters releases final ballot count for November election; Measure L wins passage
- Elizabeth Larson
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