Just before press time, the tally began to be released. The early numbers suggest that Monica Rosenthal held the lead in the District 1 supervisors race, capturing almost 30 percent of the vote.
Moke Simon claimed 26.3 percent and Voris Brumfield 24.6 percent, according to early returns. Jim Ryan ran a distant fourth at 19.2 percent.
In District 5, incumbent Rob Brown, an active figure during the Valley Fire, dominated the polls. Early returns had Brown taking 66.1 percent of the electorate, versus 20.8 for his next competitor, Philip Reimers.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the night, if preliminary returns hold firm, comes from District 4. Despite a back and forth between Lakeport City Council member Martin Scheel and Lake County Chamber of Commerce president Ted Mandrones, the leader in the early count was Tina Scott.
She captured 34.5 percent of the ballot, according to the initial returns. Scheel and Mandrones battled for a narrow also ran spot, at 21.4 and 20.7 percent, respectively.
Of course, the numbers are far from conclusive — only 4,753 absentee ballots had been counted as of about 9:30 p.m. And because of the number of mail in ballots, final results will not be confirmed for several days.
Still, Lake County lagged in reporting initial results. When asked about the reason behind the delay, a representative said the precincts were “probably busy” just like the department, which had been operating since 6 a.m. Tuesday morning on a short staff.
The delay created anxiety amongst some candidates like District 4 Board of Supervisor candidate Martin Scheel. He said the extra time has raised his anxiety over the results “big time.”
But District 1 Candidate Monica Rosenthal didn’t seem too worried.
“It’s a little disappointing or frustrating, but my anxiety level isn’t high,” Rosenthal said.
