LAKE COUNTY >> Two out of the three Lake County Board of Supervisors elections are likely to end up in a runoff election on the November ballot, according to the most recent unofficial results released Wednesday morning.
The registrar of voters’ report — which included a portion of the mailed-in absentee ballots and the count from all 50 precincts — was released around 1 a.m. and revealed close races in Districts 1 (South County below Cobb) and 4 (Greater Lakeport), leaving at least six candidates in the race until a more conclusive tally is ready.
It’s not over yet
Since late Tuesday night the county has counted two different types of ballots, totaling more than 9,000: mailed-in absentees and the ones filled out at the polls.
However, there is one large piece of the puzzle missing: a sum of the mail-in ballots that were postmarked the day of the election or turned in to the citizen’s local precincts.
The registrar’s office claimed that the estimated total of those remaining ballots is currently unknown but based on county voting trends within the last decade a high number can be expected.
According to the most recent preliminary report, the current share of voter turnout is 27.6 percent out of 32,795 registered voters. Low general and absentee ballot results seem improbable because this year’s California presidential primary actually mattered — at least to the Democratic Party — for the first time in decades, pitting frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton against populist underdog Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Another rare election, this time a runoff, had California’s open U.S. Senate seat up for grabs which hasn’t occurred since 1993.
District 1
As expected, the race for incumbent Jim Comstock’s seat came down to three prominent and widely-known candidates. Less than 4 percentage points separate the current leader, businesswoman Monica Rosenthal (28.4 percent) and her third-place opponent, former district supervisor Voris Brumfield (24.8).
In between is Jose “Moke “ Simon, the Middletown Rancheria Tribal Chair, who barely trails Rosenthal with 27.9 percent of the vote that is presently summed at more than 6,600 ballots.
Brumfield, a resident of Anderson Springs, claimed that only 59 votes separated her and Rosenthal. Although it’s a small margin, she doesn’t feel optimistic about the final results.
“I don’t anticipate a great change, so my likelihood in the November general election is not very good,” she said, explaining that a low voter turnout (25 percent) had a large impact on the race. “I think the turnout is truly unfortunate… those votes counted and non-votes counted.”
If she doesn’t make the runoff, she will continue her community service and may go back to being president of the Lake County Historical Society. She won’t, however, endorse the remaining candidates despite giving them thanks and congratulations because she isn’t a proponent of the practice.
“I’ve certainly appreciated the opportunity to get more involved with the various communities of District 1,” she added.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department veteran Jim Ryan currently holds 18.8 percent.
District 4
Barring a lopsided count of remaining votes, Lake County Chamber of Commerce President Ted Mandrones is unlikely to move from his current position of third.
After the precinct’s reported Wednesday, he found himself with only 18.3 percent of the vote, trailing former Lakeport Mayor Martin Scheel (24.6 percent) and current vote leader Tina Scott, who has garnered a whopping 33.8 percent of voters in the district.
“I was surprised and excited at the same time,” Scott, who has pledged to donate 20 percent of her BOS pay if elected, said. “I didn’t think I was going to be getting that large of a lead.”
Attributing her “clean campaign” and nearly 16 years of community service, she believes people are excited to see someone new.
Scott’s lead did decrease Wednesday morning as Scheel gained 3.2 percentage points when all 15 precincts reported the votes of 1,100 more people to the 1,081 prior absentees (a 31 percent overall turnout) . She also lost 0.7 percentage points in the interim, bringing her lead down to 9.2 percentage points.
As for her likely race with Scheel, the candidate also had feelings of excitement.
“I’m ready for the challenge,” she said.
The elections will not be truly official until another 28 days, according to the registrar.
