Dana Point Times
Dana Point voters have chosen three newcomers to local politics to fill the three open seats on City Council.
John Tomlinson was the night’s top vote-getter with 2,450 votes, followed by Richard Viczorek’s 2,386 votes and Joe Muller, with 2,333.
Jody Payne and Alan Wickstrom were close behind, tying at 12.3 percent of the vote and a mere 10 votes apart at 2.268 to 2,258.
Nancy Jenkins, Harold Kaufman, Ryan Divel and Chuck Rathbone earned 2,104, 1,852, 1,450 and 1,267 votes, respectively.
At 8:05 p.m. when the mail-in vote was reported, with less than 200 votes separating top candidate Tomlinson from then sixth-place Payne, the race appeared to be anybody’s game. Although there was movement among the candidates in the fourth, fifth and sixth positions during the night, the top three held true throughout.
South Coast Water District
In the South Coast Water District race, William “Bill” Green and Dennis Erdman won the two open director’s seats—Green with 36.2 percent of the vote and Erdman with 21.3 percent.
Bob Moore finished with 15.5 percent, Richard Gardner with 14.3 percent and Norm Denton with 12.8 percent.
CUSD Votes Show Support for Capistrano Unified Children First Candidates
In the race for the Capistrano Unified School District Board Trustee Area 4 seat—the only area a portion of voters from Dana Point could vote in—Martha McNicholas has been elected. She earned 5,191 votes to opponent Craig Alexander’s 3,817. Incumbent Anna Bryson chose not to seek reelection in the seat.
In the race for CUSD Trustee Area 6 seat, which includes San Juan Capistrano, Gila Jones has been elected. Jones earned 3,970 votes to incumbent Ellen M. Addonizio’s 2,757.
In trustee area 7, which is located primarily in Mission Viejo, incumbent Lynn Hatton held a lead over Julie Collier, 4,791 votes to 4,293. Hatton is the current vice president of the board.
McNicholas, Jones and Hatton are all endorsed by the Capistrano Unifed Children First group that also supports board members John Alpay, Amy Hanacek and Gary Pritchard.
Addonizio and Bryson were the last of the “ABC” trustees first elected in 2006, leaving the lone remaining “reform” trustee Jim Reardon of San Juan Capistrano.
Kashkari Concedes to Brown in California Gubernatorial Race
The earliest polling results posted Tuesday night showed Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown with a substantial lead over his GOP challenger Neel Kashkari.
As of 9 p.m., Kashkari conceded to Brown before a crowd at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa where he congratulated the four-term governor. During his speech, Kashkari urged Brown to utilize his last four years in office to “be the boldest governor in California history” and told supporters he was “just getting warmed up.”
Darrell Issa Re-Elected to Congress, Adds to Majority
Rep. Darrell Issa will return to U.S. House of Representatives.
With 66 percent of votes counted as of 1:30 a.m., Issa held a commanding lead over Democratic opponent Dave Peiser in the 49th Congressional District race, which encompasses portions of northern San Diego and southern Orange counties.
Issa has served in the House since 2001 and is chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
All 435 Congressional seats were up for election. House Republicans maintained their majority, which has grown to 240 seats compared to the Democrats 174 with 21 races still to be decided.
Orange County Republicans Take Lead in State Races
Four south Orange County Republican politicians with ties to Dana Point, have been elected to higher office.
Patricia Bates, current Orange County Supervisor for the 5th District, beat Democrat Gary Kephart in the state Senate 36th District race, 71.3 percent to 28.7 percent.
Bates’ Supervisor seat was won by Dana Point Mayor Lisa Bartlett. Bartlett beat Laguna Niguel Councilman Robert Ming, earning 54.9 percent of the vote.
In the state Board of Equalization 4th District race, Diane Harkey claimed 62.1 percent of the vote to defeat Nader Shahatit. Harkey currently serves as assemblywoman for the 73rd District, a contest that saw Dana Point City Councilman Bill Brough finish ahead of lawyer and professor Wendy Gabriella, 68 to 32 percent.
Voters Weigh in on State Props, Embrace “Rainy Day” Measure
With more than 57 percent of precincts reporting, Californian’s are showing strong support for the $7.5 billion water bond that will help pay for improvements to California’s water supply, including water quality, delivery and storage systems.
Returns show the measure leading with 67 percent of the vote.
State voters have also decisively voted to overhaul the state’s rainy day fund. Proposition 2, which will require the state to save 1.5 percent of its annual revenues to provide a greater buffer for budget shortfalls, is currently favored by 69 percent of California voters.
Two medical-related propositions are being voted down by Californians.
The first, proposition 45, which was being fought by HMO’s in the weeks leading up to the election, was falling to 2.27 million “no” votes. The measure would have given the state’s insurance commissioner the power to cap insurance costs. It would have also required insurance companies to give reason for any price increases.
Voters also appear to have rejected proposition 46 which would increase malpractice settlements and require drug tests for doctors.
When it comes to reducing penalties for non-violent misdemeanor crimes, voters showed strong support. As of 11:40 p.m., California voters widely approved the measure 2.19 million “yes” votes to 1.5 million “no” votes.
And while voters overwhelmingly voted Gov. Brown in for a fourth term, they rejected a law approved by the state legislature and signed by Brown approving an off-reservation casino. Voters have shown strong opposition to the measure that would have set a precedent for gaming statewide.
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