Second District Confirms Victory For Clendenen

Write-in votes, Rodoni or otherwise, five points behind; Fennell finishes third

Humboldt Sentinel
11/4/08
By Sentinel Staff

FORTUNA -- Voters in Fortuna and Southern Humboldt County had much the same opinion they had in the June election regarding their Second District representative on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, picking Clif Clendenen as the plurality, if not majority, winner.

In an odd series of elections set off by the untimely death of incumbent supervisor Roger Rodoni just over a month before the June contest, the run-off featured basically the same three choices on the ballot. Orchard operator Clendenen from Fortuna faced off against journalist Estelle Fennell of Redway and Johanna Rodoni, the wife of the old Supervisor who ran under his space on the ballot in June, then as a write-in candidate in her own right this November, even though it was supposed to be a "run-off" between the top two living candidates from June.

Clendenen, an independent, had 3,584 votes or 42.26% against 1,738 votes or 20.5% for Fennell, a Democrat who experienced a significant drop-off in support for her in this higher turnout election. 3,158 votes or 37.24% were write-ins, nearly all of which are expected to be on behalf of the Republican Party member, Rodoni, although it will be weeks before these are fully counted.

Clendenen will be sworn in on Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 along with another new face to the Board of Supervisors, Arcata environmental activist Mark Lovelace, who won his Third District spot in June. Returning to the ranks of supervisors will be First District supervisor Jimmy Smith, who cruised to re-election in the first round of voting. Incumbent supervisors Jill Geist and Bonnie Neely, mid-way through their four-year terms, are likely to face stiff challenges in the next county-wide elections in June 2010, when the District Attorney, Sheriff and other county positions will also come up.