Incumbents holding in school board, service district races
Charles Douglas, Humboldt Sentinel
11/3/09
Eureka
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District dominated an otherwise sleepy off-year election on the North Coast in 2009, and results appear to guarantee continued power-sharing between hardcore environmental advocates and pro-development forces on the commission.
Arcata environmental engineer and ex-independent Mike Wilson appears to be cruising towards a second term representing the third district, holding a 72% to 27% advantage over former Dem Assemblyman Dan Hauser with 75% of precincts reporting.
The fourth district, an open seat covering most of Eureka which is being vacated by five-time incumbent Dennis Hunter, appears to be maintaining its pro-jobs tilt, with union organizer Richard Marks topping 47% support with 85% of precincts reporting. His challengers, lacking partisan distinctions with him between each other, appear to have effectively divided the enviro vote; architect John Ash nabbed 36% of the vote, while boatowner Susan Penn wound up with 17% in preliminary results.
The established order in minor special districts and school boards appears to be holding in what looks to be a very low turn-out for Humboldt County. Exemplifying this trend was the Area One seat on the Eureka Unified School District, where accountant John Fullerton rallied over 60% of the vote to retain his seat against his challenger, retired budget analyst Gayle Gerdts.
In the somewhat contested race for three trustee seats on the McKinleyville Community Services District, incumbents Dennis Mayo and Bill Wennerholm retained their seats with 22.4% and 21.6% support, respectively -- but in first place was challenger David Couch with 23%. Challenger Dave Varshock was within striking distance with nearly 16% support posted, while Penny Elsebusch received 9% and mystery candidate Jake Pickering garnering 8% in last place.
The only upset of the night appears to be taking shape in the Northern Humboldt Union High School District, which covers Arcata, McKinleyville and surrounding areas. While longtime incumbents Sarie Toste and Mike Pigg retained their seats easily with 29.1% and 28% of the vote, appointed incumbent and notorious local developer Dan Johnson, who lost in the same race against a teenager four years ago, is in deep trouble as of press time. In the final report for the night by the Humboldt County Elections Office and with 64% of precincts reporting, Johnson tumbled from his slim lead earlier in the night to fall 442 votes behind Dana Silvernale, who holds 22.7% of the vote to his 19.6%. Silvernale -- the controversial leader of the Humboldt County Green Party, which has seen widespread desertion and decline under her control after being hand-picked by Democracy Unlimited operative David Cobb and his girlfriend Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, the only elected Green left in office -- received some surprise last-minute backing from Arcata city officials disgusted with Johnson’s attempt to shove through a housing subdivision over the unanimous objections of the City Council.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Neocons flip gubernatorial seats in NJ, VA
Liberals capture two House seats, inequality wins in Maine
Charles Douglas, Humboldt Sentinel
11/3/09
Eureka
A spate of off-year elections held today evidently produced mixed results amid low voter turnout amidst an atmosphere of anxiety over the economic crisis and wars overseas.
In New Jersey and Virginia, voters removed neoliberal Democrats from their gubernatorial spots, placed a pair of the same in two empty House seats in New York and California, and barely re-elected a billionaire big city mayor who overrode voter-imposed term limits.
Incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, pilloried for his ties to the “too big to fail” global investment bank Goldman Sachs, went down to defeat, 49% to 45% with most precincts reporting, against a neoconservative Republican and former U.S. Attorney, Chris Christie, with independent Chris Daggett denying him the majority by capturing 6%.
Retiring Dem state executive Tim Kane of Virginia was unable to hand off his seat to State Senator Creigh Deeds, who lost in a landslide to Bob McDonnell, 59% to 41% with almost all votes in. The GOP also looks set to capture the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General seats in Richmond.
House seats were not the scene of similar successes for the disorganized Republican Party. With 93% of the vote in, the 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York has witnessed an upset, with Bill Owens beating Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman 49% to 46% to become the first Dem to represent the area in over a century. Hoffman drove Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava out of the race, only to have her throw her endorsement to Owens, along with keeping 6% as holdover votes.
California’s 10th Congressional District, representing the northern East Bay area, saw an easy win by former Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi with 56% of the vote, overwhelming the 40% support for Republican nominee David Hammer in early results, with Green, Peace and Freedom, and American Independent candidates rounding out with less than 2% each.
The big ballot initiative of the night, Proposition 1 to repeal marriage equality for gays and lesbians in Maine, appears to be headed for victory, 53% to 47% with most ballots counted. The counter to this trend popped up across the country in Washington State, however, with Referendum 71 -- a voter review of the state legislature’s bill legalizing domestic partnerships -- winning 51% to 49% with all votes in.
Charles Douglas, Humboldt Sentinel
11/3/09
Eureka
A spate of off-year elections held today evidently produced mixed results amid low voter turnout amidst an atmosphere of anxiety over the economic crisis and wars overseas.
In New Jersey and Virginia, voters removed neoliberal Democrats from their gubernatorial spots, placed a pair of the same in two empty House seats in New York and California, and barely re-elected a billionaire big city mayor who overrode voter-imposed term limits.
Incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, pilloried for his ties to the “too big to fail” global investment bank Goldman Sachs, went down to defeat, 49% to 45% with most precincts reporting, against a neoconservative Republican and former U.S. Attorney, Chris Christie, with independent Chris Daggett denying him the majority by capturing 6%.
Retiring Dem state executive Tim Kane of Virginia was unable to hand off his seat to State Senator Creigh Deeds, who lost in a landslide to Bob McDonnell, 59% to 41% with almost all votes in. The GOP also looks set to capture the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General seats in Richmond.
House seats were not the scene of similar successes for the disorganized Republican Party. With 93% of the vote in, the 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York has witnessed an upset, with Bill Owens beating Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman 49% to 46% to become the first Dem to represent the area in over a century. Hoffman drove Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava out of the race, only to have her throw her endorsement to Owens, along with keeping 6% as holdover votes.
California’s 10th Congressional District, representing the northern East Bay area, saw an easy win by former Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi with 56% of the vote, overwhelming the 40% support for Republican nominee David Hammer in early results, with Green, Peace and Freedom, and American Independent candidates rounding out with less than 2% each.
The big ballot initiative of the night, Proposition 1 to repeal marriage equality for gays and lesbians in Maine, appears to be headed for victory, 53% to 47% with most ballots counted. The counter to this trend popped up across the country in Washington State, however, with Referendum 71 -- a voter review of the state legislature’s bill legalizing domestic partnerships -- winning 51% to 49% with all votes in.
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