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Reactions from Tuesday's election |
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Saturday, 07 June 2008 |
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By Ken Koerner
Register Staff 6-5-2008
The votes have been counted and the winners and losers have learned their fates. Despite disappointment on the part of those who won’t be advancing to either a runoff election or public office, most candidates remained upbeat post-election.
In the races with only two candidates in contention, there was a clear victor at the polls. This was not the case in the races with three candidates.
The three men running for Inyo County Superior Court Judge all had a certain degree of success in attracting votes, but no candidate managed to top the 50 percent margin necessary for election.
Incumbent Superior Court Judge Brain Lamb attracted the most votes, though remained well short of the simple-majority that would have locked in another term on the Inyo County bench.
Challenger Tom Hardy had the next highest vote total and that means Lamb and Hardy will be giving voters a second chance to make a choice about which candidate gets the nod.
In reflecting on Tuesday’s results, each man found something positive to express.
“We’re delighted with the results at the polls yesterday. We achieved all of our goals for the primary election,” Lamb said. “We’re pleased to have received approval from a majority of the voters and honored to have their support going into the November election.”
“Overall, I think that the results on Tuesday reflect that Inyo County voters see the need for change and common sense on the Inyo County Superior Court bench,” Hardy said.. Recognizing that, I plan to continue to make my case with the voters that I am the best choice for Superior Court judge.”
The other race which had three candidates seeking voter approval was for Inyo County’s District Five supervisor seat.
Voters were split on the candidates, with incumbent Supervisor Richard Cervantes notching the top spot in vote totals, yet still remaining just shy of the 50 percent needed for a certain outcome.
The challengers for Cervantes’ place on the Board of Supervisors saw former Supervisor Michael Dorame out-distancing opponent Bill Wenzel by a more than two-to-one margin.
Consequently, Cervantes and Dorame will continue their campaigns heading toward the final showdown with voters in November.
In looking at the vote totals from the Fifth District, Dorame found reasons to see the situation in a “glass half-full” context.
“I’m feeling okay with the way the voting went, in terms of my relative position as a candidate. “However, like many others I’ve spoken with today,” Dorame said, “I’m disappointed by the extremely light turn-out; but, being the underdog and running against a sitting supervisor, I think it went reasonably well.”
“Being as this was the first time I’ve ever run for office,” Wenzel said, “I thought it ended up being quite a good learning experience. And I certainly appreciate everyone’s help that was offered so freely throughout the campaign process.”
The race to determine which of two candidates would become the District Four supervisor had a clear winner, though the runner-up also received solid support at the polls.
Marty Fortney secured a seat as the district’s supervisor, with his 57.20 percent approval from all those voting. Candidate Butch Hambleton’s vote total topped 42 percent. Both men felt the campaign was a positive experience.
“As far as participating in my first-ever campaign, I thought that went pretty well,” Fortney said. “My supporters gave me a lot of good advice and that was very important in helping communicate with the voters of my district.”
“I felt like I put forth a very good effort in this campaign to share my ideas with people – and I think the process worked, Hambleton said. “I extend sincere congratulations to Marty (Fortney) and I have no doubt Marty will do a good job for our district and our county.”
The Supervisor seat for Inyo County’s Second District also produced a winning candidate, without need for a run-off.
Incumbent Supervisor Susan Cash was re-elected by voters, having received 54.69 percent of the total ballots counted. Challenger Ted Gardner found 44.24 percent of voters backed his election to the supervisor’s seat.
Challenger Gardner expressed appreciation for how the campaign was handled.
“Obviously, I came in second place, but both Susan Cash and I ran a good race,” Gardner said. “I didn’t run a negative campaign and Susan didn’t either – we see too much of that sort of thing in the national campaigning. I’m happy that we kept the dialogue on a higher plane. Plus, of all the people that lost yesterday (June 3), I did the best.”
In each instance, all of the candidates contacted included among their remarks a level of disappointment that the pattern of voter turnout was below Inyo County’s more typically robust participation.
Attempts to contact judicial candidate Mark Johnson and Supervisors Susan Cash and Richard Cervantes were unsuccessful prior to The Inyo Register’s publishing deadline. As comments from these individuals become available, they will be reported.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 July 2008 )
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