It looks like a runoff election for First District Supervisor candidates Glenn McGourty and Jon Kennedy. Each of the two did not receive more than 50% of the majority, so there has to be a runoff in November, in the General Election. Incumbent Carre Brown is retiring from the seat and four people are running. Besides McGourty and Kennedy, there was James Green and John Sakowicz. McGourty is the UC Farm Advisor for Mendocino County and Kennedy has had various jobs including being a firefighter and running a nonprofit helping Mendocino County fire survivors rebuild their homes.
The 2nd District Supervisor seat will head to a runoff in November. Mo Mulheren and Mari Rodin running for the seat John McCowen is vacating. Mulheren had about 42% of the vote and Rodin had 32.5%. The seat represents the city of Ukiah. Mulheren is a small business owner in Ukiah on the City Council. And Rodin, a former City Council member runs a company who finds grants for local nonprofits and public agencies.
Supervisor Dan Gjerde is holding on to his seat in the 4th District with 58% over Fort Bragg Councilmember Lindy Peters who garnered 42% of the total vote.
It looks like a majority win for a ballot measure to bring in a tax from campgrounds and RV sites. The elections office reported last night the Mendocino County Transient Occupancy Tax, Measure D, had nearly 54% of the vote. It had to have a majority to pass. It aims to bring in $1 million a year from visitors to camp sites, tent sites, RV sites and private campgrounds in Mendocino County. Measure E which was also on the ballot to fund fire agencies, also passing, with 65% of the vote. It would give 75% of the money brought in to all fire agencies in the County, then the remaining 25 percent on a recommendation by fire chiefs.
School funding may be on hold though if Measure A was the only way, as the initiative looked to be failing in early vote counting. The Mendocino County Elections Office reported last night, the ballot measure did not get enough support. It was looking to raise as much as $75 million in funding to pay for upgrades to Ukiah schools. The Measure needed 55 percent to pass, and after the polls closed, it was a little short of that at 51.6 percent. It could change though with more ballots trickling in this week. The Ukiah Unified School District had said the money would be used for repairs and updates for items like deteriorating roofs, old plumbing and sewer systems, and inadequate electrical and ventilation systems. They also wanted to update classrooms and labs and replace old portable classrooms with permanent ones instead.
The Ukiah City Council is considering an “urgency ordinance” because of the homeless encampments near the airport. For their meeting tonight, the Assistant City Attorney explains the ordinance would designate an area across from the northern and southern ends of the runway at the Ukiah Municipal Airport designated as Runway Safety Areas. In notes to the Council, he says they would be kept vacant for public safety and to ensure safe operation of the airport. And anyone violating the ordinance could get a misdemeanor citation unless they had “written authorization from the Airport Manager or the City Manager.” The Daily Journal reports there have also been businesses denied permits in these same areas for the same safety reasons regarding congregating where a plane could land.
About half of the precincts in Lake County have reported results in Super Tuesday races. The Lake County Registrar of Voters reported before midnight, for District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska got 45.60% and Bill Kerney with 36%, the third in line, Kevin Ahahanian with only 1.5%. In District 4, Tina Scott with a majority, winning 60% to Chris Almind’s 40%. District 1 was not a problem to retain for Moke Simon, who garnered 63% of the vote against Julia Mary Bono who got 37%. Proposition 13 in Lake County got a No vote, the Yuba Community College District Measure, also a No.
Lake County voters chose Donald Trump overwhelmingly for President again, with 95% of registered Republicans checking him off, then it was Michael Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. In Mendocino County, it was Sanders with 43%, Biden with 15% and Elizabeth Warren with 13.5%, President Trump getting 92% of Republican votes.
More info on a person sick with the coronavirus in Sonoma County. The patient at a local hospital was on a Princess Cruise line from San Francisco to Mexico in February, now the second ship owned by Princess that’s been connected to confirmed cases of the illness. The Sonoma County Health Officer is reportedly trying to find anyone else who came into contact with this person. They were on the cruise from Feb. 11th to the 21st. Then hopped a shuttle from the port to the Sonoma Airport. The county health department is looking for anyone who may have been on that shuttle. This is the second confirmed case of coronavirus being treated at a county hospital, both recent Princess Cruises ship passengers.
A couple of men arrested for making honey oil are going to prison. Grant Anderson and Adam Bushaw, both of Los Angeles, convicted by plea last November. Bushaw telling police he didn’t think to get a permit to extract the oil because he first needed money to start his burgeoning business, and because everyone else is involved in the marijuana business in Mendocino County. Then yesterday a judge denied their requests for probation and hgave them each five years behind bars. But they’ll only serve six months and will then be released for four years of mandatory supervision. The DA tried getting 84 months, 2 years behind bars and the rest under supervision.
Looks like a win for a couple of Lake County Supervisor incumbents. Well after midnight, results in the Super Tuesday race showed first-term incumbents Moke Simon and Tina Scott winning in Districts 1 and 4 respectively. In District 5, Jessica Pyska won the most votes, but fell short of a majority for Rob Brown’s seat, he’s retiring. So it looks like Pyska will go up against retired pharmacist Bill Kearney of Kelseyville, she with 46% of the vote and he with 21%.
Measure C for the Woodland Community College, it’s a no vote to bring in some bond money.
District 4 Assemblymember incumbent Democrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry got only a slight majority across her district, with 55 percent, Republican Matthew Nelson got about 35 percent, so Aguiar-Curry and Nelson will face off in November.
Democratic Congressmembers John Garamendi and Mike Thompson will have to fight for their seats. Garamendi got 55.7 percent and Republican Tamika Hamilton received 29.6 percent, so the two will face off in the General in November. Thompson who got almost 66% has to face Republican Scott Giblin who won 23 percent in his primary. They face off in November too.
Incumbent 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman will face Dale Mensing of Redway in November.
Jim Wood, the incumbent in the California Assembly will face challenger Charlotte Svolos from Del Norte.
Bond money to fund public schools looks to be losing, Prop 13, getting 56% for a no vote in California, against 41% of yes votes.
Due to the of the coronavirus, there are reported shortages of respirator face masks for medical professionals, so the California Department of Public Health is stepping in, getting approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to get a hold of some of their emergency reserves. Apparently there are 21 million masks available, some past their use by dates, but they’ve been kept in climate control so they are still effective. They are only approved for certain limited, low-risk circumstances so doctors, nurses and other hospital and medical personnel can still use them when they’re around confirmed COVID-19 patients and other high-risk infectious diseases. As of yesterday, Calif. had
43 positive tests.
The Golden State Killer suspect is still being investigated, and more crimes could be tied to the alleged serial killer and East Area Rapist. Five new DNA samples are being taken from suspect Joseph James DeAngelo connected to a string of rapes in seven counties in Calif. if prosecutors get their way. There’s a hearing in the case next week before the preliminary hearing set for May 12th which itself could last up to 10 weeks and see 150 witnesses. The prosecution and defense arguing over the new DNA sample request for swabs from DeAngelo for possibly more criminal counts. His lawyers say the majority of the 26 murder and rape charges against him should be dismissed because state law doesn’t allow prosecutors in Sacramento to charge for crimes outside their jurisdiction.
One of the two people who had the coronavirus in Northern Calif has died. The Press Democrat reports it was an elderly person who got the virus on a Princess cruise ship. Now the cruise line is being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention due to a “small cluster” of coronavirus patients. Another passenger is also from Northern Calif and is a patient in Sonoma County. The pair were reportedly exposed to the disease while on the Grand Princess cruise from San Francisco to Mexico Feb. 11th to the 21st. More than fifty people have become ill with coronavirus in Calif. including many who got it from person to person contact.
At the latest Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting they considered the Vision 2028 priorities again which the board adopted in April 2018. Chairman Moke Simon, who by the way is retaining his seat after Super Tuesday, easily winning his seat again spoke up about the Vision… Simon says cleaning up neighborhoods through targeted Code Enforcement is a pillar of their Economic Development strategy. He mentioned they applied for Cannabis grant funds to figure out how to use the tax money they receive to better serve communities. At the meeting yesterday Board members also decided to deny an appeal to not allow a Grocery Outlet store in Middletown. The board finding it to be a major step for economic growth. They also covered public safety as part of the Vision 2028 plan.
