$114M Truckee school bond now ahead 0.2 percent; Goodwin surpasses Brimer for town council
kmacmillan@sierrasun.com
FULL UPDATED TOTALS FROM NEVADA COUNTY AS OF FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14
Measure U ($114M bond measure for Truckee area schools)*
NEVADA COUNTY
Yes: 2,465, 55.38%
No: 1,986, 44.62%
PLACER COUNTY (10 of 10 precincts)
Yes: 132, 51.97%
No: 122, 48.03%
TOTAL
Yes: 2,597, 55.20%
No: 2,108, 44.80%
* Measure requires 55 percent majority across both counties total to pass
———
Tahoe Forest Hospital District board of directors (vote for three)
NEVADA COUNTY
Chuck Zipkin: 1,839
Greg Jellinek: 1,711
Ronda Brooks: 1,593
Dale Chamblin (incumbent): 1,495
Mark Spohr: 1,315
Ned Hughes: 1,133
John Falk: 1,025
PLACER COUNTY
Dale Chamblin (incumbent): 920
Chuck Zipkin: 895
Ned Hughes: 891
Mark Spohr: 856
Ronda Brooks: 665
Greg Jellinek: 624
John Falk: 559
TOTAL
Chuck Zipkin: 2,734 votes
Dale Chamblin (incumbent): 2,415 votes
Greg Jellinek: 2,335 votes
Mark Spohr: 2,171 votes
Ronda Brooks: 2,258 votes
Ned Hughes: 2,024 votes
John Falk: 1,584 votes
——
Town of Truckee Town Council (vote for three)
Patrick Flora (incumbent): 2,073 votes
Carolyn Wallace Dee (incumbent): 2,018 votes
Morgan Goodwin: 1,947 votes
Jamie Brimer: 1,848 votes
Mark Brown (incumbent): 1,585 votes
——
Truckee Fire Protection District board of directors (vote for three)
NEVADA COUNTY
Gary Botto: 2,553
Victor Hernandez (incumbent): 2,291
Paul Wilford (incumbent): 1,994
Gerald Herrick (incumbent): 1,927
PLACER COUNTY
Gary Botto: 118
Victor Hernandez (incumbent): 113
Gerald Herrick (incumbent): 107
Paul Wilford (incumbent): 106
TOTAL
Gary Botto: 2,671 votes
Victor Hernandez (incumbent): 2,404 votes
Paul Wilford (incumbent): 2,100 votes
Gerald Herrick (incumbent): 2,034 votes
TRUCKEE, Calif. — It looks like things will go right down to the wire as to whether or not the $114 million Truckee school bond measure is approved.
The Nevada County Elections Office released updated figures Friday morning, showing voter approval for Measure U by a mere two tenths of a percent.
With roughly 2,832 ballots still to be counted, updated totals show 2,465 votes are in favor, with 1,986 against among Truckee voters. That’s a 55.38 percent to 44.62 percent ratio.
Of the remaining 129 votes, 128 of them are listed as “under votes,” meaning those voters did not choose yes or no. One additional vote was counted as an “over vote,” meaning one person voted for both options.
Measure U, which would fund improvements at Truckee-area schools within the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, requires 55 percent voter approval to pass.
After Election Day, 1,217 were in favor in Nevada County, with 1,110 against. When you add those numbers to the handful of precincts in Placer County — who voted 132 in favor and 122 against — the measure was failing, 52.27 percent to 47.73 percent against, after Election Day.
With Friday’s new totals from Nevada County, the most updated Measure U total (counting both counties) is 2,597 in favor (55.20 percent) and 2,108 (44.80 percent) against.
OUTSTANDING BALLOTS
In Placer County, there are 36,651 outstanding ballots to be processed, according to information provided by the county elections office.
The Lake Tahoe area of Placer County is encompassed by District 5 (which also includes the cities of Auburn and Colfax). According to the county elections office, of the 36,651 outstanding ballots, 7,296 come from District 5.
It’s unclear when updated totals will be released, or if any more will be for Measure U.
As for Nevada County, Sandy Sjoberg, Assistant Registrar of Voters, said Friday’s update brings the total ballots counted from 22,366 reported on election night to 36,324 ballots.
Of the 2,832 ballots remaining to be counted, 779 are vote-by-mail, 1,053 are provisional and 1,000 are either voted but not yet scanned in or damaged ballots.
“Some of the vote-by-mail ballots had signature mismatches, where the spouse may have signed for the wife or husband,” Sjoberg said in commenting on the reason for the delay.
She added that the damaged ballots also present delay problems in that they will have to be recreated.
Sjoberg estimated the next update would be Friday, Nov. 21.
“We’re hoping to have the final count by Nov. 26,” she said.
GOODWIN SURPASSES BRIMER FOR TOWN COUNCIL
Based on Friday’s new totals for Truckee Town Council, Patrick Flora (incumbent) is leading the way with 2,073 votes, followed by Carolyn Wallace Dee (incumbent) with 2,018 votes and Morgan Goodwin with 1,947 votes for three seats.
Jamie Brimer, who had the most votes after Election Day, is now on the outside looking in, with 1,848 votes in fourth place. The fifth candidate, incumbent Mark Brown, is last with 1,585 votes.
HOSPITAL BOARD
As for the Tahoe Forest Hospital District Board of Directors, Chuck Zipkin continues to lead in Nevada County, based on the new numbers, with 1,839 votes, followed by Greg Jellinek with 1,711 votes and Ronda Brooks with 1,593 votes for three seats.
The hospital board is voted about equally in terms of number of voters in both Nevada and Placer counties.
Since new Placer County numbers are yet to be published, Zipkin (2,734 votes total), incumbent Dale Chamblin 2,415 votes total) and Jellinek (2,335 votes total) are still in the lead for the three open seats.
TRUCKEE FIRE BOARD
For the Truckee Fire board, updated Nevada County totals have challenger Gary Botto leading at 2,553 votes, followed by Victor Hernandez (incumbent) with 2,291 votes and Paul Wilford (incumbent) with 1,994. Gerald Herrick (incumbent) is last at 1,927 votes.
There are a handful of Placer County precincts that vote for these seats as well. Again, since new Placer County numbers are yet to be published, Botto (2,671 votes total), Hernandez (2,404 votes total) and Wilford 2,100 votes total) are still in the lead for the three open seats. Herrick is last with 2,034 votes.
— Keri Brenner from The Union newspaper contributed to this report.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.