KINGS BEACH, Calif. — It appears incumbent Sue Daniels has held off challenger Sarah Coolidge to keep her seat on the North Tahoe Public Utility District board of directors.

Initial results from Tuesday’s general election show Daniels received 464 votes, with Coolidge getting 422 votes for Seat 3 on the PUD board.

“I feel it means that the community would love it if the two of us will work together on our plans to make this a win/win for all,” Daniels said Wednesday, referring to the closeness of the race. “Sarah and I have already discussed getting together for such matters next week.”

---

---

Coolidge also commented on the 42 votes that separate her and Daniels in the polls.

“It’s fabulous to be having such a close race because there was a lot of interest in all the topics we were talking about, both candidates,” she said. “… It reminds us that every vote counts.”

---

---

Results compiled by each county on election night are only semi-official, as a number of vote-by-mail and other ballots from a variety of county-wide precincts remain outstanding.

According to the Secretary of State, election results change throughout a 28-day state-allowed canvass period as the outstanding votes are tallied, which could sway the final total for races.

When asked what her outlook is to keeping the lead, Daniels said it’s “realistic.”

“I know the voting process, and I have cautious optimism that the results will carry the trend,” she said. “While 5 percent is a pretty clear lead, 42 votes is still close.”

Coolidge said she thinks it’s possible the results could shift in her favor.

“It would be wonderful if that happened, but I think we need to wait for all the votes to be in,” she said.

If elected, Daniels said she would focus on working to increase public participation in the PUD in her third term.

“Decisions aren’t so hard when you have all the people involved with all the facts at hand,” she said.

The PUD board is made up of five members, with Lane Lewis reclaiming Seat 4 on the board. He faced no opposition for the seat.

OTHER LOCAL RACES

In other local election news, the race for Truckee Town Council is also tight. Jamie Brimer led the way with 1,104 votes, followed by Patrick Flora (incumbent) with 1,096 votes and Carolyn Wallace Dee (incumbent) with 1,076 for the three open seats. Morgan Goodwin is only 36 votes behind in fourth place.

For the Truckee Fire board, challenger Gary Botto finished first with 1,528 votes, followed by Victor Hernandez (incumbent) with 1,336 votes and Paul Wilford (incumbent) with 1,170. Gerald Herrick (incumbent), at 1,129 votes, is 41 votes back.

John Pang was the top vote-getter with 562 votes for the Tahoe City PUD board, followed by Dan Wilkins (incumbent) at 481 votes to fill two open seats. The other incumbent, Lou Reinkens, trailed far behind in third place with 277 votes.

These results are according to 100 percent of precincts reporting in all three counties. Again, the results are only semi-official.

Sun Managing Editor Kevin MacMillan contributed to this report.