TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. — Chuck Zipkin and Greg Jellinek will likely join Dale Chamblin on the Tahoe Forest Hospital District board of directors next year.

Semi-official results from Tuesday’s general election in Placer and Nevada counties show Zipkin garnered 1,862 votes; Chamblin, the lone incumbent, got 1,705 votes; and Jellinek earned 1,557 votes, making them the top three finishers in a pool of seven candidates.

“Campaigning is not easy,” Chamblin said Wednesday. “(It’s) nice to have it over and refocus on the work of the board.”

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With the campaign over, Jellinek said his job now is to work for the taxpayers.

“A big thank you to the voters for their confidence in allowing me to serve,” he said. “I am truly honored and committed to their concerns.”

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For Zipkin, this campaign marks his first foray into politics.

“This campaign has been an education…” he said. “After weeks of forums, meetings at people’s homes and putting up signs and speech writing, I am pleased that all that effort has been worth while.”

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.

For example, two years ago, final results for Nevada County were released more than two weeks after Election Day. That year, a good deal of the lingering mail-in ballots came from Truckee precincts, which impacted the vote on the failed Measure J — although the winners of each local race did not change.

In this year’s hospital race, Mark Spohr finished just 22 votes behind in fourth place, and Ronda Brooks, in fifth, is only 41 votes behind Jellinek, meaning those outstanding ballots could impact the final results.

“… There is absolutely nothing that I can do but sit back and wait to see how this all plays out,” Jellinek said

Should final results show Jellinek has a seat, he said his priorities would include improving public trust.

“The issue that fomented my decision to run for this office in the first place was the perceived lack of trust in the organization that is rampant in the local populace,” he said. “Understanding the basis for that mistrust and correcting it will be job number one.”

For Chamblin, his priorities are continuing work on getting board meetings televised, working with staff on developing an improved mechanism for public input and exploring options for cutting diagnostic imaging costs.

As for Zipkin, his first priority is to learn what the pressing issues are and to get current with the board’s closed session issues.

“During this steep learning curve, establishing collaboration and a spirit of mutual respect with the other board members will be crucial for getting things done in the future,” he said.

Zipkin and Jellinek will replace outgoing Tahoe Forest directors Roger Kahn and Larry Long next year, while Chamblin reclaims his seat, which he was appointed to 18 months ago when Ken Cutler vacated it.

Sun Managing Editor Kevin MacMillan contributed to this report.