Election Day Recap: Local Incumbents Fair Strong

Archive Photo -MML

Sonora, CA — Election Day came and went and we have a strong sense of the winners in some races, but others are too close to call. It appears that all of the incumbents will be victorious in the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisor races. In District One, Sherri Brennan has 57-percent, Jerry Fuccillo 24-percent and Chuck Kiel 17-percent. Brennan said last night, “I feel so blessed. The numbers look very good, and I’m so happy with the support of the voters of District One.”

In the District Four race, incumbent John Gray has 64-percent and challenger Don Matter 34-percent. Gray reflects, “I’ve felt pretty confident all along. When you run for election and re-election, you know that you haven’t made everyone happy, especially if you’ve been in for a couple of terms. There will be people that think you haven’t done a good job and others that think you have done a very good job.”

District Five is the closest of the Supervisors races with incumbent Karl Rodefer with 54-percent and challenger Sara Shier with 44-percent. Rodefer thanks his supporters, saying, “Nobody wins a political campaign without a great deal of support, and I have all of them to thank for that. That’s what makes the political process work.”

After receiving 44-percent of the vote in her first stab at political office, Shier says, “I would consider running again in the future. I would like to see the Board of Supervisors support businesses that attract and retain young people and families to our community.”

Tuolumne County Clerk and Auditor Controller Debi Bautista says the lone race in the county that remains too close to call is Sonora City Council. There are four candidates and three seats. Connie Williams and Mark Plummer are the top two vote getters. Williams says, “I’m extremely pleased. I worked hard to make this happen, and I thank all of those that voted for me.”

Plummer added, “I’m very optimistic and surprised by the support. I’m grateful and look forward to working for the city.”

However, just over 30 votes separate third place Matt Hawkins and fourth place Bill Canning. Provisional and vote by mail ballots will continue to be counted over the next few days. New this year, arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day will still be counted through Friday.

In Calaveras County, in the district one supervisor race, Cliff Edson and Gary Tofanelli will move onto a runoff in November with both receiving close to 39-percent. Supervisor candidates need to receive over 50-percent in order to avoid a runoff.  Jack Garamendi Jr. is the winner in District Two, being the lone candidate, and Dennis Mills has a sizable lead in District Four with over 55-percent.

In the District Four US House Race, Republican Tom McClintock will face Democrat Robert Derlet this coming November in the General Election and the District Five Assembly race will be a matchup between Republican Frank Bigelow and Democrat Robert Carabas.

If you’re curious about how the Presidential candidates did locally, Hillary Clinton was the preferred Democrat in both Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties, and Donald Trump the preferred Republican.

You can find local results on the election page by clicking here.

*Reporters Tracey Petersen and Tori James contributed to this report