LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In Tuesday's election, Clearlake voters rejected a second attempt at a sales tax measure for roads and code enforcement, and school board and special district seats in several parts of the county were decided.
Measure H – which would have instituted a 1-percent sales tax to generate an estimated $1.4 million annually to improve Clearlake's roads and fully restore its code enforcement services – failed to get the necessary supermajority of 66 percent, according to the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office.
The measure received 979 yes votes or 61.2 percent, compared to 621 no votes, or 38.8 percent, based on Tuesday night's returns.
Altogether, only 26.6 percent of Clearlake's registered voters participated in the election.
Measure H followed by a year a similar sales tax proposal, Measure G, which also needed a supermajority but fell several percentage points short.
In the race for the Lake County Board of Education Area No. 3 seat, incumbent Patricia Hicks was reelected with 52 percent, or 543 votes, with challenger Dawn Binns receiving 48 percent, or 502 votes.
In a big field seeking three seats on the Upper Lake Elementary School Board, Diane Tomkins Plante led the field with 20.8 percent, or 252 votes, to win a seat, along with Joanne Breton, with 16.2 percent or 196 votes, and Don Meri, 14.6 percent or 177 votes. Alisa Bloom received 13.8 percent, 167 votes; Kelly Palmer Burns, 12.5 percent, 151 votes; Marie Henry, 12.2 percent, 148 votes; and Katy Swaney, 9.9 percent, 120 votes.
In the Lakeport Unified School District Board race, where two seats were available, incumbents Dennis Darling and Tom Powers were reelected to the board. Darling took 38.9 percent of the vote, or 846 votes, while Powers received 36.2 percent, or 788 votes. Challenger Beth Ackermann finished third with 24.9 percent or 541 votes.
The Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District Board had two seats available. Linda Herndon received 380 votes or 38.7 percent of the vote, to win one of the seats, while Judy Mirbegian won the second seat with 34.6 percent or 339 votes. Richard Pritchard came in third with 26.7 percent or 262 votes.
The Registrar of Voters Office now must turn to the work of certifying the election's final results.
Elections officials will conduct a manual tally of ballots from randomly selected precincts from Tuesday's election beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Registrar of Voters Office, Room 209 on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport. Observers are welcome.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.