RivCo Election Latest: Which Candidates Lead, Measures Passed
RIVERSIDE COUNTY — It's been a few days since Election Day, but voters are waiting to see final results in the races that matter to their local communities as ballots are still being processed.
Officials say it will take until at least Nov. 12, if not longer, for every mail-in ballot to be counted, though many races are likely to be called before then.
(Scroll down for real-time results)
On Thursday, several paths to victory in Riverside County looked clear, including a handful of bond measures to improve public school infrastructure in Banning, Beaumont, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Menifee and beyond.
Meanwhile, a candidate pulling ahead initially looked to have lost his winning edge as more votes were tabulated overnight into Wednesday.
Sen. Richard Roth's lead slipped substantially Wednesday in the race against former Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. Then on Thursday, Roth seemed to be pulling ahead again with 52% of the vote and his challenger with 47%.
And Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, who holds a key swing seat in Riverside County, was still locked in a tight race with his Democratic challenger Will Rollins. Calvert holds a slim lead over Rollins with 51% of votes in his favor and 48% of votes for Rollins.
By Thursday, Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Norco, held onto a sizeable lead over his union-backed challenger Christopher Shoults in their bid for the 63rd District seat. Essayli had 58% of votes over Shoults' 41%.
Below are the latest results for everything being voted on in Riverside County — national, state and local.
What does it mean when the results above indicate "100% of precincts reported?": Here's How Election Results Are Being Released In Riverside County
A Riverside County Superior Court commissioner maintained a solid lead over a veteran prosecutor Thursday in the race for an open judicial seat.
The ballot tally posted late Wednesday afternoon showed Commissioner Elizabeth Tucker ahead of Deputy District Attorney Gerald Pfohl in the race for Superior Court Office Judicial Seat No. 4.
"I already preside over criminal, civil, juvenile, probate and traffic courts in my capacity as a commissioner," Tucker said in campaign literature. "I have the identical training, education and experience as a judge."
Tucker was ahead with 57% of the votes on Thursday morning, with her challenger holding at 42%.
The school district races across the county were also seeing competitions on a knife's edge into Thursday.
As of Wednesday, shortly before 5 p.m., results for the hotly contested four Temecula Valley Unified School District governing board seats were trickling in.
Though the Registrar of Voters has yet to finalize the results, the latest count shows Dr. Joseph Komrosky leading the TVUSD Governing Board TA 4 race against David Sola; Emil Roger Barham was leading over Gary Oddi and Angela Talarzyk in TA 2; Melinda Anderson was leading over Alison Barclay in TA 1; and Steven Schwartz was leading by a slim margin over Jon Cobb in TA 5.
Over in Murrieta, three seats in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District and two on the City Council were up for grabs. In all cases, incumbents campaigned for their spots, but whether things remain the same is still unknown.
In Trustee Area 3, challenger Yvonne Munoz took on incumbent Julie Vandegrift, and early returns show the race is still very close as of Thursday, with Vandegrift holding a slight lead. Read more about Murrieta's races here .
Meanwhile, half of California's 10 propositions had been called by The Associated Press as of Thursday morning. The first measure to pass was the controversial tough-on-crime Prop. 36. Riverside officials lauded the measure's passage on Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials said the measure is not a "fix-all" for stopping crime, but a "step in the right direction.
"I'm pleased with the results. More than 70% of voters have spoken in favor of this," District Attorney Mike Hestrin said during a news briefing Wednesday in downtown Riverside. "Prop 36 puts teeth back into our criminal justice system. People are tired of rampant theft. People are aware the system is broken. Now criminals should consider themselves put on notice: We'll file felony charges and seek prison sentences where appropriate."
The proposition addresses what Hestrin, Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez, Sheriff Chad Bianco and Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Norco, cited as shortcomings in Proposition 47, approved by voters in 2014, which reduced a range of theft and drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. For thefts, the prop made most acts involving less than $950 in value misdemeanors.
The public safety officials said that allowance has hobbled law enforcement in pursuing time behind bars for even offenders who have perpetrated dozens of thefts.
"It pains me to hear from small business owners closing up because they can't afford to replace glass windows that have been broken on their property multiple times," Gonzalez said. "Prop 36 will be a remarkable change. Too many individuals choose to continue harming themselves or community members unless they're given a strong incentive to choose the path of rehabilitation."
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City News Service contributed to this report.
