UPDATED Wednesday 2:27 p.m.
Attorney General hopefuls Kamala Harris and Steve Cooley are still waiting for the final count of absentee and provisional ballots to see who will become California’s top cop. And despite a significant difference in votes between her and the declared winner, Barbara Boxer, Carly Fiorina has yet to make her concession speech.
Even though the votes have been cast, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, and the mud slinging stopped – or put on hiatus – there are still some juicy issues to resolve.
California voters sent a message Tuesday night when they cast their ballots; marijuana is still illegal, don’t ask for more fees or surcharges, leave measures we voted on before alone and big money still can’t buy an election, whether it’s to protect oil company’s interests or taking the highest office in the state.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley may or may not be moving to Sacramento to become the state’s Attorney General, depending on how the count of absentee and provisional ballots goes; making the race between Cooley and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris the closest in the state. Cooley declared victory shortly before midnight, but the numbers shifted less than an hour later, giving Harris a narrow lead.
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Other races were not as close, changing the guard at the top of the state with Jerry Brown besting Meg Whitman and Gavin Newsom beating Abel Maldonado, putting Democrats in the Capitol’s top two seats. Incumbents retained their jobs as Secretary of State, Controller and Treasurer, and voters sent both former Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth back to his Assembly seat and Congressman Buck McKeon back to Washington with healthy margins.
In local water board races, challengers weren’t successful in unseating those already serving; the widest margin of victory was Tom Campbell, who bested Frank Smathers for the Castaic Lake Water Agency board at large seat with a 10 to 1 margin; Ed Colley retained his Division 1 seat with a 3 to 1 margin; Peter Kavounas had a 2 to 1 margin over Robert Clark for the Division 2 seat and J.H. McMillan garnered twice as many votes as challenger Carole Lutness.
Getting results during Election Night was somewhat challenging, as the website of the Secretary of State was down the majority of the evening, overloaded with users. Results also came from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorders Office.
November 2, 2010 Election
* denotes winner
CASTAIC LAKE WATER AGENCY – BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AT LARGE
*Tom Campbell 40,297 (90.6 %)
Frank Smathers 4,187 (9.4 %)
DIVISION 1
*Ed Colley 9,788 (69.9 %)
Kevin Korenthal 4,196 (30 %)
DIVISION 2
*Peter Kavounas 9,611 (67.5 %)
Robert Clark 4,624 (32.5 %)
DIVISION 3
*JH McMillan 10,048 (65.37 %)
Carole Lutness 5,322 (34.63 %)
*******
U.S. SENATE
*Barbara Boxer 3,850,106 (52 %)
Carly Fiorina 3,155,681 (42.6 %)
25th DISTRICT: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Jackie Conaway 58,754 (38.3 %)
*Howard P. “Buck” McKeon 94,622 (61.7 %)
*********
STATE OFFICES
GOVERNOR
*Jerry Brown 4,009,280 (53.6 %)
Meg Whitman 3,088,070 (41.3 %)
LT. GOVERNOR
*Gavin Newsom 3,632,179 (50 %)
Abel Maldonado 2,863,057 (39.5 %)
SECRETARY OF STATE
*Debra Bowen 3,786,174 (53.1 %)
Damon Dunn 2,751,863 (38.6)
CONTROLLER
*John Chiang 3,939,967 (54.9 %)
Tony Strickland 2,620,509 (36.5 %)
TREASURER
*Bill Lockyer 4,034,225 (56.4 %)
Mimi Walters 2,607,732 (36.5 %)
ATTORNEY GENERAL *CLOSE CONTEST*
*Kamala Harris 3,292,836 (45.9 %)
Steve Cooley 3,277,998 (45.7 %)
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
*Dave Jones 3,544,003 (50.5 %)
Mike Villines 2,640,383 (37.8 %)
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Larry Aceves 2,621,884 (45.4 %)
*Tom Torlakson 3,148,881 (54.6 %)
BOARD OF EQUALIZATION – DISTRICT 2
Chris Parker 756,875 (42.8 %)
*George Runner 885,997 (50.1 %)
STATE ASSEMBLY DIST. 36
Linda K. Jones 38,612 (42.3 %)
*Steve Knight 52,612 (57.7 %)
STATE ASSEMBLY DIST. 38
Diana Shaw 45,647 (37.7 %)
*Cameron Smyth 68,027 (56.3 %)
*****************
STATE MEASURES
19 – Legalize marijuana, regulate and tax in California
YES – 3,412,387 (46.1 %)
*NO – 3,978,314 (53.9 %)
20 – Congressional redistricting, no elected officials on committee
*YES – 4,268,103 (61.2 %)
NO – 2,712,119 (38.8 %)
21 – State park funding, vehicle license surcharge
YES – 3,048,756 (41.9 %)
*NO – 4,227,021 (58.1 %)
22 – Prohibits state from tapping municipal funds
*YES – 4,291,832 (61 %)
NO – 2,750,022 (39 %)
23 – Suspends AB32, air pollution laws
YES – 2,806,234 (38.9 %)
*NO – 4,404,634 (61.1 %)
24 – Repeal allowance of lower business tax liability
YES – 2,912,221 (41.5 %)
*NO – 4,101, 719 (58.5 %)
25 – Simple majority to pass state budget, legislators forfeit pay until budget passed
*YES – 3,884,542 (52.9 %)
NO – 3,212,365 (45.2 %)
26 – Two-thirds majority required to pass new state/local fees
*YES – 3,692,156 (52.9 %)
NO – 3,298,677 (47.1 %)
27 – Eliminates state redistricting commission
YES – 2,783,908 (40.6 %)
*NO – 4,072,505 (59.4 %)