Election 2020: Mayor Bob Whalen leading out of the gate in Laguna Beach City Council race
The early returns for the Laguna Beach City Council on election night showed markedly different results for the two incumbents in the race.
As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, election results released by the Orange County Registrar of Voters had Mayor Bob Whalen holding a slight lead over two challengers in the race for two available seats on the City Council.
Whalen had received 5,771 (24.59%) of the votes reported, while George Weiss had 5,131 votes (21.86%) and Ruben Flores had 4,952 votes (21.1%).
“I am pleased to see that I am first on the initial report, but we have a long way to go,” said Whalen, who was first elected to the five-person panel in 2012. “I will continue to track the results through the evening.”
Larry Nokes had 4,502 votes (19.18%) and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow was a distant fifth with 3,114 votes (13.27%).
Weiss said going into the night that he felt his chances were pretty good. Upon seeing the early results, his tune had not changed, but he said that a wild card could be the number of conservative voters that waited to vote until Election Day.
Flores said he planned to watch the election results come in with supporters locally.
Voters who turned up in the early afternoon at Laguna Beach’s two polling stations were able to get in and out without much trouble, a testament to the city’s early voter turnout.
Of the 21,124 vote-by-mail ballots issued in Laguna Beach, the number returned was reported as 13,862 going into Election Day, per the Orange County Registrar of Voters. That accounted for nearly two-thirds of the vote-by-mail ballots issued citywide.
Rep. Harley Rouda is slightly behind challenger Michelle Steel in the race for the 48th Congressional District, which comprises much of the Orange County coastline, including Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.
Laguna Beach also had a two-person race for city clerk. Ann Marie McKay, who ran against Mariann Tracy for the position, was out waving a campaign sign near the Laguna Beach Community and Susi Q Center.
“It’s a small race,” said McKay, who said this is her first time running for office. “I’m a local candidate. We’ve got to be out there. I’m doing a grassroots campaign, so it’s important to me that everyone sees my name before they go in and vote.”
Mark Chemeleski, 53, brought two kids, including 7-year-old Shane, to the Laguna Beach Community and Susi Q Center to watch him vote, wanting to show them the democratic process.
“He said, ‘Dad, did you vote?’” Chemeleski said. “He said he voted at school, so I thought that was cool, and then I said, ‘Well, guess what? We’re going to go in here, and we’re going to go see me vote now.’”
Chemeleski indicated that he opposes further development in the city, adding, “If it gets too overdeveloped, they’re going to ruin it.”
Some voters considered it traditional to cast their ballot on Election Day. Others said they wanted to vote in person to make sure their vote was recorded accurately.
“Going in and making sure it’s recorded and scanned correctly, that was why we didn’t [vote by mail],” Jeff Driggs, 47, said.
Lance Stewart Jr., 21, a first-time voter, said that the ability to speak one’s mind is “truly American,” and he was excited to partake in the process.
“It felt great,” Stewart said of coming out to vote with his brother, Larry. “Honestly, it’s a pretty good experience to know that you have a voice. Even if it’s minimal, it’s something, and we all come together to make the bigger collective, and hopefully that collective can make more positive changes in the future.”
School board election results for the Newport-Mesa Unified, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach City, Huntington Beach Union and Laguna Beach Unified school districts.
Stewart added that he voted for Larry Nokes for City Council because he believed Nokes would address environmental issues.
Several voters expressed that Proposition 22, which aimed to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors, was a state ballot measure that grabbed their attention.
“We talked a lot about how it was interesting because at that point [of making app-based drivers employees], you may as well get a cab because it will be more expensive,” Sarah Davis, 30, of Dana Point said. “That was definitely a thinker.”
Davis said that she did not fear voting in person because of the coronavirus, having worked at a grocery store as an essential worker during the pandemic. She voted at Lang Park in Laguna Beach after seeing the long line at another voting center.
Check dailypilot.com for continuing election coverage and results.
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