Bever edges Garlich in race

Deirdre Newman

After almost a month of suspense, Planning Commissioner Eric Bever

has edged out fellow commissioner Bruce Garlich for the third open

seat on the City Council, according to the final vote count by the

Orange County Registrar of Voters.

Now all that’s left is whether there will be a recount of the

44-vote margin.

The election results were certified yesterday, and the county

Board of Supervisors will receive them today. The Costa Mesa City

Council will do the same on Dec. 6, the night the three new council

members will be sworn in. The other two winners are Planning

Commissioner Katrina Foley and former Mayor Linda Dixon.

With Bever beating him by a razor-thin margin of 44 votes, Garlich

must now decide whether he will ask for a recount.

Anyone can request one, registrar spokesman Brett Rowley said. The

deadline to ask for the votes to be retallied is 5 p.m. Friday.

Garlich will base his decision on factors that include voting data

in specific precincts, information he is in the process of obtaining,

he said. The city has 79 precincts.

“It’s all a matter of whether I think it’s worth starting down

that path and whether I can expect it to be fruitful,” Garlich said.

“I’m trying to make my mind up about that in a rational, measured

way.”

Another issue influencing Garlich’s decision will be cost,

especially since he is still several thousand dollars in debt from

his campaign, he said. If Garlich decides to ask for the votes to be

recounted, it would cost him $439 for each board -- a group of four

people -- necessary to retally the votes, Rowley said.

“I’m not interested in taking on a lot more personal debt, so if I

can raise it, that will also be something I have to take into

account,” said Garlich, who estimated the cost at several thousand

dollars.

If he opts to pursue a recount, Garlich gets to choose between

having the recount done electronically or manually.

The electronic method entails retabulating the eSlate votes, as

was done on election night. The manual method involves printing out

those electronic votes and then having the boards recount them.

The boards would do the same thing with paper ballots cast by

voters who chose not to use the electronic machines.

The length of time the recount would take depends on which process

is selected, Rowley said.

While Garlich wrestles with a potential recount, Bever is holding

off from celebrating.

He is reveling in the small disparity that finally separated him

from Garlich, he said.

“I think it’s kind of neat that the lead is so small,” he said.

“Any one of our dozens of volunteers could say, ‘It was me that put

it over the top.’ It shows that every last effort that went into it

was valuable.”

While he’s not keen about being in limbo longer, Bever said he

respects Garlich’s right to request a recount.

“I certainly wouldn’t begrudge him that,” Bever said. “With the

tables turned, I would probably be considering the same thing, but I

think my supporters would probably beat me.”

The protracted competition for the third seat has not soured their

relationship, both men said.

Even if Garlich asks for a recount, Bever will be sworn in on Dec.

6, if the supervisors certify him as the third winner.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (714)

966-4623 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.