Locals on top in election

Tuesday was a day of victory for Newport-Mesa politicians, as Costa Mesa resident John Moorlach and Newport Beach resident Chriss Street handily won county posts.

In keeping with early returns, final unofficial results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters showed Moorlach winning the second district county supervisor seat with 69.5% of votes cast, while opponent David Shawver collected 30.5%.

Moorlach will replace termed-out Supervisor Jim Silva. Silva won the GOP nomination for the 67th District Assembly seat, which includes Huntington Beach. Silva has held the supervisor’s seat since 1995.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said Wednesday that he hopes to certify the election results by June 16. Once that happens, Moorlach will have a bit of a wait until he takes office Jan. 9, 2007.

“I have a nice transition period,” he said, adding that since assistant treasurer Street will replace him, “I don’t have to train someone new.”

It’s still hard to say what the tenor of the board will be next year, Moorlach said. He believes he and 4th District Supervisor Chris Norby ? who won reelection Tuesday ? represent the “fiscal sanity” that Moorlach’s supporters have been talking about.

Either of the two 5th District supervisor candidates who will face off in November may add a third vote, giving fiscal conservatives a majority on the five-member board, Moorlach said.

Some Costa Mesa officials are sure to be pleased at having one of their own on the board.

“John has such high integrity, it’ll be nothing but good for the city,” Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said Tuesday night.

Voter turnout was a flaccid 23.7%, or 349,338 voters participating out of the 1,476,210 registered voters in Orange County. That’s compared with more than 40% participation in primaries in 2002 and 2004.

Slightly more than half of those who cast ballots in Tuesday’s election ? 11.9% ? voted absentee.

Street, who is assistant treasurer, will replace Moorlach as treasurer, winning 64.6% of votes; his opponent, Patrick Desmond, won 35.4%

Tuesday began a new chapter for Republican Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman, who beat Democrat Larry Caballero to win the 35th District state Senate seat. Harman took 67.8% of votes, and Caballero ended with 32.2%.

Other local candidates can’t hang up their precinct-walking shoes yet. Republican Costa Mesa Assemblyman Van Tran beat his primary opponent, Long Kim Pham, 87.1% to 12.9%. But Tran still must face Democrat Paul Lucas in November to keep his seat.

And 5th District Orange County supervisor candidates Patricia Bates and Cathryn DeYoung will square off in November. Neither earned the 50%-plus-one required to win outright.

Bates tallied 44.3% of votes cast, and DeYoung gathered 37.6%; Eddie Rose received 11.0%, Gary V. Miller 7.1%.

Here are the results of Tuesday’s primary, according to final unofficial totals from the Orange County Registrar of Voters. Countywide turnout was 23.7%, or 349,388 voters participating, out of the county’s 1,476,210 registered voters.

Ballot measures