Printable VersionEach vote that came in Tuesday evening only added to the uncertainty on the minds of the City Council candidates.
 Jayne Hanson/News-Herald Photo. Two voters leave Our Savior Lutheran Church & School on Maricopa Avenue Tuesday after voting during the primary election. The location was open to voters in precincts 36 and 63 in Lake Havasu City. |
“It’s impossible to know who is moving on and who isn’t without knowing the ballots,” said City Clerk Carla Simendich Tuesday evening. “It’s just too close to call.”
If both McAtlin and Nyberg earned more than 50 percent of the ballots, the next two top vote getters (Sonny Borrelli and Shawna Thornton) would vie for the third council position in November. If only McAtlin earned more than 50 percent of the ballots, the top four vote getters would move on. But if none of the candidates earned enough ballots, all five candidates, including fifth place vote getter LaJuana Gillette, would move on to the general election and only write-in Dairo Mark Veit would be eliminated.
“All we can do is wait until the fat lady sings,” Nyberg said Tuesday night. “I think it’s a good, close race. We all have similar ideas and we’re all willing to work with each other. … Now I think the real race begins.”
McAtlin, who was getting a head start on sleep while most of the votes came in, said he had no problem waiting until the morning to see the results.
“It’s going to be there in the morning so I’m OK waiting until then,” he said, adding that he was pleased to be the top vote getter with the initial results in. “I hope people saw the hard work I’ve done and want to continue to do on the council. Hopefully everybody is happy with that and I’ll keep doing it.”
Borrelli, who earned 3,347 votes according to initial reports, said he was happy with the results and with the campaign.
“There’s always a bit of anxiety in these things … but if we got more people to come out and vote then we did a good job I think,” Borrelli said. “I’m proud to say all of us have run an honorable race. The other races can say what they want but Lake Havasu kept everything civil and honorable and I think it’s terrific and a tribute to the city we live in.”
Thornton, who earned 2,997 votes according to initial reports, said she wasn’t going to let the anxiety of not knowing if her campaign was going to continue get to her.
“I’m willing to wait to see in the morning to see what it looks like. I’ve taken 16 years to prepare myself, I’m willing to wait another 12 hours,” she said, adding that she plans to work even harder if she’s still in the race for the general election. “I do a lot of door-to-door campaigning and I’ll prefer the nicer weather coming up.”
Gillette, who received 2,162 votes according to initial reports, said she was anxious to find out if she would be moving on.
“If it turns out that I’m not, I’m going to be extremely disappointed, of course,” she said. “I thought I did well with all of the questions (asked during the campaign) and I think I would make a great council member. … I guess I will have to wait until morning to know for sure if this is it.”
Mayor Mark Nexsen, who is running unopposed, received 5,472 votes according to initial reports Tuesday night. City Clerk Simendich said while it was impossible to know the exact number of ballots cast, Nexsen is all but a certainty to continue his second term as mayor.
Meanwhile, State Representative District 3 Incumbent Doris Goodale, R-Kingman) took a comfortable lead in her race for two open seats Tuesday, but the margin narrowed between the remaining two Republican contenders as results were tallied in the primary election.
Incumbent Nancy McLain, R-Bullhead City, barely led Ray Cullison II from Kingman, according to unofficial and incomplete results posted at 9:47 p.m. Tuesday on the Mohave County Election’s Department website.
Goodale led with slightly more than 38 percent of the votes, McLain had almost 32 percent and Cullison had almost 30 percent.
At that time, 62 of 73 precincts had reported, and McLain said late Tuesday night it depended on which precincts still needed to have their ballots counted on if she would retain her seat.
“I don’t know which of the precincts have not reported yet,” she said. “I’m confident that those voters will come in for me.”
McLain said Cullison “did all that negative campaigning against” her and she was sure it “had an effect.
“I’m sorry to see that, obviously,” she said. “I believe I’ve done an excellent job representing this district. But it happens. That’s unfortunate.”
But Cullison said: “define negative campaigning.”
“Contrast is not negative campaigning,” he said. “Negative campaigns would have been attacking her character. I did not do that. I have to look at what (incumbents didn’t do) for the state.”
Cullison said he relayed McLain’s voting record in his advertisements and how he would have voted differently.
“I don’t find it negative,” he said. “It’s actually just being educational. We want the voters to have the full picture on the candidates and that is what I was trying to provide.”
Cullison said he thought the race would be close.
“Any time you go up against an incumbent, it will be a tough battle,” he said, adding the candidates may not know the final results for days until the absentee and early ballots are counted.
Goodale said she was “thoroughly surprised” that the margin was so narrow between her two contenders.
“I thought there would be a wider disparity,” she said.
But as for her lead, she said she was “elated, humbled, honored.”
“It’s just very honoring to be able to continue to serve our District 3,” she said.
Goodale said the two candidates with the most votes automatically take the open seats in the 2011 legislative session. The candidates do not need at least 50 percent of the vote like the city council race, she said.
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