Recount of Ojai mayor's race gets underway

The recount of the race for Ojai mayor began Monday at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura, the only local contest to face a challenge after last month's election.

Incumbent Mayor Betsy Stix beat challenger Anson Williams by 42 votes, according to official results of the Nov. 8 election. After the results were certified Dec. 8, a Williams' supporter began the process of initiating a recount a day later.

Simone Seydoux, a spokeswoman with the Ventura County Clerk-Recorder's Office, said the process could possibly take four days.

More:'Happy Days' Potsie seeks recount after loss in 2022 Ojai mayor's race

"We feel good about it. We're going to try and judge the time frame. This will give us a good idea," Seydoux said.

The recount took place inside the Elections Division at the Ventura County Elections Center. The ballot counting began at 10 a.m. and was scheduled to continue until 4 p.m. per election code, Seydoux said.

People could be added to speed up the recount depending on how Monday goes, she said. By Monday afternoon, elections officials decided to add more workers.

There were 22 people directly involved in the recount: five groups of four people and two supervisors overseeing the process, Seydoux said.

Another three observers from Williams' group and one representing Stix also attended. The Election Integrity Project California, a Santa Clarita-based nonprofit not affiliated with either campaign, also monitored the proceedings.

Observers were able to watch the process and ask questions of supervisors ranging from verifying ballot signatures to the locations of ballots inside the elections division being counted.

Ronald "Tony" Otto filed a recount request document Dec. 9 to the Ventura County Elections Division asking for a manual recount "on behalf of candidate Anson Williams."

Otto, who was one of the observers at the center, said elections officials were well organized and everything appeared to be going smoothly.

"Even though it's a boring process, it's very interesting. I'm going to be here every day," he said.

Corrina Wright, who said she was representing Stix, said the process was a "great inconvenience" during the holidays but she planned on staying the whole day.

"I thought I'd be bored out of my brain but it's actually engaging," she said.

Stix won the mayor's race with 1,823 votes or 50.58% of the total while Williams had 1,781 votes or 49.42%.

Williams is a director and producer known for his role as Warren "Potsie" Weber in the 1970s and '80s television show "Happy Days." Williams became the frontrunner when the results were first released on Nov. 8.

As updates continued, Stix moved ahead on Nov. 22. She maintained her lead in subsequent updates and took her oath on Dec. 13. She has served in the mayor's role since 2020.

The estimated cost of the recount is $28,500. It includes a deposit of $8,000 and a daily cost of $5,500, according to the county.

Seydoux said the cost of a manual recount is higher because it requires hiring more people. Manual recounts are conducted by recount boards consisting of four people, according to the Ventura County Elections Division. Computer recounts are conducted on elections division ballot-counting machines.

The count will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Seydoux said.

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Recount begins in Ojai mayor's race