Ojai mayoral race, several Ventura County races keep new leaders with latest ballot count

Staff reports
·3 min read
Election worker Ron Frabasilio helps a voter with his ballot at the Camarillo Public Library, one of 10 vote centers that the Ventura County elections office opened on Oct. 29. The other vote centers are scattered throughout Ventura County.
Election worker Ron Frabasilio helps a voter with his ballot at the Camarillo Public Library, one of 10 vote centers that the Ventura County elections office opened on Oct. 29. The other vote centers are scattered throughout Ventura County.

Several local races in the Nov. 8 election held onto new leaders Thursday after new front-runners emerged amid the ongoing ballot count.

In the Ojai mayoral race, for example, the incumbent appears poised for victory after initially lagging.

Thursday's update added results from just 217 additional ballots countywide since the previous update on Tuesday.

Only about 2,472 ballots countywide were left to tally, elections officials said. Those remaining are damaged or require further review.

Another update is expected Tuesday afternoon. Results will be certified on Dec. 7.

You can see where other local races stand on the Star's election results page.

Camarillo City Council District 5

A new front-runner kept the lead in Camarillo's District 5 City Council race, which covers the southeastern portion of the city.

Martha Martinez-Bravo, a nonprofit executive director, had with 1,741 votes, or 30.7% of the total. The previous leader, insurance broker Charles Sandlin, had 1,716 votes.

Two other candidates were further behind the leaders.

Fillmore City Council

In the Fillmore City Council race, where two seats were open for a full four-year term, a new candidate has kept his lead for the second-place slot.

Albert Mendez, an accounts payable coordinator, had 1,640 votes, or 26.8% of the total.

Mendez has taken over the No. 2 spot from inventory manager Luis Alberto Rodriguez, who had 1,631 votes.

Only nine votes, representing a fraction of a percentage point, separated the two as of Thursday.

Carrie Broggie, a retired paralegal and former Fillmore councilmember from 2014 to 2018, remained in first place with 1,763 votes, or 28.8% of the total.

Moorpark City Council District 1

In the three-way race for Moorpark's District 1 City Council seat, Renee Delgado held onto her lead over former councilmember Roseann Mikos. The district covers the city's northeast area.

Delgado, a real estate broker, emerged as the front-runner on Nov. 22 as more ballots were tallied. She had 1,354 votes, or 42.4% of the total, compared to Mikos' 1,324.

A third candidate, Michael Navarro, a building engineering inspector and retired police officer, had 514 votes.

Ojai mayor

Betsy Stix, left, and Anson Williams
Betsy Stix, left, and Anson Williams

In the Ojai mayor's race, incumbent Betsy Stix held a 38-vote lead Tuesday after pulling ahead of challenger Anson Williams for the first time on Nov. 22.

The latest update had Stix with 1,816 votes, or 50.5% of the total. Williams had 1,778, or nearly 49.5%.

Some 3,594 ballots have been counted in the Ojai mayor's race.

Update:Ojai City Council elections results for 3 seats, 2 measures

Ojai City Council District 2

Challenger Rachel Lang continued to stay out front of Randy Haney, the incumbent for Ojai's newly drawn District 2 council seat, which covers the city's northeast.

Lang had 465 votes as of Thursday, or more than 47% of the total. Haney had 429, or nearly 44%.

Haney initially led, but Lang emerged as the front-runner as more votes were tallied.

A third candidate, Kathryn Donwen, had 84 votes.

Items may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Election results: Some Ventura County races keep new leaders