Final numbers crunch makes race engaging

Deirdre Newman

The gap between the two candidates jockeying for the third open seat

on the City Council has shrunk markedly since election night, with

Planning Commissioner Eric Bever holding just a 68-vote lead over his

colleague, Bruce Garlich.

The shift is because of the addition of paper and most of the

absentee ballots to the vote tallies. There are still 60,000

provisional ballots that need to be counted as well, said Brett

Rowley, spokesman for the Orange County Registrar of Voters. The

final vote count has to be certified by the end of the month.

Planning Commissioner Katrina Foley and former Mayor Linda Dixon

have secured the first two open seats.

The race between Garlich and Bever has been a volatile one.

Initially on election night, Garlich was barely edging out Bever for

third place. By the next day, the two had switched places and Bever

had taken a solid lead. Since then, though, the gap has mostly been

narrowing. Friday, the gap started out at 41 votes in the morning and

finished at 68 votes in the afternoon.

Bever said he’s relieved he’s still in third place. He’s received

tremendous encouragement from his supporters during this

nerve-racking time, he added.

“We’ve been following it like everyone, and of course, it’s a

nail-biter; there’s nothing new there,” Bever said. “I think the

duration of the count is more painful than anything. But, hey, we’re

still around, and the more days we can put behind us and still be

ahead, the better we are.”

Garlich said he’s had some anxious moments as well.

“I’ve come from 160-some votes behind a week ago to where I am

now,” he said. “It’s been a pretty positive trend, but I don’t know

how to read it, so I’m just trying to hang in there.”

The third open seat has been known to produce suspense, former

Mayor Sandra Genis said. In 1988, for instance, votes for Mary

Hornbuckle and Jay Humphrey fluctuated for a few days after the

election, Genis recalled. Hornbuckle ended up surviving the final

vote count.

Either of the two competitors this time around will be an asset to

the city, Genis said.

“Both have shown to be diligent with their work on the Planning

Commission, going over materials and asking questions,” she said.

One rarity to this election has caused some head-scratching -- the

loss of two incumbents, Mike Scheafer and Chris Steel. Scheafer was

appointed last year to replace former Mayor Karen Robinson, who left

the dais to become a Superior Court judge.”I can’t recall a time when

we have had two incumbents lose,” said City Manager Allan Roeder, who

has been working in Costa Mesa for about 30 years.

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

966-4623 or by e-mail at [email protected].