Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Tied Fresno County Irrigation District Board Race Goes Into Double OT
SJV-Water
By SJV Water
Published 4 months ago on
December 11, 2024

Fresno County's Laguna Irrigation District board race enters second recount after initial tie, highlighting tensions over water management. (Laguna ID)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

With a single ballot outstanding, a recount of votes cast in a heated race for a Laguna Irrigation District board seat was abruptly stopped Tuesday afternoon, initially leaving the race in a tie of 101 to 101.

Author Profile Picture

Lois Henry

SJV Water

By law, voters in the district had 24 hours to request the recount be restarted. And that’s exactly what happened.

Now the recount is back on, confirmed Fresno County Registrar of Voters James Kus. The office needs to provide at least 24 hours notice of the restarted recount, which is conducted in public view. Kus wasn’t sure if it would happen Thursday or Friday but “We’ll get it done this week,” he said.

Well driller Wes Harmon, who ran against Laguna board president Frank Zonneveld, had sought the initial recount.

As the recount was in progress Tuesday afternoon, elections staff found one ballot that may have been counted twice, according to Mike Nordstrom, general counsel for Laguna, who was on hand to observe the process.

(Laguna Irrigation District)

After both sides were alerted about the ballot, Harmon’s representatives called a halt to the recount, Nordstrom and Kus confirmed.

That started the 24-hour clock ticking for another voter in the district to restart the recount.

Zonneveld’s son was that voter after hearing that Harmon’s folks had stopped the recount, Frank Zonneveld wrote in a text message.

Harmon did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Harmon and his supporters had said they felt Laguna board members favored larger growers and weren’t operating with enough transparency. Zonneveld told SJV Water the real issue is some growers are dissatisfied with how the district has divvied up recharged groundwater supplies.

Water board seats are typically sleepy affairs that attract little attention. But this was the first tied election in Fresno County in 25 years.

If it remains tied, California election law states the district must break the tie “by lot,” Kus said. That’s what happened in the northern Central Valley city of Galt earlier this week where a tied City Council race was decided by drawing straws.

About the Author

CEO and editor Lois Henry has spent 30 years covering the San Joaquin Valley.

About SJV Water

SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

DON'T MISS

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

UP NEXT

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

UP NEXT

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

UP NEXT

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

UP NEXT

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

15 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

15 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

15 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

15 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

17 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

18 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

18 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

19 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

19 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

20 hours ago

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Far from the halls of power in Washington, the forested ha...

31 minutes ago

31 minutes ago

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

14 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
14 hours ago

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

15 hours ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

15 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

15 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

15 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
17 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend