Jerry Muenzer has taken the early lead over Phil Fortino in the
race for District 4 supervisor, with the elections office releasing
totals for vote-by-mail ballots shortly after polls closed.
Jerry Muenzer has taken the early lead over Phil Fortino in the race for District 4 supervisor, with the elections office releasing totals for vote-by-mail ballots shortly after polls closed.
Muenzer was ahead with 54 percent of the vote, or 1,144 votes. Fortino had 45.8 percent of the vote, or 971 votes. Polls closed at 8 p.m., after which the elections office customarily releases the figures for the vote-by-mail ballots.
The two businessmen are vying to succeed Supervisor Reb Monaco in representing the southern San Benito County district.
During the primary, held June 8, Fortino received 44.1 percent of the vote to Muenzer’s 40.1 percent. That was a 129-vote difference, while there were more than 500 votes that went to Monaco and write-in residents during the primary.
More than 14,000 of the county’s nearly 25,000 registered voters received a vote-by-mail ballot this year. Of those 58 percent absentee voters, nearly 29 percent had returned their ballots by Oct. 26, one week before the election.
Look back for more on this story.
