Wednesday, 12 November 2008 00:00

Local Races Taking Shape

slide2.pngAfter tallying more than 1,000 absentee ballots Friday, a couple of very close races took shape in two Amador County cities with another 261 provisional ballots yet to be considered. Plymouth Incumbent City Councilman Greg Baldwin climbed from 2 votes behind Maria Nunez to reverse that for a 4-vote lead, with those 261 provisional ballots potentially adding more to either campaign. The winner will get the third remaining seat on the Plymouth City Council. Mayor Jon Colburn and Patricia J. Shackleton took the other two seats, finishing 1-2 in vote counts. Baldwin ended on election day with 179 votes, to Nunez’s 181 votes. On Friday, George Allen said the Amador County Elections Office verified the signatures on the 1,142 absentee ballots that were either brought to polling places or arrived in the mail too late to count last Tuesday. The absentee vote tallies gave Baldwin 20 more votes for 199 total, while Nunez gained 14 votes for 195 total. In another close race, Jackson City Councilman Alfred A. Nunes trailed challenger Marilyn L. Lewis by 6 votes at the end of election day but Lewis widened the margin by getting 44 more votes after the absentee tallies. Lewis held a 13 vote lead. Nunes received 33 votes from absentee ballots and trailed Lewis 757 votes to 774. The winner gets the third and final Jackson Council seat. Wayne Garibaldi had the most votes with 1,253 and Keith Sweet was second with 850 votes. George Allen of the election office said the 261 provisional ballots, from different precincts around the county, will be counted this week or possibly next week. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).