Leaders in Most Close Races Win in Final Count : Elections: Returns show that in one campaign--for a school board seat near Santa Paula--the victor had a one-vote margin.

Front-runners in every close local election, except an elementary school board race near Santa Paula, held onto narrow margins of victory Wednesday in updated election results that now include all absentee ballots cast Nov. 6.

The final count, which will be certified as official next week, showed that UC Santa Barbara forestry professor Lloyd G. Simpson Jr. edged out Limoneira Associates pesticide manager Jeff Williams by one vote for a third open seat on the Briggs Elementary School District board.

According to the final totals, 60.8% of registered voters participated in the election, slightly more than midterm elections four years ago. County election officials attributed the minor increase to a record 38,627 absentee ballots, or 21% of all votes cast. In 1986, by comparison, only 13% of voters cast absentee ballots.

“The absentees pushed voter turnout up a little higher,” said Ruth P. Schepler, chief of the county’s elections division.

Since the election, Schepler and her 33-person staff have been preparing for Wednesday’s count of 15,187 absentee ballots that were dropped off at the polls or delivered by mail on Election Day.

“We spoil everybody by releasing the first batch of absentee ballots five minutes after the polls close,” Schepler said. “Everybody thinks it takes five minutes to process them when, in reality, it takes us a week.”

Before absentee ballots can be fed into the computer, election officers must compare the signature and address on each ballot to that on the voter registration card. Schepler said her staff had about 10 days to prepare for the first computer run of about 23,500 absentee ballots on election night.

To certify the results as valid, state law requires election officers to hand-count certain precincts in every race and match those totals with those tallied by computer. Schepler said the whole process should be completed by Nov. 21, enabling her office to certify the results.

But Schepler doesn’t expect the check on the system to change the outcome of any close races, such as the Simi Valley City Council contest that ousted incumbent Ann Rock by 97 votes.

“That is unsurmountable,” she said. “There is no way that 97 votes would be turned around because of error.”

Rock was philosophical about her loss to Judy Mikels, chairwoman of the Simi Valley Planning Commission. Rock said she didn’t take the election personally, noting that sometimes the voters want a change.

“They get tired of you. That’s just part of the whole process,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mikels was ecstatic that her narrow victory was not altered by the large number of absentee ballots. “I’m excited and honored and grateful for the support from the community,” she said.

Rock was not the only incumbent to be dumped by the voters.

Longtime Thousand Oaks Councilman Lawrence E. Horner lost to newcomers Judy Lazar and Elois Zeanah in the Nov. 6 election. So did Oxnard City Councilwoman Anna Johs, who lost to Michael A. Pilsky, and Moorpark Councilwoman Eloise Brown, who lost to John E. Wozniak.

In addition, six school board members in four districts lost in their reelection bids, including 22-year veteran Simi Valley board member Lew Roth.

“I lost and I don’t think analyzing it will make any difference,” Roth said. “I think the kids are the real losers. I made one hell of a contribution to the district, and I was prepared to do more.”

Meanwhile, newcomer Doug Crosse, who collected 8,416 votes versus Roth’s 8,344, said he was relieved that the outcome withstood the absentee ballots. “We have some new ideas . . . and now we want to follow through on them,” he said.

Carla Kurachi was the top vote-getter in the Simi Valley school board election, filling one seat left open by retiring board president Helen Beebe.

Simpson, who won the tightest race in the county, said he was delighted to be elected to the Briggs Elementary school board, which oversees two rural elementary schools outside Santa Paula. “This is wonderful. I have been preparing for months by going to every school board meeting.”

Williams, who had 255 votes to Simpson’s 256, said he would wait until Wednesday’s count was certified before deciding whether to request a recount at his own expense.

“It is good for the school board, whoever gets it,” he said.