CYPRESS : Bowman Keeps Lead to Win Council Post

With all absentee ballots in, incumbent Walter Bowman maintained his lead over challenger Chuck Hicks to retain his seat on the City Council.

Bowman, a real estate agent, won by 238 votes after tallying 5,087 votes overall. There were three open seats in what was one of the quietest elections in several years.

“Whatever way it would have gone I was ready to accept it,” Bowman said after the final vote was in. “I am just glad it turned out as good as it did.”

Bowman, the only incumbent, came in third behind new council members Joyce Nicholson and Richard Partin. It was his first test at the polls after being appointed to the council in June, 1989, by a court order.

Bowman speculated that his support for the re-establishment of the planning commission, which was overwhelmingly rejected by the voters, may have cost him votes.

He narrowly beat Hicks, a former member of the Anaheim Joint Union High School District board. It was Hicks’ second bid for a council seat. The final count also put former councilman Partin ahead of Nicholson by only five votes. It was Partin’s second attempt at the council since being unseated in 1986.

Partin, an engineer, joins Bowman, Nicholson, Mayor Cecilia L. Age and Gail H. Kerry on the council.

Nicholson, a real estate agent, said she did not expect such a strong showing and was surprised by the outcome.

The new council will be seated next month, possibly at the Dec. 10 meeting, according to City Manager Darrell Essex.