Annexation Measure Wins by 50 Votes

Who says a few votes don’t count?

The day after this month’s general election, Measure Q, a proposal to annex more than 1,000 acres and 5,000 residents of the Pinetree-Timberlane area into Santa Clarita, appeared to have passed by a slim 66-vote margin.

That margin became even slimmer when the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters reported Wednesday that Measure Q eked out a victory by only 50 votes, 1,170 to 1,120.

An election update released by the registrar a week after the election showed Measure Q’s lead cut to 48 votes, 1,109 to 1,061. That count had buoyed the hopes of Bruce K. Bell, a Canyon Country resident who had spearheaded the campaign against the proposal.

But in another update released Nov. 15, the margin had increased to 52 votes. Bell was not encouraged and, at the time, said he doubted that Measure Q could be defeated. Between Nov. 15 and Wednesday, his forces gained seven more votes, but the pro-Measure Q camp received five more.

Bell, citing the expense, said Wednesday that he would not ask for a recount.