Mayor Finally Declared Winner in Agoura Election

In a race that wasn’t decided until 10 days after the election, Agoura Hills Mayor Louise Rishoff has hung on to win by a six-vote margin over her nearest challenger, the Los Angeles County registrar of voters announced Friday after counting absentee ballots.

Rishoff had led challenger Peter G. Mueller by only two votes--1,525 to 1,523--after the Nov. 5 election. When the absentee ballots were counted, her winning margin was 1,616 to Mueller’s 1,610.

Planning Commissioner Joan E. Yacavone, who will replace retiring City Councilwoman Vicky Leary, was the biggest winner of the campaign with 1,680 ballots as voters chose among six candidates for two seats.

Other candidates included Lyle Mitchellson, who finished third with 1,571 votes; fourth-place finisher Barry Steinhardt, who garnered 941 votes, and Stephen Sargent, who received 553 votes.

Mueller, president of the Agoura-Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce, said he plans to ask the county for a recount, which would cost him about $625.

“I met with my supporters and we felt very strongly that we should do that,” Mueller said.

Even if the recount does not change the outcome, Mueller said he and ally Mitchellson feel vindicated by the results.

“We’re real pleased with the way things went. We missed by only a little bit,” Mueller said. “We sent a very strong message that the voters didn’t like the way things are going here.”

Yacavone is scheduled to be sworn in during the council’s annual reorganization meeting Dec. 3, City Manager David N. Carmany said.

In other final election results, incumbent Glyndon E. Fry was ousted from the board of directors of the tiny West Valley County Water District in Neenach by only three votes. Fry placed fourth in a field of nine candidates vying for three slots on the five-member board.

The final tally was delayed because of five absentee ballots that were in question.

Board President Steve Rener led all candidates with 44 votes in the tiny Antelope Valley district, which has only 124 registered voters. Challengers Michael Graham, with 41 votes, and Carl Koch, with 39 votes, also won seats on the five-member board.

Fry was fourth with 36 votes. He was followed by James Luetger, 33 votes; Valentine Ramirez, 28; Jerri Stoyanoff, 22; Frances Maas, 21, and Paul Ciruso, 8.

In the race to fill an unexpired term that opened when the incumbent died earlier this year, Nat Karcham won with 49 votes to Mark Gadzinski’s 46. The new board members are scheduled to be sworn in Nov. 27.

Rener said he was surprised and elated at his victory.

“I wasn’t really expecting to win. I’m really surprised that I was the top vote-getter,” Rener said. “I didn’t do any campaigning. I didn’t ask anybody to vote for me. I did nothing and I won.”