The Orange County Vote : LOCAL ELECTIONS COUNTY : Runoff Appears Likely in Clerk-Recorder Race

In a contest between two veteran county officials whose duties are being merged into one office, beleaguered Recorder Lee A. Branch and County Clerk Gary L. Granville appeared headed for a runoff election late Tuesday.

Despite being battered by allegations of sexual harassment and mismanagement, Branch trailed Granville by only a small margin. Closely behind them was Ella M. Murphy, who is Branch’s top assistant, followed by attorney Christopher J. Leanders.

Both Granville and Branch said they expected the election would result in a runoff.

“Any time you have that many candidates, there’s a good chance for a runoff,” said Branch, who added that the allegations against him were unfounded and exploited by his opponents.

“I was hoping it would end one way or the other tonight,” said Granville, who spent much of the day taking down his campaign signs. “Now we have to do it all over again.”

Branch is considered the incumbent for the newly formed clerk-recorder, while Granville’s position is being eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. A runoff election will be held in November.

In the race for the county assessor’s office, incumbent Bradley L. Jacobs had a sizable lead against two employees from his office--Larry Lee Bales, an auditor-appraiser, and David J. Holbert, the deputy assessor.

Although the races for county recorder and assessor have traditionally remained low-key, this election was closely followed by many county government observers, largely because the incumbents have been mired in controversies.

Branch was ultimately censured by the Board of Supervisors following two investigations into accusations that he mismanaged his department and sexually harassed two female employees. Branch has denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations against him were exaggerated. His opponents, however, attacked him for lowering morale and productivity in the office.

Granville said he thought many voters had trouble distinguishing between him and Branch.

“Branch, Granville, it sounds the same to them,” Granville said. “They’ll ask me, ‘Are you the sexual harassment guy?’ or, ‘Are you the one that’s not competent?’ The voters know that something is wrong. They just don’t read carefully enough to know who is who.”

The clerk-recorder will be in charge of issuing marriage licenses and fictitious business names, as well as filing property records.

Jacobs’ office was criticized last year for the slow pace in processing tens of thousands of appeals for property tax reassessments. Homeowners have complained about the red tape involved in the reassessment process and delays in receiving refunds. Jacobs has defended his office’s operations and performance given its limited resources.

Meanwhile, incumbents in five other county offices were on pace of being reelected, according to early voter returns.

In three uncontested countywide offices, incumbents retained their positions. There were: Sheriff-Coroner Brad Gates, Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi and County Auditor Steve E. Lewis.

In two other contested races, County School Supt. John. F. Dean appeared to be staving off a challenge from Darrell Opp, chief education officer in the county Department of Education, while Public Administrator William A. Baker was fighting off bids from businessman Michael K. Stark and vocational guidance counselor Mitchell T. Tracy.