COSTA MESA : 2nd-Place Finisher Will Get Recount

The second-place finisher in the Republican primary for the 70th Assembly District will get a recount of the 44,778 votes cast in the June 7 election, the registrar of voters office said Tuesday.

Candidate Thomas G. Reinecke, who lost to Marilyn C. Brewer by 172 votes, will pay the $358-per-day fee for the recount to ensure no votes were mistakenly counted. The recount is scheduled to begin Thursday morning.

Reinecke could not be reached for comment, but he said soon after the primary that he wanted to explore his options--including a recount--before conceding the election.

Brewer said Tuesday that a recount would be futile because it would not change the outcome.

“I guess any candidate has that prerogative,” Brewer said. “I am unclear as to why he continues to belabor the point. I am the Republican nominee for the 70th District and a recount will not change that.”

The three-way race in the district that runs along Orange County’s central coast proved to be one of the state’s most divisive Republican battled in the primary, with Brewer, Reinecke and Irvine Councilman Barry J. Hammond splitting the vote almost evenly.

Reinecke has refused to publicly comment on whether he will endorse Brewer in the Nov. 8 general election, should the results remain unchanged. The Republican nominee will face Democrat Jim Toledano in November.