Countywide : Final Election Results Hold No Surprises

Despite some close races, there were no surprise winners Monday when the county Registrar of Voters released the official election results.

Last week, after the absentee votes were counted from the Nov. 8 elections, three city council candidates in Buena Park, Newport Beach and Santa Ana were ousted from their lead positions.

The candidates involved in those council races anxiously waiting for the provisional ballots to be tallied to complete the final election results.

For candidate Larry Wieck, who lost his bid for the Buena Park City Council, the wait was nerve-racking because the race came down to the wire.

“Four years ago the results came in a lot faster,” said Wieck who ran this year and four years ago for the council. “When it’s this close it takes a lot of commitment and courage to continue with your daily life.”

Wieck’s race remained close with only an 18-vote gap between him and the winning candidate, Arthur C. Brown, who was reelected to the council.

“I think Larry Wieck did an outstanding job of campaigning, and if he had just gotten a few more votes he would have been on the council,” said Brown, who is confident in his slim victory.

“I think the results will remain the same whether there’s a recount or not because the margin has been getting wider with each count,” Brown said.

Brown was ahead last week by 10 votes after the absentee ballots were counted.

In another close race in Santa Ana, Tony Espinoza won his council seat by 332 votes.

“I’m extremely happy with the results,” said Espinoza. “What I want to do now is build the bridges between people of all ethnic backgrounds in the city and make it a better place to work and live.”

The third council race in Newport Beach was won by Thomas C. Edwards by a margin of 599 votes over Ron Winship.