About
half of Yorba Linda's registered voters cast ballots in last week's
primary election, nearly doubling the June turnout just two years ago
and matching the number voting in the November 2014 general election.
While
a few mail-in and precinct ballots remain to be tabulated, the
choices of this city's Republican and Democratic voters are clear,
with the results in one 15-candidate contest perhaps providing an
early snapshot of the upcoming race for three slots on the City
Council.
Here
are some key results from Yorba Linda's voters:
--In
the Republican presidential primary, 73.6 percent voted for Donald
Trump and 20.3 percent for candidates who had suspended their
campaigns but whose names remained on the ballot. Some 6.1 percent
didn't vote for any of the listed candidates.
Percentages
of the vote for candidates who previously dropped out: John Kasich,
9.5; Ted Cruz, 8; Ben Carson, 2; and Jim Gilmore, 0.5.
In
the Democratic presidential primary, 73.5 percent of the votes were
cast by Democrats and 26.5 percent by “no party preference”
registrants who requested Democratic ballots.
Percentages
of the vote were Hillary Clinton, 54.9; Bernie Sanders, 40.7; five
other candidates on the ballot, 1.0; and none of the listed
candidates, 3.4.
--Republican
voters in Yorba Linda, Placentia, Brea and La Habra selected five
Yorba Linda residents for the area's six-member Republican Central
Committee delegation from a 15-candidate field that included 12
contenders from this city.
Top
vote-getter was City Councilman Craig Young. Other Yorba Lindans
elected were council members Gene Hernandez and Peggy Huang, 16-year
Municipal Water District director Brett Barbre and businessman James
Gerbus. Also elected was La Habra Councilman Tim Shaw.
Young
and Gerbus are new to the committee, ousting incumbents Karla Downing
and Dennis White from Yorba Linda. The six are scheduled to begin
their new four-year terms on Jan. 16.
Tara
Campbell, chair of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, who
ran on a slate with five of the winners, placed seventh. She's
received endorsements in the November council race from Hernandez,
Huang, Young and Mayor Tom Lindsey.
The
support for Young and Hernandez – from Republican voters, at least
– portend well for the pair as they seek second council terms in
November. The Central Committee makes endorsements in local council
races and are likely to endorse in a potential water board recall of
two directors and on two director positions already scheduled for the
November ballot.
--Also
in Yorba Linda, Kamala Harris, Duf Sundheim and Loretta Sanchez ran
first, second and third for U.S. Senate; Congressman Ed Royce placed
50 percentage points above his Democratic opponent; Assemblywoman
Ling Ling Chang won 65 percent of the vote against two Democrats for
state Senate; and fewer than 100 votes separate Phillip Chen and Mike
Spence for Chang's Assembly seat.