_{Thumbnail photo by Eric (HASH) Hersman, via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License.}

Though she’s not sure if the winners in Del Norte’s one contested race will change, County Clerk Recorder Alissia Northrup is certain that the raw data will change.

Northrup said her office and polling places throughout the county saw a surge in last-minute voters on Tuesday. As a result, Northrup estimated that more than 1,000 ballots were submitted and have yet to be counted.

Northrup told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday that she was hoping to have as many ballots counted as possible by Friday. She said she would release more numbers Wednesday afternoon, though said it would be raw data.

“It could still end up being those top three [candidates], but the numbers are definitely going to change,” Northrup said. “A lot of people were maybe only voting for one [person] and a lot of people skipped that race altogether.”

Despite the likelihood that the actual numbers will change, Dan Schmidt, former editor of the Del Norte Triplicate, said he, Annie Nehmer and John Evans being the new commissioners on the Crescent City Harbor District Board is a settled issue. Northrup’s certification of the election results is “fairly routine,” Schmidt said Wednesday.

Schmidt, Nehmer and Evans led in the race for Crescent City Harbor District out of five official candidates and one write-in, according to Del Norte County’s latest election numbers, which were released at about 10:05 p.m.

“I have an awful lot of homework to begin studying up on so that I am current and properly informed as to what the real issues are,” Schmidt said. “The problems at the harbor are quite a bit more difficult and complex than what the public is aware of right now. It’s going to require a great deal of effort and patience and diligence to sort that stuff out.”

Out of a total of 12,004 votes, Schmidt received 2,929 votes.

Nehmer, a registered nurse and commercial fisherman, received 2,882 votes and correctional officer Evans, a member of the Del Norte Republican Central Committee, received 2,462 votes as of Tuesday evening.

There were three open seats on the Crescent City Harbor District Board of Commissioners.

As of Tuesday, former restauranteur Devon Morgante received 2,323 votes and local community watchdog Linda Sutter won 1,085. Write-in candidate, incumbent Harry Adams, received 462 votes, according to the latest election results.

As for local ballot measures, Tuesday’s returns show Del Norte Unified School District’s $59 million general obligation bond, Measure H, failing with 3,441 voting against the measure out of a total of 6,413 votes cast at this point.

If approved, this bond would have been for improvements and upgrades to local schools as well as provide leverage in DNUSD’s efforts to obtain state modernization dollars.

Meanwhile, the Republican candidate hoping to represent the North Coast, including Del Norte, in California’s Assembly lost to his Democratic opponent, according to early election results.

Michael Greer, a DNUSD trustee, received 33.9 percent of the vote to Democrat Chris Rogers’ 66.1 percent, according to the California Secretary of State’s website. Rogers is taking over Jim Wood’s Assembly District 2 seat.

At the Congressional level, Jared Huffman will keep his seat, beating challenger Republican Chris Coulombe.

Back in Del Norte County, Northrup said one unique thing about the 2024 election locally is nearly every precinct had a poll watcher observing the proceedings on Election Day. This is permissible, she said, but unusual in Del Norte.

Northrup said she also invited two members from the Del Norte Civil Grand Jury to observe the counting of the ballots at her office on Election Night.

“I just thought that’s two people that are unbiased,” she said. “They can be here if anything comes up. They’re not politically motivated and, plus, I did have a Republican and a Democrat there from the central committee.”

As for Schmidt, as he prepares for the likelihood that he, Nehmer and Evans will take the open Harbor Commission seats in December, he said he’s hoping interim harbormaster Mike Rademaker will bring them up to speed on “what’s really happening at the Harbor and what he thinks needs to be done.”

Hearkening back to an interview he gave KFUG Community Radio and Redwood Voice last month, Schmidt said he’s hoping to convince Rademaker to hold an informational workshop with the three novice commissioners.

“We’re not going to take any votes [or] set any policy,” Schmidt said. “We just want to get informed so when the swearing in does take place next month we are much better equipped to begin our jobs.”