Ballot Count is Nearly Complete

With 11,089 ballots still to be counted as of this writing, the turnout for Orange County is 55 percent. Mission Viejo’s turnout is currently 58.9 percent, which is the highest of Orange County’s larger cities. Mission Viejo’s turnout in this election also exceeds the large majority of smaller cities in Orange County. Sample cities near Mission Viejo include Laguna Hills (58.4 percent) and Rancho Santa Margarita (56.5 percent).

As of 3 p.m. on Nov. 14, the vote count in the Mission Viejo City Council race is as follows:

* PATRICIA "TRISH" KELLEY 15,947 18.8%
* DAVID "DAVE" LECKNESS  11,475 13.5%
RHONDA REARDON       11,320 13.3%
RICK SANDZIMIER       8,380 9.9%
BRIAN SKALSKY        7,420 8.7%
NEIL LONSINGER       7,268 8.6%
BILL BARKER         5,973 7.0%
FRED CARR          4,654 5.5%
MARK DOBRILOVIC       3,925 4.6%
LANCE R. MACLEAN      3,755 4.4%
KEN GOLEMO         2,473 2.9%
SAM MAMOLA         2,255 2.7%
* Indicates Incumbent Candidate, if any

In a close race for Rancho Santa Margarita’s third council seat are incumbents Gary Thompson (6,823 votes) and Neil Blais (6,809 votes). In Laguna Hills, 74 votes separate two incumbents for the third council seat, Randal Bressette (3,875 votes) and Craig Scott (3,801 votes).