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Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009
Merced mayoral election results due Friday
Spriggs holds 24-vote lead over Gabriault-Acosta
The results of Merced's mayoral race won't be known until Friday.
Councilman Bill Spriggs has a 24-vote lead over Councilwoman Michele Gabriault-Acosta, though the final tallies this week could sway the results.
"Everybody's waiting," Gabriault-Acosta said Wednesday. "I'm going to stay positive until the last vote is counted."
Bill Spriggs and Michele Gabriault-Acosta
The Merced County Election's Office has to count vote-by-mail ballots turned in late Tuesday and provisional ballots. Officials estimated they have about 400 vote-by-mail ballots, though not all of them are for the mayoral contest.
Candidates Bill Blake, Josh Pedrozo and Mary-Michal Rawling are council-bound, unless the counts change significantly. They'll likely take office next month, after the results are certified. Councilmen Joe Cortez, Jim Sanders and Spriggs are termed out.
In the mayoral contest, Spriggs took in 2,128 votes, Gabriault-Acosta received 2,104 votes and Rick Osorio finished last with 1,410 votes.
Gabriault-Acosta won the backing of many of the city's unions, including the police officers and firefighters. Her campaign raised about $8,000.
Spriggs had strong support from the business community. His war chest totaled more than $12,000.
Turnout was dismal with 18 percent of registered voters heading to the polls. The poor showing, Spriggs believes, hurt his chances for a decisive win. "I think there's a lot of voter apathy," Spriggs said. "We vote too much in California."
He reckoned the breakdown will remain roughly the same and lead him to victory. If the results flip-flop and Spriggs loses, he'll be off the council, having served two four-year terms.
Either way, Gabriault-Acosta will remain on the council. She's in the midst of her second term, which expires November 2011.
"Win or lose, I'll still be fighting for the city of Merced," she said.
A Gabriault-Acosta win would create a vacancy for the council to fill either through appointment or special election.
Another run in two years isn't out of the question, Gabriault-Acosta said.
Reporter Scott Jason can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or sjason@mercedsun-star.com.
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