Opinski wins Merced school board seat

Merced area building contractor-developer Greg Opinski has defeated incumbent Trustee Ida Johnson for the Area 1 seat on the Merced Union High School District board in the Nov. 4 general election, the latest figures show.

Results released Tuesday evening by the Merced County Elections Department show Opinski received 37.77 percent (2,005 votes) support compared with Johnson’s 37.15 percent (1,972 votes). Mary I. Mercado had 24.64 percent (1,308) of the vote. Opinski edged out Johnson by 33 votes.

The outcome of the trustee race had been up in the air while about 7,000 absentee and provisional ballots were counted and verified. Election results won’t be declared official until the end of the week.

Johnson served eight years on the five-member board. She wished Opinski well and thanked her supporters, particularly teachers. She said she was very proud of what she has accomplished and thinks she made a difference on the board.

A Gustine native and Merced resident since 1990, Opinski previously sued the district for about $1.5 million for breach of contract in connection with work done by his firm as part of the Livingston High School remodeling and is awaiting the outcome of arbitration.

Opinski previously told the Merced Sun-Star his company isn’t doing any public works projects now, and said the lawsuit wouldn’t be awkward for him as a board member.

Candy Lopez, assistant county registrar of voters, said a final canvass of Nov. 4 voting won’t be complete until the end of the week, but the total won’t change by more than a vote or two.

Opinski said the election process is new to him and the delayed results ultimately added excitement to the race. He said part of the reason for his success might be that Johnson had been on the board for eight years and people like to see a change of leadership every so often.

“It’s hard to tell,” Opinski said. “There’s no way of knowing. There are definitely some financial issues the district is going through, and I’d bring a different perspective. I know I will have a lot of homework.”

Opinski denied claims that he has moved out of Area 1, which would disqualify him from board service.

Scott Scambray, MUHSD superintendent, said Opinski would be seated at the Dec. 10 meeting. He said Johnson accomplished a lot during her board tenure and he appreciated her support.

“She did an incredible job,” Scambray said. “We’re going to miss her.”

Once Opinski is sworn in, Scambray said, the district could deal with any discussion about Opinski living in the proper district, a state Education Code requirement.

The Area 1 seat on the board generally covers an area north of Highway 99, roughly bounded by Highway 59 and Athlone Road, along with Olive Avenue, McKee Road, Yosemite Avenue and Kibby Road.

There were 646 votes in the Area 1 trustee race that could not be counted. Seven votes were considered “over,” which means the voter voted for more than one person. Another 639 voters left that election contest blank on their ballots. Twenty-three people suggested write-in candidates.

Barbara Levey, county registrar of voters, said she didn’t expect any significant changes in local vote totals after the canvass is complete. Canvassing is a routine election procedure where tests are made to see if vote tabulating machines are working properly.

Johnson said she has enjoyed being a member of the board. She said the district’s graduation rate is at an all-time high and it’s very crucial career and technical education efforts move forward.

“I don’t think I would have done anything different,” Johnson said. “My record speaks for itself.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2014 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Opinski wins Merced school board seat."