More money from sales taxes and new people to spend it was the takeaway from the unofficial results of last week’s primary election.
Voters agreed to a sales tax increase that will give Colusa County Board of Supervisors $2 million to spend on ground ambulance services.
At the same time, District 5 voters seated Janis Bell to the Supervisor position, which flipped the majority of the five-member board to three former Colusa County pensioned employees.
With District 5 candidates campaigning up until the close of polls, Janice Bell, with 661 votes (51.68 percent) beat local businessman Richard Selover, who garnered 616 (48.32 percent) of the votes.
Bell will take the seat vacated by Denise Carter, a farmer, who retires at the end of the year. The part-time job pays $76,000 annually, plus benefits.
Measure A, the Board of Supervisors’ special half-cent sales tax increase to support ground ambulance services met its two-third (66.6%) threshold for a special tax to pass with 3,115 (70.19%) voting yes, to 1,323 (29.81%) opposed.
The measure will increase sales taxes by 5 cents on every $10 spent on taxable goods purchased in Colusa County.
City of Colusa voters also toppled the status-quo.
Colusa’s voters ousted City Council incumbents, Mayor Tom Reische, who held the seat for 20 years, and Former Mayor Josh Hill.
Challengers Julie Garafalo, with 1,108 votes, and Ryan Codorniz, with 830 votes, handily defeated two members of an embattled City Council that recently received a scathing Grand Jury report about policy violations and excessive spending on 2021 summer events. Hill picked up 579 votes and Reische garnered 412, but they could not gain enough support to hang on to their seats.
At the same time, Colusa voters said yes to a 1% sales tax increase (10 cents on $10), which will generate more than $1 million for general government services and infrastructure.
The measure passed the required 50 percent plus one margin of approval, with 892 voting yes (52.41%) to 810 (47.59%), who were opposed.
The tax will sunset in four years.
Former Williams City Council Mayor Alfred Sellers, who held the seat for the past 12 years, will retain his seat and be joined on the dais by Kate Dunlap and Maria Belmontes Leyva,
Dunlap received 291 votes and Leyva received 281 votes. They will take the seats of Santos Jauregui, who steps down at the end of the year, and the late Sajit Singh, who died in September.
Sellers retained his seat with 152 votes.
However, Williams voters failed to support a half-percent general tax that would have generated an additional $750,000 in revenue for the city annually for street improvements and other general services.
Measure C failed with 235 (49.06%) voting yes to 244 (50.94%), who were opposed.
Colusa County voters last week seated a new Clerk-Recorder.
Cristy Edwards, with 2,372 votes (59.27%), will assume the duties to replace top election official Rose Gallo-Vasquez, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Amy Rennick-Schmidt received 1,630 votes (40.73%).
Colusa teacher Roberta James will join the Colusa Unified School District Board of Trustees. James was the top vote getter with 1,336 (44.03%) votes to replace Kathie Whitesell, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
Incumbent Chris Mcallister, with 874 votes (28.81%), retained his seat. Challenger Vicki Pulsifer did not win her bid for election with 824 (27.16%).
The Pierce Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees will welcome newcomers Melissa Ehrke Doherty and Iluixochitl Perez to replace longtime members Barbara Bair and Amy Charter, who step down at the end of the year.
Melissa Ehrke Doherty led the contest with 507 (32.65%) votes, followed by Iluixochitl Perez Dudley, with 424 (27.30%).
Kevin Ross received 406 (26.14%) votes and Juan Manuel Garcia received 216 (13.91%).
In total, only 4,559 voters (44.93%) had their ballots counted by Election Day out of 10,147 registered Colusa County voters, unlike elections past where more than 60% of the electorate turned out to the polls with great fanfare. ■