Election standings: Matheson gets most votes among fire district candidates

Photo by Michael Woodward

GOOD LEAD: At home on Tuesday night, incumbant Paul Bosetti looks over his second place standing in the candidacy race for board of the Anderson Fire Protection District. Five seats on the board will be elected.

In the race for five seats on the Anderson Fire Protection District board, Don Matheson broke away from the pack with an early lead when vote-by-mail ballots were initially registered. By the end of the night, Matheson and fire board incumbent Rick Bosetti topped the 11-candidate list for five seats on the fire board.

"I'm kind of excited -- I'm really pleased," Matheson said Tuesday night after his lead was announced. "The support I received from the people of Anderson was more than I expected."

The Shasta County Clerk released the final election night report of the 2009 Consolidated Schools and Special Districts Elections at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.

By the end of election night, the leading fire board candidates for five fire board seats were Donald G. Matheson, 665 votes; Paul Bosetti, 440 votes; Michael C. Hubert, Sr., 325 votes; Marsha Kelley, 320 votes; and Jeff Hogue, 319 votes.

The results are not final however, as Shasta County Clerk Cathy Darling reported 1,100 vote-by-mail ballots and 100 provisional ballots, county wide, had not been counted as of Wednesday morning.

The fire board will seat five, and sixth-seeded Jim Cahill, with 316 votes, only trails Hogue, Kelly and Hubert by less than ten votes.

The new fire board members will take their seats on the board at the district's Dec. 4. meeting.

"That's the date we go out and they come in," current fire board member Norma Comnick said.

The district's first elected board will then determine which candidates receive short terms and long terms.

Matheson spent over $5,000 on his campaign, and already has received more than $1,000 in campaign support through two direct mailings. He was the only candidate to spend more than $1,000 on his campaign, according to Shasta County Clerk records last week.

Matheson said he also had help from his son, Justin, who is a partner at Aimpoint, a campaign management firm in Sacramento.

Looking forward to a seat on the board, Matheson said he was worried about the board spending money during an economic recession. He added that he wants to be sure that the district has enough funding to sustain the district's projects, such as the hiring of three new fire fighters, before making that leap.

Matheson served as AFPD Fire Chief from January, 1996 to September, 2006.

Also pleased with the initial success was incumbant for 20 years, Paul Bosetti.

"I still want to be on the board," Bosetti said. "I want to see that other fire station get built."

Bosetti said he didn't spend any money on his campaign, but he said he has been active in the Anderson community for a long time.

In seventh place with 226 votes, Corky Keenan said she also didn't spend any money on her campaign.

"It's the luck of the draw," Keenan said on Tuesday night. "I didn't put any signs up or go door-to-door. I just worked my boards and committees. Whatever happens, happens."

Anderson Fire Protection District Director (Five seats)

Donald G. Matheson: 665 votes

Paul Bosetti: 440 votes

Michael C. Hubert, Sr.: 325 votes

Marsha Kelley: 320 votes

Jeff Hogue: 319 votes

Jim Cahill: 316 votes

Corky Keenan: 226 votes

Jessica Delaney: 201 votes

Christian J. Hughes: 168 votes

James "Jim" Sauve: 165 votes

Joe Weekley: 159 votes

Anderson Union High School District (Three seats)

Joseph Gibson: 1,975 votes

Ron Brown: 1,962 votes

G. Ivar Amen: 1,842 votes

Mary Bass Gilbert: 1,673 votes

Rex Mannion: 1,663 votes

Cascade Union School District (Three seats)

Jeffrey L. Carr: 757 votes

Leila G. Dumore: 666 votes

Les Mc Mullen: 580 votes

Ann Cannan: 495 votes

Janice Rae Leitaker: 392 votes

Cascade Union School District - Short Term (One seat)

Terri Quigley: 550 votes

Jason D. Slater: 499 votes

Cottonwood Union School District (Three seats)

Jim Seale: 627 votes

Paul A. Walther: 604 votes

Fred Lucero: 603 votes

Dave Wallace: 519 votes

Michelle Thomas: 395 votes

Scott Goldschmidt: 349 votes

Cottonwood Water District Director (Two seats)

Roberta L. Littleton: 220 votes

Richard "Dick" Main: 201 votes

Ronald D. Myers: 169 votes

Board of Education Member, Dist. 1 (Two seats)

Linda J. McBride: 3,817 votes

Susan M. Wilson: 3,637 votes

Ira Blalock: 2,018

Board of Education Member, Dist. 2 (Two seats)

Rhonda F. Hull: 6,003 votes

R. Steve MacFarland: 5,740 votes

Derek Fasking: 5,275 votes

Shasta College Trustee, Area F (One seat)

Rob Lydon: 355 votes

Harold J. Lucas: 168 votes

Joseph S. Durrer: 39 votes

Shasta College Trustee, Area G (One seat)

Patricia Hunn: 240 votes

Stephenie Gregory: 231 votes

Robert Michael Steinacher: 182 votes