Election turnout about 85% as final Marin results certified
With Marin’s Nov. 5 election results now certified, countywide voter turnout was officially 85.2%, down from the 90.2% turnout of the 2020 presidential election that ousted then-President Donald Trump in favor of Vice President Joe Biden. Strawberry voters came out at slighter high rates this year than their Marin neighbors, at about 85.8%, while Tiburon and Belvedere residents were lower, at 84.9% and 82.2%, respectively.
For complete local election coverage, visit thearknewspaper.com/election2024.
While the top of the ballot featured Trump for the third time — this time beating Vice President Kamala Harris — local races included those for the Tiburon Town Council, Southern Marin Fire Protection District board, Marin Water board and the Tamalpais Union High School District board, where the school district also had a $289-million infrastructure bond measure on the ticket.
Marin Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts certified the results by state law on Dec. 3. The Tiburon Town Council accepted the local results at its Dec. 4 meeting, and the Marin Board of Supervisors was expected to do so for county races on Dec. 10, after The Ark’s press deadline.
The official tally for the pick-two Tiburon council race has incumbent Holli Thier winning with 2,386 votes, picked on 41.7% of ballots cast, and incumbent Isaac Nikfar winning 2,347 votes, or a 41% share. Shortly after the council voted to accept the results, Thier, who has served as vice mayor for the past year, was selected by her colleagues to be mayor for the next year.
She and Nikfar defeated challenger and former councilmember Andrew Thompson, who received 2,220 votes for a 38.8% share, and Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission Chair Chuck Hornbrook, who got 1,786 votes, or a 31.2% share.
For the Division 5 seat of the Marin Municipal Water District board, incumbent Larry Russell of Tiburon won his sixth term with 9,881 votes, or 61%, against challengers and Larkspur residents Dave Keatley, with 3,979 votes, or 24.6%, and Dawn Matheson, at 2,344 votes, or 14.5%. Tiburon supported Russell with 63.8% of the vote, Strawberry 64.6% and Belvedere 57.8%. His Division 5 seat also includes San Quentin as well as parts of Corte Madera and Larkspur.
In the pick-three race among four candidates for the Southern Marin Fire Protection District board, incumbents Cathryn Hilliard of Tamalpais Valley won 14,114 votes, picked on 53.3% of ballots; Ashley Raveche of Alto Sutton Manor won with 13,740 votes, chosen by 51.9% of voters; and Clifford Waldeck of Mill Valley won with 11,110 votes, picked on 42% of ballots cast. They defeated newcomer Rich Riechel of Mill Valley, who had 6,114 votes, picked on 23.1% of ballots.
The district serves northern Tiburon and Strawberry, among other areas, with eligible Tiburon voters backing Hilliard on 52.4% of ballots, Raveche on 49.2% and Waldeck on 36.4%. Strawberry backed Hilliard on 52.4% of ballots, Raveche on 53.1% and Waldeck on 36.8%.
In a pick-two race among five newcomers for the Tam Union school board, Jennifer Holden of San Anselmo won 28,793 votes, picked on 38.3% of ballots cast, alongside Ida Times-Green of Marin City, with 28,705 votes, or a 38.2% share. They defeated Amos Klausner of San Geronimo, at 11,724 votes, on 15.6% of ballots cast, and Nicholas Ondrejka of San Rafael, at 10,385 votes, or 13.8% of ballots cast. Closing things out was Ray Chaudhuri of Mill Valley with 8,513 votes, on 11.3% of ballots.
Tiburon backed Holden on about 39% of ballots and Times-Green on about 31% of ballots. Strawberry voters had Holden on 37.2% of ballots and Times-Green on 38%, and Belvedere had Holden on 37.4% of ballots and Times-Green on 27.7%.
Tam Union’s Measure B infrastructure-bond measure passed 65.8%, with 43,939 yes votes, to 34.2%, with 22,880 no votes. Tiburon backed the bond with 63.8% of the vote, Belvedere with 58.4% and Strawberry with 64.2%. The measure is for high-priority projects for student safety, including districtwide heating, ventilation and cooling upgrades and roof repairs, officials say.
And though the outcome of the Belvedere City Council race didn’t matter — there were no challengers for the three seats — incumbent Sally Wilkinson led the pick-three race with 760 votes, picked on 56.7% of ballots, followed by Planning Commissioners Kevin Burke with 716 votes, on 53.4% of ballots, and Pat Carapiet with 655 votes, on 48.9% of ballots.
The council was to accept the results at its Dec. 9 meeting, after The Ark’s press deadline.
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