Little changed on Thursday after the latest release of ballot totals in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with both members of the Palm Springs City Council who were on the Nov. 8 ballot retaining their leads.
After coming back to lead challenger Scott Nevins by 50 votes at the end of Wednesday, Mayor Pro Tem Grace Garner maintained that lead Thursday — 1,400 to 1,350 — as no new votes were counted in the District 1 race or any other in the city. On Wednesday, following four days when no new votes were counted in city races, Garner was shown to have overcome a 177-vote Election Day deficit.
There was also no change in leaders in the other Palm Springs City Council races, where no incumbent was running. Jeffrey Bernstein continues to lead Renee Brown in the District 2 race, 1,939 votes to 1,599 (55% to 45%). In District 3, Ron deHarte leads Joy Meredith 1,888 to 1,023 (65% to 35%).
As of the last report Thursday evening, 47,000 ballots — both vote-by-mail and provisional — remained to be counted in Riverside County. On Wednesday evening that total was 77,000 votes. The next update is promised for Friday evening.
In another closely-watched race for city voters, Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege currently leads Republican challenger Greg Wallis in the race for the State Assembly in the 47th District following the Thursday vote count. She has a 79,501 to 78,363 lead and is ahead by less than 1%.
Holstege is midway through her second term on the City Council as the District 4 representative. Should she win a seat in Sacramento, it would create a vacancy that would be filled by either a special election or an appointment. So far, four people have stepped up to say they would like to fill a potential vacancy.
The 47th District is new and includes only the western end of the Coachella Valley. It contains much of what was the 42nd District, a Republican stronghold for many years. Palm Springs is currently represented by Assemblymember Chad Mayes, who chose not to run for re-election in the new district. Wallis has worked for Mayes for the past seven years.
You can track the latest vote counts for the 47th District here, and track the Palm Springs City Council races here.
