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Election Wrap-up: One race too close to call, as of Tuesday

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By Karen Brainard

Of the three Ramona residents competing in the June 5 primary election, one remained in a race too close to call as of Tuesday, and the other two are contemplating their loss and considering a future run.

In a neck-and-neck race for Superior Court judge, Ramona attorney Gary Kreep was down by 79 votes against Garland Peed as of late Tuesday, with 17,700 more countywide absentee ballots to be counted. The results are scheduled to be updated by 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 13.

Prior to the election, Kreep said forecasts showed him losing to Peed by 10 to 20 points, partly because he is a conservative and pro-Proposition 8 (defines marriage between a man and a woman). Kreep said voters are supporting him and he has been told this is the closest superior court judge race in San Diego history.

“Ultimately I think I’m going to prevail,” said Kreep on Monday.

Ramona businessman John Boruff, who was hoping to challenge U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein for her seat in the fall, ran in a field of 24 candidates and received less than 1 percent of the vote. He was one of 14 Republicans in that race. Republican Elizabeth Emken from Danville was the top vote-getter behind Feinstein and will vie for the senator’s seat in the fall.

In the San Diego County Board of Education race, Ramonan John Rajcic, who ran as the only opposition to incumbent Mark Anderson in the 4th District, received 36.73 percent of the vote to Anderson’s 63.27 percent.

Election results for other offices that represent Ramona showed incumbent U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter of the 50th district with 67.62 percent of the vote and Democrat challenger David Secor coming in next with 16.82 percent. In the 71st District for State Sssembly, incumbent Brian Jones led with 48.30 percent of the vote, followed by Democrat Patrick Hurley with 30.11 percent. In both of those races, the top two vote-getters will face off in November.

San Diego County District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob will enter her sixth term in office as she received 78.04 percent of the vote to Rudy Reyes’ 21.96 percent.

With the primary over, Boruff said he is taking time to reflect.

“We’re taking a breath. It was a very tough battle. I learned a lot of things,” he said.

Boruff said that when he entered the race he had no idea so many candidates would jump in, especially at the last minute. Boruff noted that the highest percentage of votes he received was in Riverside County and attributed that to his name being the first Republican on the ballot. Names were placed randomly on the ballots, he said, and in other areas his appeared near the bottom of the long candidate list. That, he said, told him people will exercise their right to vote but don’t necessarily do their homework.

Of the campaign experience, he said: “I met some incredible people.”

Although he headed to functions prepared to answer questions, Boruff said he often found that people just wanted to talk to him.

“They want you to listen to their stories, their tales, their needs. That was a real surprise,” he said.

One uplifting moment was when a woman looked him in the eye, held his hand tightly with a $20 bill, and said that was all she could give. Boruff said she told him not to quit, to go the distance.

“That night you go home and you’re inspired,” he said.

The Ramona businessman remains interested in running for a federal office.

“We’re definitely looking at the future and, if there’s an opportunity, I’ll be back,” he said.

Although Rajcic lost his race, he received over 31,000 votes for the county board of education seat. He said it was a bit confusing that the ballot only identified him as a freelance writer when his ballot statement labeled him as an educator/freelance writer, which he preferred. Rajcic is a former teacher, college instructor, and deputy school superintendent.

Rajcic said he plans to continue to attend Ramona school board meetings and write editorials about the education system, because he considers that a high priority. He’s been a Ramona Unified School District Board seat in the past and said he would like to do so again.

“I’m still a young guy,” quipped the 81-year-old. “I’ll run for another local election if it comes up.”

For updated election results, go to sdvote.com.

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