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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Board of Supervisors certifies final election canvass; sheriff, district attorney among officials declared elected
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening accepted the final results for the June 3 primary and, in so doing, declared the election of the new sheriff, the district attorney and several other county offices.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to finish the final election canvass, which had begun first thing June 4, the day after the primary.
Board Chair Denise Rushing said at the Tuesday meeting that Fridley had believed she would need all of that time, thus the decision to schedule the meeting at a special time in the evening rather than the usual morning start time.
However, Rushing pointed out that Fridley bested her own estimate by about a day, releasing the final numbers Monday evening.
Fridley took to the board a resolution certifying the final canvass and declaring elected officials who had either been unopposed or who received 50 percent plus one vote in fields of two or more.
Those running unopposed were Brock Falkenberg, seeking the county superintendent of schools job; Cathy Saderlund, the county clerk and auditor-controller; and Barbara Ringen, treasurer-tax collector.
Incumbent District Attorney Don Anderson received 59.1 percent of the vote over challenger Andre Ross, who had 40.9 percent of the vote, and so Anderson was declared elected in the resolution.
Brian Martin also was declared elected as Lake County's new sheriff. He received 52.1 percent of the vote to beat incumbent Frank Rivero, who had 25.6 percent, and retired Clearlake Police Chief Bob Chalk, with 22.3 percent.
Measure L, a half-cent sales tax to help restore and improve the health of Clear Lake and other local water bodies, fell just short of the supermajority of 66.7 percent that it needed, bringing in 65.2 percent.
“County Measure L failed by not very much,” Fridley said.
Measure N, which institutes rules for medical marijuana cultivation, received the needed majority, coming in with with a “yes” vote of 51.6 percent, with no votes totaling 48.4 percent, according to Fridley.
The measure becomes law on July 11. State election law provides that after the election is certified such measures go into effect 10 days afterward.
Fridley also explained to the board the public manual tally of a minimum 1-percent of randomly selected precincts her office was required to complete as part of the canvass process.
That count, which took place beginning on June 17, is required of counties like Lake that use electronic ballot counting devices, she said.
The county must include each and every contest on the local ballot, so Fridley said they counted one precinct each from Middletown, Clearlake and Upper Lake.
Fridley said the canvassing board found only one discrepancy between the manual count and the machine. It involved a ballot that had a very small dot in the middle of a rectangle next to a particular candidate's name.
The ballot counting machine had counted that as a vote for that candidate, she said.
“It was obvious to me that the voter did not intend to vote for that candidate,” Fridley added.
She also reported that there were no qualified write-in candidates during the primary.
The initial election night results indicated that turnout was at 28.5 percent, which Fridley said improved to 45.7 percent with the canvass completed.
As of election night, Fridley's staff had counted 9,703 ballots, and after the election they counted another 5,845 ballots, of which 611 were provisionals cast at precincts and 5,234 were absentees.
Fridley said in this election 30.6 percent of ballots were by absentee voters, with 15.2 percent cast at precincts.
The board voted unanimously to accept Fridley's resolution accepting the official canvass and the statement of votes cast for the Statewide Direct Primary Election, and declaring Anderson, Falkenberg, Martin, Ringen and Saderlund elected.
Fridley thanked Deputy County Administrative Officer Alan Flora for coming up to help her with the county on Monday.
Fridley had a number of observers of the count, and had been under increasing pressure due to Lake County's vote count essentially deciding the tight race for the Democratic Party's place on the ticket in the November state controller's race.
She received a round of applause following the resolution's acceptance.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Official canvass of June 3 election released; Martin wins sheriff's office, Measure N passes
LAKEPORT, Calif. – It's official – Lake County has a new sheriff and a new measure to enforce rules on medical marijuana cultivation based on the final results of the June 3 primary election.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley released the completed numbers to Lake County News at around 6 p.m. Monday.
In the sheriff's race – arguably the chief contest of the election – challenger Brian Martin held onto his lead and expanded it to win the race outright against incumbent Frank Rivero and Bob Chalk, the city of Clearlake's retired police chief.
In the initial count completed on election night, Martin – who needed 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff – had 51.4 percent of the vote, which rose to 52.1 percent, or 7,773 votes, in the final tally, followed by Rivero with 3,824 votes or 25.6 percent and Chalk with 3,335 votes or 22.3 percent, Fridley said.
Measure N, a county ordinance to institute medical marijuana cultivation rules that was forced to a referendum, needed a simple majority to pass, and received 51.6 percent, or 7,835 votes. No votes totaled 7,352, or 48.4 percent of the vote, according to Fridley.
One race that will change is that for assessor-recorder, which Richard Ford had appeared to have won outright on election night with 50.1 percent.
Fridley said that in the final count, Ford's vote tally dropped to 49 percent, or 6,712 votes, which means he will face a runoff with Sorhna Li Jordan in November.
Jordan had 27.3 percent, or 3,743 ballots cast in her favor. Logan Weiper finished third and out of the running with 23.7 percent, or 3,240 ballots, Fridley's final count showed.
In the race for the District 2 seat on the Board of Supervisors, incumbent Jeff Smith received 43.5 percent of the vote, or 841 votes, and will go to a November runoff with Clearlake City Councilwoman Jeri Spittler, who received 29.3 percent or 566 votes, Fridley reported. Clearlake City Councilwoman Joyce Overton finished third with 527 votes, or 27.2 percent.
For District 3 supervisor, Jim Steele continues to lead with 31.7 percent, or 977 votes, and will face John Brosnan – who received 19.3 percent, or 593 votes – in the November runoff. Other candidates included Marv Butler, 17 percent, 524 votes; Herb Gura, 14.9 percent, 460 votes; James Brown, 11.8 percent, 363 votes; and Mark Currier, 5.3 percent or 162 votes, according to Fridley's final tally.
Measure L, a sales tax measure that would have benefited Clear Lake and water quality projects, needed a supermajority of 66.7 percent to pass, and actually inched closer to winning, according to Fridley's final canvass.
The final results for Measure L showed that it finished with 65.2 percent, or 9,873 votes, a better showing than a similar measure had in November 2012. Votes against Measure L totaled 34.8 percent, or 5,259 ballots, according to Fridley's count.
In the district attorney's race, incumbent Don Anderson continued a substantial lead over challenger Andre Ross. Anderson finished with 59.1 percent, or 8,301 ballots cast, to Ross' 40.9 percent, or 5,735 votes, Fridley said.
The county's final vote count also has a bearing on the tight race for state controller.
As of Monday afternoon, Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office had John Pérez and Betty Yee in a statistical dead heat for the Democratic Party's representation in the November election – both at 21.7 percent – while Republican Ashley Swearengin held a comfortable lead with 24.8 percent.
In Lake County's results, Pérez led with 3,631 votes or 25.6 percent, followed by David Evans, 3,583 votes or 25.2 percent; Yee, 2,590 votes, 18.2 percent; Swearengin, 1,985 votes, 14 percent; Laura Wells, 1,440 votes, 10.1 percent; and Tammy Blair, 965 votes, 6.8 percent.
The initial count Fridley's office released following the election night tally had Pérez leading Yee in Lake County, 26 percent – or 2,326 votes – to 18.6 percent, or 1,662 votes.
Based on the vote count, the additional 1,305 votes Pérez gained in Lake County in the final count – when added to the 876,402 votes the Secretary of State said he's received statewide – gives him an overall total of 877,707 votes.
Yee has a total of 878,191 votes when the additional 928 Lake County votes are added to the 877,263 votes the Secretary of State's Office said she had received across the other 57 counties.
Overall, Lake County's voter turnout was 45.7 percent in the June 3 election, which Fridley called “pretty good.”
Precinct ballots totaled 15.2 percent while absentees came in at 30.6 percent, she said.
“Absentees seems to be always higher these days,” Fridley said said.
Fridley will present the final canvass for certification to the Board of Supervisors at a special meeting set for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the board chambers, located on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes, in Lakeport. The canvass is timed for 6:05 p.m.
Fridley said she also expects to have the full results posted online at the county Web site, www.co.lake.ca.us , later Monday night.
Editor's note: The controller's race tallies have been corrected.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Police identify man accused of taking inappropriate photos of woman; case forwarded for prosecution
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Police said Monday they have identified a Kelseyville man who earlier this month is alleged to have taken photos under a woman's skirt in a local store.
Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph said that 28-year-old Christopher Edwards is the man they were seeking in the case.
On June 19 the agency had put out a call to the community asking for assistance in identifying a male subject involved in a disorderly conduct incident at Walmart, located at 15960 Dam Road, in Clearlake on June 12.
In the incident, the male subject had taken photos under a woman’s skirt while she was shopping in the store, as Lake County News has reported. The original story is here: http://bit.ly/1rdz8c2 .
As a result of the media coverage on the incident and the numerous calls and messages received, Joseph said police identified Edwards as the suspect.
Joseph said officers interviewed Edwards at the Clearlake Police Department on Monday.
During the interview Edwards admitted to committing the crime, Joseph said.
Edwards could not be arrested on Monday due to the “staleness” – or length of time – since the misdemeanor crime. Instead, Joseph said the case against Edwards will be forwarded to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Joseph said the Clearlake Police Department thanked the public for its assistance in identifying Edwards.
Any person with additional information on this case is asked to contact Joseph at 707-994-8251, Extension 338.
STATE: Gov. Brown appoints two justices to the First District Court of Appeal
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Saturday announced the appointment of Associate Justice James M. Humes as presiding justice, Division One and Therese M. Stewart to Division Two of the First District Court of Appeal.
The First District Court of Appeal reported that it serves the residents of 12 Northern California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma.
The district reported that each year its 20 justices review more than 2,000 criminal, civil and juvenile appeals, and more than 1,300 original proceedings.
Humes, 54, of San Francisco, has served as associate justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division Four since 2012.
He was executive secretary for legal affairs, administration and policy Gov. Brown's office from 2011 to 2012 and chief deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2007 to 2011.
Humes served in multiple positions at the California Department of Justice from 1993 to 2007, including chief assistant of the Civil Division and senior assistant attorney general of the Health, Education and Welfare Section.
He was an associate at Banta Hoyt Banta Greene Hannen and Everall PC from 1986 to 1987, served as senior assistant attorney general at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office from 1984 to 1993 and was an associate at Jay Stuart Radetsky PC from 1983 to 1984.
He earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Denver, a master of social science degree from the University of Colorado and a bachelor of arts degree from Illinois State University.
Humes fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice James J. Marchiano. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The commission consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Senior Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline.
Humes is the first openly gay justice to serve on the California Court of Appeal. He is a Democrat.
Stewart, 57, of San Francisco, has served as chief deputy city attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office since 2002.
She was a director at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin PC from 1988 to 2002, where she was an associate from 1982 to 1988. She served as a law clerk for the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch at the U.S. Court of Appeal, Eleventh Circuit from 1981 to 1982.
Stewart argued on behalf of the city and county of San Francisco in the trilogy of cases advocating for marriage equality for LGBT Californians in the California Supreme Court. She also led the team of San Francisco deputy city attorneys intervening as plaintiffs in the federal case challenging Proposition 8.
Stewart earned a juris doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University.
Stewart fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice James R. Lambden. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The Commission consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Senior Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline.
Stewart will be the first openly lesbian justice to serve on the California Court of Appeal, if confirmed. Stewart is a Democrat.
The compensation for each of these positions is $207,463 annually.