LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Voters on Tuesday voted for board seats in school and college districts around Lake County, and in one heated race favored three challengers over longtime incumbents.

The results from Tuesday’s election that were reported overnight by the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office are preliminary until the official canvass is completed in one month.

While there were numerous education-related races on the ballot, the one that emerged as the most contentious was that of the Lakeport Unified School District, with issues ranging from the district’s failure to use bond funds to build a new swimming pool to matters of discipline and personnel.

Carly Alvord, Jennifer Hanson and Dan Buffalo ran together on a platform aimed at fixing the district, and the early numbers – including early absentees and all 12 precincts – suggest that the three will win their seats on the board.

Alvord and Hanson raced along with incumbent Tom Powers for two four-year seats. Alvord received 1,583 votes, or 39.2 percent, followed by Hanson with 1,507 votes, or 37.3 percent, and Powers, 753 votes, or 18.6 percent.

Dan Camacho ran as a write-in candidate for the four-year seats. There were 197 votes, or 4.9 percent, cast for write-ins, although the Tuesday night returns did not specify how many of those votes were for Camacho.

Buffalo and incumbent Dennis Darling were in the running for a seat with two years remaining from an unexpired term. Buffalo received 1,418 votes, or 58.3 percent, to Darling’s 1,002 votes, or 41.2 percent.

In the race for three seats on the Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees, with 28 precincts reporting, Joan Mingori was the top vote-getter with 1,881 votes or 26.5 percent, followed by Bill Diener, 1,834 votes, 25.8 percent; Pamela Bening-Hale, 1,822 votes, 25.7 percent; and Herb Gura, 1,539 votes, 21.7 percent.

The Middletown Unified School District Board has three available seats and a four-person race. With 11 precincts reporting, Larry Allen led the field with 1,270 votes or 30.6 percent, followed by Latrease Walker, 1,068 votes, 25.8 percent; Thad R. Owens, 1,037 votes, 25 percent; and Christina Braden, 763 votes, 18.4 percent.

The Upper Lake Unified School District Board had all five of its seats on the ballot, and six people seeking them.

The preliminary count of early absentees and 12 precincts saw Ron Raetz bring in the most votes, 1,009, with 19.8 percent, followed by Ana Santana, 940 votes, 18.4 percent; Diane Tomkins Plante, 880 votes, 17.3 percent; Frank Gudmundson, 780 votes, 15.3 percent; Claudine Pedroncelli, 758 votes, 14.9 percent; and Don Meri, 712 votes, 14 percent.

In other education races, the preliminary voting results show Denise Loustalot leading Joanne Breton in the race for Trustee Area No. 3 on the Lake County Board of Education. With 18 precincts reporting, Loustalot had 1,164 votes, or 50.3 percent, with Breton receiving 1,139 votes, or 49.2 percent.

Madelene Lyon, incumbent for Trustee Area No. 5 on the Lake County Board of Education, received 1,300 votes or 50 percent of the vote in her reelection bid, followed closely by challenger Anna Rose Ravenwood with 1,285 votes, or 49.4 percent.

For the Mendocino-Lake Community College District Trustee Area No. 5, Philip “Ed” Nickerman led with 532 votes, or 55.2 percent, followed by Camille Schraeder, with 426 votes, or 44.2 percent.

Also on the ballot was the seat representing the Mendocino-Lake Community College District Trustee Area No. 6. Incumbent John H. Tomkins appears to have been reelected, with 1,583 votes, or 58.6 percent, to the 1,103 votes, or 40.9 percent, received by challenger Andy Anderson.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.