The race for the Morongo Valley Community Services District, the local elected body that oversees Morongo Valley’s Fire Department, Covington Park, and other infrastructure, has seen the lead shift several times for the final two seats.
All of the board’s five total seats were up for re-election this year split amongst two distinct races, with the top vote-getters filling the seats.
Three candidates vied for two full-term seats,with incumbents Christina Gorke and Lance Fisher winning over challenger Janet Osborne.
The second race saw four candidates running for three open seats saw significant shifts in lead as ballots continued to be counted since November 5. Johnny Tolbert, Jr., the longest serving incumbent on the board, held a significant lead over the other three candidates, securing one of the three seats.
Newcomer Eva Marie Rowles took second place with 605 votes, and incumbent Steven Hayden secured third place with 577 votes, securing the fourth and fifth seat of the board. Incumbent Lynn Watts was just 11 votes shy, coming in with 566 votes total.
Other races throughout our community were called prior to yesterday’s result certification. See our previous coverage for other election winners.
