Thiesen still ahead of Wyman in state senate matchup
By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN
Political newcomer Tim Thiesen continued to lead veteran lawmaker and frequent political candidate Phil Wyman in the 16th state Senate District Republican primary Monday.
The latest numbers out of the four counties that comprise the 16th District showed 584 votes separated the two out of more than 22,000 ballots counted. Some counties still had ballots left to tally.
The 16th District is now represented by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter. The winner of the GOP primary will face Kern County Supervisor and Democrat Michael Rubio in November.
Here's how the vote count stood Monday:
* Kern County:
Thiesen: 2,082, 50.3 percent
Wyman: 2,019, 48.8 percent
There were 2,200 provisional ballots left to be counted; it was unknown how many were from the 16th District.
* Fresno County:
Thiesen: 3,580, 56.3 percent
Wyman: 2,757, 43.3 percent
There were 30,000 absentee and provisional ballots left to count countywide; it was unclear how many were cast in the 16th District.
* Kings County:
Thiesen: 3,946, 44.6 percent
Wyman: 4,909, 55.4 percent
A handful of absentee ballots were left to count in the race.
* Tulare County:
Tim Thiesen: 1,906, 60.3 percent
Wyman: 1,245, 39.4 percent
It was unclear how many ballots remained uncounted Monday.
The totals stood at 11,514 votes for Thiesen and 10,930 for Wyman.
-- Government editor Christine Bedell
Most CommentedMost Popular
Since Karen Goh returned to Kern County from a publishing career in New York in 2004, she has helped foster a strong network of Christian leaders in government, politics, media, business and nonprofits.
California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, giving "seriously ill Californians ... the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes" as recommended by a physician.
A settlement has been reached in radio talk show host Inga Barks' sexual harassment lawsuit against former co-host Scott Cox and American General Media.
Is Kern County, as has widely been reported, really the expulsion capital of California? That's the question posed Friday by state Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter, to 50 or so Kern County educators, elementary and high school district administrators and community leaders.
Since Karen Goh returned to Kern County from a publishing career in New York in 2004, she has helped foster a strong network of Christian leaders in government, politics, media, business and nonprofits.
Kern County has agreed to pay a Kern River Valley family $1 million for wrongfully taking their son in 2008 when the family was in a dispute with the South Fork Union School District over how school officials were dealing with the boy's food allergies.
Young's Marketplace, an independent grocery store that's a Bakersfield institution, will close at the end of the week.
Bakersfield’s Faast Pharmacy is going out of business and will be acquired by the big chain CVS, it was confirmed Monday.