Low voter turnout elects new district attorney, turns down fire measure

Those that did vote appeared to like longtime Kings County Joe Neves who outpolled newcomer Martin Chavez and former Lemoore Mayor Eddie Neal.

Neves came close to clinching the top spot with 7,832 votes or 47.68 percent of the District 1 vote. Assuming Neves fails to reach 50 percent, it appears likely he will face Chavez in the Fall.

“I’ve received a lot of phone calls and a lot of support and people willing to help,” said Neves. “We’ll get reorganized and get ready for November.”

Neves told The Leader that he thought it was his experience and his community service that put him over the top. “I think experience and being active in the community obviously helps. I think those two things set me apart.”

Neves is currently in his seventh term.

One of the big surprises was first-time politician Sarah Hacker’s close win over Keith Fagundes in a hard-fought race. Hacker ended up winning comfortably, amassing 6,748 votes to Fagundes’ 4,751.

One of Hacker’s biggest boosters was Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, an early and strong supporter of the soon-to-be district attorney.

Newly elected Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker celebrates with Sheriff David Robinson, Capt. Karl Anderson, and former Kings County Sheriff Chris Jordon.

Photo by Gary Feinstein, Feinsteinfotos

Kings County’s assembly member, Rudy Salas, turned in some impressive numbers Tuesday night in his bid for Congress as he topped four other candidates, including the incumbent, David Valadao, in the final balloting. The two will face off in November. Salas led the pack of four candidates with 9,243 votes in the 22nd District while Valadao tallied 5,042 votes.

House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy easily won the vote in the small section (Hanford and Lemoore) of Kings County that he will represent in the next term.

In the District 4 supervisor’s seat, newcomer Rusty Robinson defeated Alicia Ramirez with 1,139 votes to her 769 votes.

State Senator Melissa Hurtado will face Republican David Shepard in the November election in California’s 16th Senate District.

The 11,407 who decided to vote in the election also gave a big thumbs down to Measure F. Voters turned down the Kings County’s Fire Department measure  62.39 percent to 37.61 percent.