Originally published in The Fresno Bee and on FresnoBee.com on August 12, 2006.
Huron Mayor Ramon Dominguez got some good news on Friday: He won't have to sweat out the wait for election returns on Nov. 7.
Dominguez, who arrived at the Fresno County Elections Office about five minutes before the 5 p.m. filing deadline to hand in the last of his re-election paperwork, was told that he had no challenger.
"I didn't know whether anyone else would be running," he said.
Friday afternoon was the final chance for potential Fresno County candidates to get their name on the Nov. 7 ballot. Workers at the Fresno County Elections Office spent the day processing applications for candidates running for city, school board and special district seats.
Fresno County Registrar of Voters Victor Salazar said the office at 2221 Kern St. was full of people up to the 5 p.m. deadline. Federal, state, county and city races where runoffs were forced in March will be joined on the November ballot by those seeking 26 seats on 12 city councils from Coalinga to Selma in Fresno County.
In addition, school boards from Caruthers to West Fresno will fill positions, along with slightly more than one-fourth of the county's 105 community service, fire protection and other special districts.
One of the most contested races is for a seat on the Fresno Unified School District's school board. Incumbent Patricia Barr, who represents the Bullard area in northwest Fresno, faces three challengers. The other candidates in that race are Michelle Arax-Asadoorian, John H. Lester and Jim Barr. Patricia Barr and Jim Barr are not related.
Another candidate, Gene Tavernetti, dropped out of the race earlier this week. In each of the other three Fresno Unified races, the incumbents face only one challenger.
Another highly contested race is for mayor of Orange Cove. Mayor Victor Lopez is being challenged by Manuel Ferreira and Frank Martinez.
In the City Council election there, six candidates are seeking two seats. Incumbents Adolfo R. Martinez and Roy Rodriguez are being challenged by Irene Alvarado, Bertha Del Bosque, Glenda Hill and Jose A. Rodriguez.
In Firebaugh, nine candidates are seeking two seats on the City Council. Incumbent Marcia E. Sablan is joined on the ballot by John Baltierra, Chris Defrancesco, Brady Jenkins Jr., Brent Kreighbaum, Rod Lake, Ron D. Leyva, Ray J. Maldonado Jr. and David Vanpelt.
At 5 p.m., doors were locked at the election office and Salazar announced the filing deadline had passed.
Clovis Unified School District board member Ginny Hovsepian is not up for re-election, but she was at the elections office to see whether anyone would run against three of her colleagues.
Clovis Unified board members Sandra Bengel, Jim Vanvolkinburg and Betsy Sandoval are running unopposed.
"It's a tradition that someone comes to check if there are any opponents," Hovsepian said. "I want to know as early as possible what the potential issues might be."
Paul Griffin, who is running for a seat on the Coalinga-Huron Unified School District's board, filed shortly before the deadline. Griffin is running against incumbent Deborah Witt and fellow challenger Steven Hosman. "I have concerns about the quality of the education in our community," he said.
Salazar said that it was a busy day but typical for any election filing deadline. "We always have people that wait until the last minute," he said.
Bee staff writer Jim Guy contributed to this story. The reporter can be reached at elacayo@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6679.
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