UPDATE, 5:07 p.m.:

The first post-election report just came in, and it shows the challengers extending their lead on the incumbents, though the race remains close. With three seats up for grabs, Michelle Lewis-Lusso has the most votes with 136 votes, followed by John Sawatzky (123), Kat Napier (116), Adelene Jones (109), Christian Firor (106), Christopher Edgar (87) and Winona Pitts (61). 

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It’s 2024, and electoral politics in America have gotten bitterly acrimonious — not just at the national level but even in the idyllic rural community of Blue Lake. One local couple recently described this year’s Blue Lake City Council race as the most contentious they’ve seen in their 43 years as residents.

As with the country at large, the flames of discontent have been fanned by the intemperate winds of social media. In a letter to the city council and mayor, local resident Alex Ricca (one half of the local couple referenced above) described posts in one particular Blue Lake-focused Facebook page as “some of the most disgusting political rhetoric I have ever read in my life, and I’ve read some nasty stuff.”

Much of the controversy has swirled around City Manager Mandy Mager, with critics accusing her of ignoring public feedback in favor of her own agenda while her defenders (who include members of the city council) describe her as dedicated, passionate and effective.

The city is also experiencing growing pains, with community disagreements about growth — whether the city should pursue ambitious new business and housing developments (including a controversial mixed-use project proposed by DANCO) or resist the siren call of modernization in hopes of retaining Blue Lake’s quaint character.

There are three open seats on the Blue Lake City Council this election cycle, and seven candidates stepped up. That includes three incumbents: Mayor Adelene Jones, Christopher B. Edgar and Christopher Guy Firor, who was just appointed last month to serve out the remaining two years in the seat recently vacated by Elizabeth McKay. Think of them as representing the status quo.

Jones made her position clear in a Facebook post last month, urging voters to choose wisely. “Four of the seven candidates running for office are motivated by anger towards our wonderful City Manager Mandy Mager and they have no ideas or visions for our town. I recommend you vote for Adelene Johes, Christopher Edgar and Chris Firor for enthusiasm and moving our city forward.”

The other four candidates — Michelle Lewis-Lusso, Verda Winona Pitts, Katherine “Kat” Napier and John Sawatzky — represent a slate of disgruntled insurgents looking to oust the sitting councilmembers. Their mounting discontent was reinvigorated last month when the city council chose to appoint Firor to the vacant seat rather than Sawatzky, even though 63 people had signed a petition supporting Sawatzky’s appointment. 

Napier lambasted the council for that decision, and at the most recent City Council meeting she condemned Jones for her Facebook allegations. “These are vitriolic words,” she said. “They’re inflammatory, they’re divisive and they’re inaccurate. … It does not bring joy to Blue Lake. … Please stop using the city manager to hide behind and make her a target.”

When the final election night vote tally was reported by the Humboldt County Elections Office, some supporters of the challengers mistakenly took the results as final and started celebrating a bit prematurely. Those results — which represent just a portion of the ballots that must eventually be tallied — were incredibly close. Lewis-Lusso finished with the most votes (124), followed by Sawatzky (106) and Napier (99).

But two of the three incumbents are within a hair’s breadth of squeezing into the top three. Firor ended election night with 98 votes, a single vote behind Napier. (If he winds up winning this four-year term, it will supercede his recent appointment to the two-year vacancy and the council will need to make a new appointment early next year.) Jones is right behind with 97 votes. 

In other words, it would take just three votes for Jones to surpass Napier and just two for Firor to do so. And they’re each less than 10 votes behind Sawatzky. Even Edgar is potentially within striking distance, ending election night with 75 votes.

We’re expecting a new batch of results this evening. We’ll see whether the challengers extend their lead or the incumbents work their way into the top three.