ELECTION COVERAGE

The first trickles of tonight’s voting continued the shocking initial election results in Newport-Mesa.

In Costa Mesa, Mayor Allan Mansoor and parks commissioner Wendy Leece hold early leads. Mansoor has 28.5% of the vote and Leece 25.5%.

Newport Beach’s slow-growth Measure X trails with a whopping 63% saying no to further restrictions on development. The number was a slight increase in opposition with the first nine of 82 precincts reporting.

The city’s general plan update, Measure V, is narrowly ahead with a 54% yes vote.

Mansoor and Leece have run on their support for the city’s plan to enforce immigration laws. Planning commissioner Bruce Garlich trails Leece at 21% of the vote. Former Councilman Mike Scheafer has 17%. Six of 70 precincts are in.

Garlich was at City Councilwoman Katrina Foley’s house watching election results. When the absentee ballot figures rolled in, Foley said, “Whoa, it doesn’t look good.”

But Garlich and Foley said they would not lose hope so early and were eager to see returns for today’s voting.

Mirna Buciaga has 4.6% of the vote and Chris Bunyan has 2.7%.

In the Newport Beach City Council races, challenger Nancy Gardner has the early lead over incumbent Dick Nichols in the Corona del Mar district, No. 6, at 54% to 46%.

In the city’s most crowded field, District 1, Michael Henn leads in the race to replace termed-out incumbent Tod Ridgeway. Henn has 46%, Jack Wu has 29.6%, Brenda Martin has 15%, and Marcia Dossey has 9%. Those numbers are virtually unchanged from the first absentee reports.

Incumbent City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle is leading her challenger, Barbara Venezia -- who quit the race a month ago -- by a narrow 51% to 49% margin.

One race that seems over after the initial returns is the Balboa Island race between incumbent Ed Selich and Robert Schoonmaker. Selich has 71% of the vote.

Another incumbent, Keith Curry, holds a strong early lead over his challenger, Dolores Otting. Curry has 58% of the vote.

Mayor Don Webb is running unopposed for reelection.

In the Newport-Mesa Unified School District races, early returns have one incumbent leading and one trailing narrowly. Trustee Judy Franco has a comfortable initial lead with 45% of the vote. Her closest opponent is Loretta Zimmerman, with 30%. Challenger Karen Yelsey leads incumbent Serene Stokes 52% to 48%. Michael Collier leads Kimberly Clark, 56% to 44%, in a battle of two newcomers.

ONGOING COVERAGE

Check the Pilot’s website throughout the night for continuing coverage of Newport-Mesa’s elections.