Tied vote count leaves heated Fresno County irrigation district race in limbo

A heated election for a board seat at the Laguna Irrigation District is stuck in a tie with both candidates having garnered 101 votes. 

Wes Harmon, a local well driller, challenged incumbent Frank Zonneveld, Laguna’s board president. 

Zonneveld had no comment on the race and only wrote in an email that whatever happens next is, “way above my paygrade.” 

Staff at the Fresno County Registrar of Voters met on Wednesday morning to discuss what processes will take place in the event of tied races.Typically there will be a recount, according to department staff. But as of Wednesday morning, no official process had been disclosed. 

The tie was unexpected for Harmon and his supporters. Harmon was leading the race by three votes until Tuesday. He thought the election was a done deal. 

But Zonneveld gained votes this week, likely from ballot curing, the process by which voters can mail in another ballot if their original ballot had a mistake on it, according to the Registrar of Voters office. 

For Harmon, the race has been a chance to challenge what he sees as a secretive board. He said he wants to change things to make board processes more transparent to growers, increase groundwater recharge and ensure equity so larger growers aren’t favored. 

“We’re going to try to change the banking policy and encourage banking water,” said Harmon. “The people are kind of tired. They know what’s going on. They’re not stupid people.”

Harmon and other growers in the district have accused the board of catering to larger growers, specifically John Vidovich who controls Sandridge Partners LLC, which owns tens of thousands of acres across Kings County in several water districts. 

“If you got five acres or 5,000 acres, you treat them the same,” said Harmon. 

In a previous interview with SJV Water Zonneveld refuted claims that the district favors larger farmers. He said the hard feelings were tied to a dispute over how recharged water is divvied up, with 30% going to the district.

Laguna, which covers 53,000 acres across Kings and Fresno counties northwest of Hanford, has 320 acres of recharge ponds. 

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