Morning News Round-Up –- 11.27.08: "Final" Semi-Official Results...

The election is over...really. The Santa Clara Registrar of Voters has posted the “Final – Semi-Official Results.” Only the Registrar could use the phrase "Final" and "Semi-Official" right next to each other...Automatic re-counts happened in 3 races West Valley/Mission Community College District, Gilroy Unified School District, and Berryessa Union. So what happened in these ‘recount’ seats?:

• …West Valley/Mission will see incumbent Chris Constantin and newcomer Adrienne Grey taking seats.
• …the Berryessa drama concluded with Richard Claspill and Khoa Nguyen taking seats, incumbent Rudy Nasol lost his.
• ...in Gilroy, Fred Tovar, Rhoda Bress, and Mark Good held on. Jaime Rosso lost his seat by a mere 6 votes…if only Rosso had walked/called 7 more voters...

And in everyone’s favorite ballot fight, Measure B…after what looked like a heartbreakingly close defeat on election night, the yes folks pulled it out after all the provisional ballots were counted with 66.78%. But this may drag on for a bit…

Santa Clara Unified School District Trustee Don Bordenave hung on to his seat by just 29 votes, while newcomer Albert Gonzalez came in nearly 6,000 votes ahead of Bordenave. What happened there? Incumbents don’t usually get smoked.

Did all the election silliness get your juices flowing? Well, it ain’t over yet. The election of George Shirakawa, Jr. to the Board of Supervisors has left a vacancy in San Jose’s East Side Union High School District, applications will be accepted through December 10. If Eddie Garcia didn’t burn bridges perhaps he can get back on, after all, Eddie is one of the Bay Areas Most Inspirational Latino Leaders.

The Mission City Lantern offers gift suggestions for everyone from Mayor Reed's bud Vic Ajlouny to Erlinda Estrada – all this was all posted a minute after wishing everyone a peaceful and joyous 2009...ironic.

Letterman would be proud... Scott Herhold wrote the Ten Reasons to be Thankful. Among them the end (for now) of the mania for Coyote Valley development and Little Saigon. Wait until March, however, when the Little Saigon issue will be all over the place in the recall election of San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen.

The Thanksgiving free-for-all dates back to 1991 when Los Gatos residents Matt Ober, Brock Baxter, Kevin Sweatt, Ted Sweatt, Joey Alvarado, Wes Coy, Craig Evansa, Mike Ortega, Jeff Frederick, Huy-Lin Nguyen, and Jeremy Harms headed out to play pad-free football at LGHS. It has since grown to be the National Turkey Bowl League, "Where Athletes Are Reborn Once A Year — Thanksgiving Day."

Saratoga Councilwoman Jill Hunter learned the Village Post Office would be leaving town for the first time at a hastily called community meeting.

Facing a $3.3 million shortfall Morgan Hill will be adding to its financial woes. After more than 3 years of negotiations, the City Council unanimously approved purchase of Associated Concrete’s property for $3.9 million.

The Gilroy Dispatch wants to know your thoughts on which local governmental agency is the worst run. Your choices are the Water District, VTA, Gilroy Unified School District, or the City of Gilroy. So far, Gilroy itself is running away with the vote. Perhaps Watch Dog should run the “Which local newspaper is the worst run”…