angela swanson

With a narrow margin in the ballot measure concerning the future of vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe, and other races still close, everyone is awaiting the release of more results from Tuesday's election.

You'll still have to wait a bit longer.

On Friday, November 9, El Dorado County Elections will post the next round of results, but it won't be the last as there are over 24,000 ballots yet to count.

13,372 mail-in ballots were dropped off at the polls
2,614 provisional ballots

There are still a few days left for those interested in running for public office this November, but several candidates have completed the process to qualify for the ballot. The following number of seats will be open: El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (1), LTUSD School Board (2) , City Council (3), City Clerk (1), City Treasurer (1), South Tahoe Public Utility District (3), Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District, and Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees (3).

The deadline to complete the candidate process is August 10, 2018.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dr. James Tarwarter, Superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified School District, was at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting to explain why LTUSD should receive $150,000 from the City for ballfield maintenance. He walked away with $75,000 with a strong recommendation that he join the Community Field Consortium Tarwater chose not to join in November, 2015.

It looks like the SLT Parks & Recreation Commission is about to get bigger as the City has found that its too big of a job for just five people with the number of sub-committees and other tasks needed as the creation of a new recreation city is on the horizon.

During Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting they appointed five commissioners, then took the first steps to expand the commission by two members. In a resolution at the next Council meeting, that will be a done deal, if approved.

The were some questions surrounding Monday's special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council, a meeting that will both certify the November 8 election results and honor outgoing City Councilmember JoAnn Conner with a plaque of appreciation.

In 2014, a special meeting was held to honor outgoing council members Angela Swanson and Brooke Laine, both who lost in their bids for reelection. Conner lost her reelection bid this year.

Angela Swanson, who was a Lake Tahoe Unified School Board member from 2005-2009 is back on the board, this time to replace Ginger Nicolay-Davis who left in June to accept a job with the school district. She was interviewed and voted in Tuesday night during the LTUSD board meeting. Her term will last until December, 2018.

The school district accepted applications for the open seat, and Swanson was the lone candidate so Tuesday's interview and vote was just a formality.

Swanson also served on the South Lake Tahoe City Council for a term from 2010-2014.

On June 14, 2014, the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted to delay the implementation of the second phase of the plastic bag ban in the city. Originally slated to begin on October 15, 2014, the Council, by a vote of 3-2, moved the start date out one year to October 15, 2015.

Now that the second phase of the ban has started, Mayor Hal Cole wants to revisit that portion of the ban.

Cole said he wants to undo the ban on plastic bags for retail stores and asked for the topic to be on an upcoming agenda.

Twenty-one days after the election, the final results have now been certified by the El Dorado County elections department.

The closest race was for the three open seats for South Lake Tahoe City Council. The top vote getter was long time local Wendy David who had 18.05 % of the vote with 1727 residents feeling confident she'd represent them well. Coming in second was incumbent Tom Davis who received 1461 votes, or 15.52% of the vote. Austin Sass moved ahead of incumbent Angela Swanson and ended up with 1318 votes to Swanson's 1289, just .31% difference.

If anyone ever needed proof that every vote counts, they could look to the recent elections in South Lake Tahoe. In June, the County Supervisor District 5 primary election ended up with just 14 votes separating the second, third and fourth positions. The top two, Sue Novasel and Kenny Curtzwiler advanced into this week's election.

With just 13 votes separating two candidates and deciding who will be on the South Lake Tahoe City Council, thousands of uncounted absentee and provisional ballots could actually change the outcome.

El Dorado County election officials told South Tahoe Now today that an estimated 12,000 absentee ballots and 1,000 provisional ballots may take until Thanksgiving to count. By law they have 18 days to certify the election and all votes must be counted by then.

Dear Voters,

Today is the day you shape our City’s future. With your vote, choosing three members for our city council, you will speak on issues from economic development and the environment to jobs and the way we care for families and children. You have seven candidates to choose from, each proposing a path to move our City forward.

To the Community,

I offer a friendly challenge to my fellow city council candidates to make South Lake Tahoe a “Sign Free” zone this campaign season. Whether or not they take me up on the offer, I am forgoing them and focusing my energy instead in walking neighborhoods and listening to what is on voters’ minds.

Seven candidates are vying for the three open seats on the South Lake Tahoe City Council in November. Incumbents Angela Swanson, Brooke Laine and Tom Davis are going up against Wendy David, Matt Palacio, Bruce Grego and Austin Sass.

With so many candidates to choose from it will be important come election day to vote for the three you feel can lead the City for the next four years.

"I call upon you to with every ounce of respect to please take your community's engagement to heart and hear their voices as their elected officials," said resident Jenna Palacio during the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday. "This is your opportunity for leadership."

Palacio was one of many who spoke in front of the Council and asked them to stay on their original track and keep the single use plastic bag ban in place.

After lengthy debate during Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, a 3-2 vote changed the direction of the second phase of the plastic bag ban.

In January, 2014, a ban on single use bags was implemented for all grocery stores and food vendors in the city limits. That portion of the ban has not changed. What has changed is the second phase which was going to expand the ban to retail stores starting on October 15, 2014.

It may be a couple of weeks until all of the votes are counted for the June 3rd primary, and by the end of it all we may see a different outcome from the one seen Tuesday.

Sue Novasel and Kevin Brown were in the lead after Tuesday's election for the District 5 seat on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. Novasel came out on top with Brown coming in second and with the top two vote getters proceeding to the November runoff most assumed it would be those two names they'd see on the ballot.

There are several choices for South Lake Tahoe voters in Tuesday's primary election.

Local Issues and Offices
El Dorado County Supervisor: Kevin Brown, Kenny Curtzwiler, Gerri Grego, Sue Novasel, Teresa Piper, Angela Swanson

Assessor - Karl Weiland

Auditor/Controller - Michael Owens, Joe Horn

District Attorney - Judson Henry, Vern Pierson

Recorder Clerk/Registrar of Voters - Chris Amaral, Bill Schultz

Sheriff - John D'Agostini

Surveyor - Rich Briner

Treasurer/Tax Collector - Ron Briggs, C.L. Raffety

The City of South Lake Tahoe issued a press release last week, inviting the public to a 9 a.m. ceremony on Monday morning to witness the long awaited removal of the fence at The Chateau Project near Stateline. Apparently the contractors on the project, SMC Contracting, had a different time frame in mind because when dignitaries, the press and the public showed up, the fence was already down.

The concrete barriers were all that remained along Highway 50, with some metal fencing and barriers remaining on the Stateline Avenue side.

South Lake Tahoe City Council members, City staff, project contractors and a few members of the public gathered Tuesday to celebrate the beginning of the Harrison Avenue Project.

City Council members Tom Davis, Angela Swanson and JoAnn Connor joined Mayor Hal Cole, City Manager Nancy Kerry, Police Chief Brian Uhler, Fire Chief Jeff Meston, Public Works Director Jim Marino and Mitch Grayson of Sierra Nevada Construction, the project's contractor.

The deadline to turn in all required paperwork in the El Dorado County Supervisor race for District 5 is Friday, March 7 at 5 p.m. So far six candidates have provided their "SOQ" Statement of Qualifications. A seventh candidate, Michelle Sweeney, has taken out papers and may still turn them in before Friday's deadline.

Paid parking remains a hot topic in the city which was proven by the packed house at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. On the agenda was discussion and possible action on an initiative to prohibit paid parking on city streets.

Tahoe 4 Tahoe (T4T), a local group organized to fight paid parking, gathered more than the required signatures to get the initiative put on the ballot, but legal precedence and unforeseen consequences of the proposed initiative led the city council to vote unanimously to have a Fiscal Impact Report completed in the next 30 days.

South Lake Tahoe Councilwoman Angela Swanson has declared her candidacy for El Dorado County Supervisor District 5. "There is no better time to jump in," said Swanson of her announcement. "I am in the final year of my council term and will leave office having accomplished many of my goals and with an in-depth knowledge of the key issues affecting the district." Swanson cites economic redevelopment, smart growth and community investment as her top priorities along with building cohesiveness within the newly expanded district.

With a vote of 3 to 2 in favor, the City Council today voted to ban single use carry out plastic bags in the South Lake Tahoe city limits. This issue was passionately debated by council members and the 8 citizens that offered their comment during today's City Council meeting. The city council is expected to finalize the ordinance later this month. The ban will take effect in grocery stores and farmers markets three months after adoption and will apply to all retail establishments after one year. Pharmacies,restaurants, and non-profits are exempted.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council made its 2013 appointments to the Airport Land Use, Building/ADA Board of Appeals and Planning Commissions at Tuesday's meeting. Mayor Tom Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Hal Cole and Councilmember JoAnn Conner all voted with Councilmember Angela Swanson absent from today’s meeting.