James Gore, David Rabbitt re-elected to Sonoma County Board of Supervisors; Jill Ravitch cruises to another term as DA

Three Sonoma County incumbents running unopposed were re-elected Tuesday and a fourth who faced only nominal opposition cruised to victory.

Supervisors James Gore and David Rabbitt, each unopposed, secured second and third terms, respectively. Initial results Tuesday evening showed Gore had received about 7,300 votes to continue representing the county’s northern 4th District on the Board of Supervisors, with 58 of 92 precincts reporting.

Rabbitt had earned more than 7,800 votes to keep his seat representing the southern 2nd District, with 29 of 65 precincts reporting.

For Gore, it was a stark contrast to his initial campaign in 2014, when he prevailed over the top vote-getter in the primary, Windsor Councilwoman Deb Fudge, winning 58.3 percent of the vote in the November runoff.

With no rival in the primary, Gore stayed home Tuesday night, reflecting on the results while sitting at home on the couch with his young son. Recovery from October’s devastating wildfires remains his top priority.

“The reason I’m running unopposed is because we’ve gone through hell and back, and we are in a moment of urgency,” Gore said. “If I hold my foot off the gas or pump the brakes, then I don’t deserve this opportunity.”

District Attorney Jill Ravitch, meanwhile, was on track to secure a third term as the county’s top prosecutor, with more than 76 percent of the vote cast for her based on early returns. The other candidate in the race, local criminal defense attorney Scott Murray, had bowed out of the race in March. He still received nearly 24 percent of the early vote tally.

Murray said in march he decided to step aside after having lunch with Ravitch and discussing issues that had prompted him to run in the first place, including the way young people are treated by the criminal justice system.

Also unopposed on Tuesday’s ballot was Erick Roeser, who sought approval from voters to continue as the county’s Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector. The Board of Supervisors promoted him to the role one year ago after his predecessor, Donna Dunk, retired.

Dunk was also appointed by supervisors to the role after David Sundstrom retired less than halfway through his term. Roeser has indicated he would plan to serve at least a full term. He received about 35,000 votes in Tuesday’s initial returns.

You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @thejdmorris.