Mendocino County Supervisor McCowen wins 2nd term

Mendocino County Supervisor John McCowen won a second term in office Tuesday.

"I am grateful to the voters for placing their trust in me during these challenging times," McCowen said.

With all precincts reporting, McCowen had 1,225 votes, or 68 percent of the vote. His challenger, Andrea Longoria, received 574 votes, or nearly 32 percent of the votes cast.

McCowen is a property owner and manager with a lengthy background in public service. He served on the Mendocino County Planning Commission and Ukiah City Council before being elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2008.

Longoria is a county substance abuse counselor and was a labor negotiator during bitter contract negotiations with the county.

She decided to run in part because she thought cuts made to employees' salaries in an effort to balance the county budget were unfair.

In two other uncontested races, 1st District incumbent Supervisor Carre Brown secured re-election and Fort Bragg City Councilman Dan Gjerde was elected to fill the seat of 4th District Supervisor Kendall Smith, who is set to step down at the end of her term in January.