Mattock, Crumply win EDHCSD seats

Noelle Mattock and Terry Crumpley survived a polite but crowded contest for the two El Dorado Hills Community Services District board seats contested on Nov. 6.

With all precincts reporting, the county Elections Department’s “Semi-official election night final report” had Crumpley in first place with 4,441 votes or 21.27 percent; followed by Mattock’s 4,382 votes or 20.98 percent; Chuck Hammond’s 3,822 votes or 18.3 percent; Guy Gertsch’s 3,064 votes or 14.67 percent; Don Clark’s 2,847 votes or 13.63 percent; and Bill Tobin’s 2,250 votes or 10.77 percent.

The race pitted two confident incumbents determined to overcome a contentious and ultimately litigious firing of former General Manager John Skeel against four strong challengers with long and varied public service resumes.

Incumbents Gertsch and Mattock boasted a strong record of park projects and a financial turnaround in the face of unprecedented revenue shortfalls. Challenger Crumpley had no prior elected experience. She entered the race as the first candidate for local office to overtly tout a Tea Party affiliation, but had little name recognition outside Tea Party circles.

Crumpley said she expected to be neck and neck, at best, with her fellow challengers, especially Bill Tobin. She was genuinely sad when Gertsch conceded in an emotional text message.

“I would like to congratulate Noelle Mattock and Terry Crumpley on their victory in the El Dorado Hills CSD race this evening. They will both serve our community well over the next four years,” Gertsch stated in a press release. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the El Dorado Hills community over the past four years. We have an amazing community with great opportunities for the future.”

Mattock also acknowledged the depth of the field and said she hopes the challengers remain active in the CSD.

Money doesn’t appear to be a huge factor in either victor’s success. Both reported raising roughly $3,000. Crumpley also loaned herself $1,200, she said.