As he prepares to take office this week, the first decision facing Modesto City Councilman-elect John Gunderson is whether to resign from the Stanislaus Union School District board.

RoseLee Hurst won the tied Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District board seat after Laura Elkinton called "tails" and the quarter coin landed on "heads" at the Monday meeting, Superintendent Ed Felt said.

Amy Neumann will take the third seat on the Modesto City Schools Board next month.

Substitute teacher John Gunderson gained a Modesto City Council seat this month, and a steady paycheck. He still sits on the Stanislaus Union School District board, where trustees get health benefits.

Two candidates who tied in the Newman school board election could decide the matter Monday by drawing lots. The race between Roselee Hurst and Laura Elkinton was the only one left unsettled in final results released Friday by the Stanislaus County elections office.

Todd Aaronson conceded Friday to Modesto Councilman Dave Lopez; no leads changed in major races throughout Stanislaus County as election workers nearly completed counting 15,000 ballots that could not be processed Tuesday.

The races for the Modesto City Schools board and Sylvan Union board are too close to call and will remain in limbo possibly into next week, Stanislaus County's top election official said Wednesday.

More than 15,000 ballots remain to be counted from Tuesday's election, leaving murky the outcomes of a few races throughout Stanislaus County.

More than 15,000 ballots remain to be counted from Tuesday’s election, leaving murky the outcomes of a few races throughout Stanislaus County, Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan said today. Todd Aaronson remains hopeful that he can overcome a 184-vote deficit to Modesto Councilman Dave Lopez, while Lopez says he’s far enough ahead to claim victory.

Modesto City Councilman Dave Lopez may be headed toward a second term with a small lead over three rivals in a contentious race for District 3.

Modesto councilmen Garrad Marsh and Brad Hawn will face one another in a runoff election in February. Marsh led the pack in Tuesday's election to succeed Mayor Jim Ridenour, but he didn't get the majority needed to be elected outright.

Modesto voters Tuesday were strongly supporting three nonbinding advisory measures that aim at reforming city pensions.

Incumbent Steve Grenbeaux and political newcomer Cathy Flores Hallinan appeared to have won the Modesto City Schools board election. Amy Neumann held a slim lead over Solange Altman in a close race for the third seat.

Appointed incumbent Stephanie Burnside will keep her District 5 seat on the Modesto City Council, and will be joined by John Gunderson, representing District 1, and Dave Cogdill, Jr. in the District 6 seat.

Newcomers Larry Byrd and Nick C. Blom won seats on the Modesto Irrigation District board Tuesday night, while Michael Frantz kept his seat in the Turlock Irrigation District.

CERES — One incumbent led on election night among four candidates vying for two seats on the City Council, while another incumbent was ousted.

OAKDALE — It appears residents are willing to pay a bit more in taxes for city services.

Voters on Tuesday picked candidates in several Stanislaus County school districts.

Kim Spina appeared well in the lead Tuesday night for the Stanislaus County Board of Education District 3 seat.

Election Day is seldom associated with raging hormones. But three professors from Israel, where all politics is vocal, suggest that the very act of voting generates stress levels that could affect the outcome.

An assortment of city, school board and district elections will be decided Tuesday when people cast their ballots in Stanislaus County. Voter participation in odd-year elections tends to be disappointing, but certain issues seem to have generated interest in some local races.

A school board candidate's conservative view about homosexuality was the focal point for two opposing groups who waved picket and campaign signs Saturday afternoon during a demonstration at Modesto's Five Points intersection.

Signs for many Modesto City Schools board candidates are being ripped down this year, said Modesto Teachers Association President Dana Filippi. Filippi estimated the union lost 25 of its signs, valued at $50 each.

Facebook posts are flying on Mylinda Mason’s Modesto City Schools campaign page following her post on a community site angrily denouncing “homosexuals and other liberals” that she believes tore down her campaign signs.

The costs of public service pensions are a burden for taxpayers in California, and a personal issue for employees who rely on those benefits. A political flier mailed last month injected raw emotion into the debate raging over three pension advisory measures in Modesto.