Mensinger, Monahan and Genis leading
As of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Costa Mesa Councilmen Steve Mensinger and Gary Monahan and former Mayor Sandra Genis were the top three vote-getters among the reported mail-in ballots and early returns, according to Orange County Registrar of Voters data.
Mensinger had 4,976 (17.1%) votes, Genis 4,930(16.9%) and Monahan, 4,845 (16.6%).
Planning Commission Chairman Colin McCarthy, who has campaigned alongside Mensinger and Monahan as the “3Ms” slate, was coming in fourth. Attorney John Stephens was a point behind McCarthy.
Three seats are up for grabs for the five-member council.
Coming in fifth and sixth, respectively, were attorney John Stephens with 4,180 votes and businessman Harold Weitzberg with 3,569 votes. Genis, Stephens and Weitzberg have campaigned together as the “Top 3” slate to reflect their randomly selected status at the top of the ballot.
Retired certified public accountant Al Melone had 1,182 votes and James Rader 628. The two have not actively campaigned.
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