Espinoza leads for auditor-controller
Early results Tuesday in the auditor-controller-county clerk-registrar of voters race showed Aimee Espinoza leading over opponent Mark McKenzie with 61.71 percent of the votes.
Espinoza, the No. 2 in the office, said many votes still must be counted, citing 181 precincts of 569 reported their data as of 8:16 p.m. Tuesday. However, she added voters are making the right choice. McKenzie, a local businessman who garnered 38.29 percent of the votes in the early returns, did not respond to two phone calls before The Californian’s print deadline.
McKenzie is founder and CEO of Trestles Construction Solutions LLC and senior vice president at The Industrial Co. Espinoza works under current auditor-controller-county clerk-registrar of voters Mary Bedard.
McKenzie, 65, said he sought to run after leading a group of observers watching poll workers process ballots during Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recall election. While he didn’t see evidence of fraud, McKenzie previously told The Californian he saw “certainly a lot of opportunity for fraud.” Espinoza, 45, said previously there is no evidence of fraud, but certainly the elections office could improve processes to ensure transparency and efficiency.
Auditor-controller is the chief fiscal officer in Kern County, and provides accounting, payroll and auditing to county departments. The county clerk is in charge of issuing marriage licenses, registering notaries and processing other legal documentation. The registrar of voters oversees county elections and is responsible for voter registration.