Change on the way for Yuba supervisors?

The makeup of the Yuba County Board of Supervisors could change dramatically by the time a newly elected board member is sworn into office in January.

Two races could be behind the change.

The first is the addition of Roger Abe, a lawyer and walnut farmer from Wheatland. Abe captured about 70 percent of the vote in ousting three-term incumbent Don Schrader during Tuesday's race to represent District 4.

The second race involves Supervisor Dan Logue, who could be off to Sacramento to represent District 3 in the state Assembly after winning the Republican nomination over Nevada County Supervisor Sue Horne.

In a largely Republican district, Logue faces Mike "Mickey" Harrington, a Democrat from Magalia. District 3 represents Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra and Yuba counties and most of Butte County.

If Logue is elected in November, a new supervisor will be appointed by the governor's office to fill out the remaining two years of his term, said Donna Hillegass, Yuba County chief deputy clerk registrar of voters.

These two additions could change not only the face, but also the direction, of Yuba County's elected board.

Supervisor Mary Jane Griego said any change on the board is an adjustment, but noted she and Supervisor Hal Stocker have been in the minority for the last four years.

Griego and Stocker were the two supervisors who voted against the controversial Yuba Highlands planned community, both when the project was presented and again when enough signatures were collected by county residents to put the issue on the November 2007 ballot.

Both supervisors said the community was poorly planned.

"Sometimes change is good," Griego said.

Griego's and Stocker's "constituents have supported our cause and they believe in us. If you look at us as a whole, we could be in the majority," Griego said.

Griego, who won re-election Tuesday over two challengers, said she is hopeful the next four years will be productive.

Of the 26,731 registered voters in Yuba County, only 5,248, or 19.63 percent, of voters cast ballots.

All vote tallies are unofficial until an election canvass is approved by the Board of Supervisors by July 1.

Supervisor John Nicoletti said as far as the local board is concerned, Abe has some big shoes to fill as Schrader's replacement.

"Don brought a lot of money, programs and services to Yuba County," he said.

Nicoletti, who handily won re-election Tuesday, said Abe's success will depend upon his decisions concerning what kind of supervisor he wants to be.

"Whether Roger is a puppet (to Stocker), an independent thinker or if he wants to be an individual contributor to the county, that's the first thing he's going to have to overcome," Nicoletti said.

Nicoletti said that regardless of how the campaigns were run, he's hopeful all supervisors will focus on serving the community and not attack one another.

Stocker helped Abe campaign with donated funds as well as distributed mailers to District 4 voters through the "No on N" group that was formed to oppose Yuba Highlands and support Abe.

Schrader was not pleased with Stocker's involvement and campaign tactics.

Schrader filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission May 29 against Stocker claiming the District 5 supervisor distributed a mailer in favor of Abe without identifying who had sent it.

Stocker said he did mark the envelope the mailer was delivered in with a return address to the "No on N" campaign.

Stocker could not be reached for additional comment Wednesday afternoon.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Andrea Koskey at 749-4709 or akoskey@appealdemocrat.com