City Council: 2 seats appear locked

The Orland City Council race had a field of five current or past council members and few controversial issues.

As a result, incumbents Bruce Roundy and Jim Paschall seemed to have a lock on their seats as of 10:03 p.m. Tuesday night with the early ballot count.

Roundy was leading with 509 votes or 25.32 percent while Paschall had 434 votes or 21.59 percent.

However, hundreds of absentee ballots were turned into the polls on election day which could not be counted until today.

Veteran councilman Mike Yalow had 287 votes or 14.28 percent for fourth place.

Former Council members Salina Edwards and Marjorie Palmer had 409 and 371 votes, respectively in the early count for 20.35 and 18.46 percent.

Roundy has been on the council six years having been appointed in 2006 to fill an unexpired term and then getting elected in 2008 for four years.

He is active in the League of California Cities serving on committees of the statewide organization while lobbying for the interests of smaller cities in Northern California, he said.

Roundy also is involved with the Glenn County Resource Conservation District and numerous community organizations.

As a retired educator, he remains pro-active on economic development and other issues, he said, in a profile interview, and he predicted there was a good chance he would win based on feedback from people in the community.

Paschall also recently served a four-year term after being on the council 20 plus years ago.

He ran because he wanted to complete some projects and it appears he may be able to do that if the later results hold.

Yalow currently serves on the city's Economic Development Commission and also is a board member on the Resource Conservation District.

He served eight years on the council before losing a re-election bid in 2008 because of what he says was misinformation put out during a failed council recall in 2007 because the council disbanded the city's planning commission.

Edwards served four years earlier in the decade and said she wanted to work at it again a second time because of her love for the town.

Palmer also said she wanted to help the city prosper by running a second time.

But she found herself targeted by critics for a lawsuit against Orland in 2001 over a low-income apartment complex for farm workers, which she reportedly opposed.

Palmer declined to comment on the suit which was settled for around $230,000, according to settlement documents recently released by Orland officials.

She also was accused by neighbors of trapping pet cats near her home or rental properties. A charge she also denied.

City Clerk Angela Crook and Treasurer Pamela Otterson were unopposed in their bids for re-election and will retain their seats for another four years.