It's unofficially official!

The Rancho Santa Margarita City Council horse race is finally over, sixteen days after the election. While the Orange County Registrar of Voters won't finalize and certify the election results until closer to the end of the month, they reportedly only have three more ballots to count for RSM City Council. As of today, the newly elected City Council includes Jesse Petrilla, Steve Baric, and Gary Thompson.

After the first absentee ballots were counted on election night, the results favored Jesse Petrilla, Neil Blais, and Gary Thompson. Steve Baric was in fourth, in a race where the top three candidates are seated. By the end of the night, after the electronic ballots from all 31 precincts were counted, Gary Thompson had moved into second place, followed by Steve Baric, with Neil Blais in fourth.

Five days later, as more of the absentee ballots were counted, Baric moved into second, with Blais third, and Thompson fourth. Once the provisional ballots came into play, in another three days, Thompson moved to third and Blais was in fourth again.

Thompson's current margin over Blais is a mere 18 votes. Given the current counts, Neil Blais has officially conceded the election, and the City is looking forward to their next meeting in December, when the Council officially reorganizes.

Congratulations to the winners. What a horse race this has been!