Planning Commission Chairwoman Nancy McDermid - a resident of Carson Valley - soundly defeated challenger Janet Murphy, who lives at Lake Tahoe, for the County Commissioner District 4 seat, which encompasses the lake portion of Douglas County.
McDermid, a Republican, will face Democrat Greta Hamsch in the November general election. McDermid received 3,834 votes, or 60.14 percent to Murphy's 2,541 votes or 39.86 percent. Ballots for commissioners are cast countywide in Douglas County and not by district.
"I'm very grateful," McDermid said of her victory. "I've had a lot of help and a lot of support. I congratulate Janet on running a good race. There was no negativism. We focused on the issues and not the personalities. Our race was different than other races."
McDermid was a resident of Lake Tahoe for 21 years before she and her husband moved to Carson Valley in 2000. McDermid and her husband, who formerly owned Holiday Inn Express in South Lake Tahoe, have development and lodging interests in Carson Valley and in El Dorado Hills.
Eight years ago the District 4 boundaries were changed from being a Lake Tahoe only district of Douglas County to a district with portions of west Carson Valley including the town of Genoa.
Since then there has been a concern among some Tahoe voters that the lake no longer has a representative on Douglas County's five-member commission.
The winner of the November election will replace Genoa resident Tim Smith who announced last year he would not run for another term. Smith held the commission seat for one term.
Murphy, a lake resident and the Tahoe Douglas Utility District administrator for 14 years, offered congratulations to McDermid. She said McDermid's victory makes it "very clear" that the majority of voters in Douglas County don't want a representative from Lake Tahoe on the commission.
"It's clear that the message from the rest of the county voters is that they don't want a Lake representative," Murphy said.
"The majority of the votes are in the Valley. That clearly reflects that they do not want a Lake representative, which is a shame because the lake area has generated more revenues - property tax, room tax, etc., that have supported the Valley for many, many years. That is a fact."
Murphy said she was grateful for the support she got, especially among Lake Tahoe voters.
"To those who voted for and who supported me and put up with all my signs, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart," she said.
