As election night came to a close, it looked like 1st District incumbent Jimmy Smith defeated contender John Vevoda by a safe margin.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Smith won with 71.70 percent to Vevoda’s 28.19 percent.

Smith camped out at the Humboldt County Elections Office with his wife Jacque while the numbers trickled in throughout the night.

Contacted before final results, Smith didn’t want to comment on the conclusion of the race until it was over, but he did share his appreciation for how engaged people are in the neighborhoods of the 1st District.

“They’re the ones that do the day-to-day and make it work,” he said. “I’m just glad to be a part of the team.”

Vevoda spent election night with friends at his campaign manager’s home waiting for the results to come in.

Earlier in the night, Vevoda said he hoped he made a difference.

“I feel confident I did the best job I could,” he said.

After the results showed about a 40 percent margin in favor of Smith, Patricia Welch, spokeswoman for Vevoda’s campaign, congratulated Smith, even though she said she felt she represented a better candidate.

“We ran a positive campaign,” she said. “It’s really hard to run against an incumbent. I think we did very well.”

Of all the Humboldt County Board of Supervisor races, the 1st District results poured in the quickest. The district spans an area that includes southern Eureka, Cutten, Petrolia and Ferndale.

The battle between the fisherman-turned-supervisor and the dairy farmer shooting for political office produced little, if any, mudslinging.

Both candidates hosting fundraisers here and there, and made an appearance on KEET-TV during the 1st District debate in early May.

Smith gathered $41,183 in contributions and spent $49,000 since the start of his campaign — leaving him with $11,000 in cash, according to campaign contribution statements.

Vevoda racked in $21,300 in cash, $1,763 in non-monetary gifts and took out a $2,050 loan this cycle.

Smith, who will be moving on to his third term as a supervisor, will tackle many issues that he expressed were important in a previous interview with The Eureka Reporter.

He spoke of issues of connectivity in his district, roads that require constant maintenance due to slides and other weather issues.

He also spoke of the importance of fighting methamphetamine in the community, and how he spent much of his time working toward prevention, education and eradication of the drug.

In terms of the Humboldt County General Plan Update, something all the supervisors will have to tackle in the years to come, Smith said he wants to have as much input into the process as possible.

On election night, Smith couldn’t stop praising the people in his district.

“We’ve worked with some wonderful people in our district,” he said, “and we appreciate them.”