Yes, voters, you are being asked to head to the ballots once again on Jan. 4 for a Special General Election, in which Ted Gaines (R) and Ken Cooley (D) square off for the final decision on who will take over the State Senate District 1 seat.

In November, Cooley and Gaines staved off challenges from Republicans Barbara Alby and Roger Niello in order to make it the January runoff. Mono County residents would have put Cooley into office in November if the choice had solely been up to them. Cooley received 1,779 votes and Gaines received 1,348 in the county; however, there were 1,011 votes between Alby and Niello that are now up for grabs between Cooley and Gaines.

District 1 stretches from the Oregon border on the north, to Mammoth Lakes on the south, and includes approximately 850,000 residents. The winner of the election on Jan. 4 will step in and take over for Senator Dave Cox (R), who passed away on July 13, 2010, and had held the seat since 2004.

Mono County District 2 Supervisor Hap Hazard was recently in Sacramento for a round of meetings, and while there met with both candidates. He did not endorse either one, but during his Board reports on Dec. 21, Hazard said that he thinks the interests of the district would be well served by whoever wins the seat.

Gaines, a staunch “grass roots”-style conservative, is a small business owner and 5th generation resident of Roseville, and currently serves as 4th District Assemblyman. Hazard described Cooley as a well-spoken, intelligent candidate, fiscally fairly conservative and with a background that includes private sector business experience. Cooley is currently Mayor of Rancho Cordova, where he has served on the City Council since he was elected in 2002.

According to a Dec. 30 report in the Sacramento Bee, GOP voters have an 11-point registration advantage over Democrats in District 1, which gives the Republican, Gaines, 52, an “indisputable leg up” over his Democratic rival Cooley, 57. But 18 percent of the district’s voters are nonpartisan and Cooley could benefit from Gaines coming under attack by his GOP rivals during the November primary fight.

To learn more about Ken Cooley visit, http://www.kencooley.com/

To learn more about Ted Gaines, visit http://www.tedgaines.com/