Shari Friedenrich was in the lead to keep her job as the Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector as of 8 pm Tuesday, with over 73% of the vote compared to county staffer Dana Schultz in second place with nearly 27% of the vote.
So far, over 335,00 votes have been tallied.
It’s the first time in over a decade that voters have had a choice on who their next treasurer would be after Freidenrich ran unopposed in every election since 2010.
Schultz was Freidenrich’s number two at the treasurer’s office, who Freidenrich attempted to fire after she announced she was running for her seat.
[Read: OC Treasurer Tries to Fire Deputy After She Pulls Papers to Run For Her Seat]
While the treasurer’s office rarely gets public attention, that’s changed over the past two years after county supervisors opted to take the county’s $16 billion investment fund away from Freidenrich and oversee it themselves.
The supervisors do have the authority to decide who invests the fund, but Orange County is the only county in the state to not allow the treasurer to manage those funds.
Schultz said Freidenrich has poor staff management skills, pointing to her own experience and county reports that highlighted high turnover in the treasurer’s office.
Meanwhile, Freidenrich points to her record of returns on investments as one of the most successful treasurers in the state.
[Read: Santana: Who Should Be Managing OC’s $16 Billion Investment Pool?]
Currently, Schultz is managing the fund as a staff member of the county CEO’s office.
