Several of the contests that will determine who runs the city of Orange remained difficult to call on Friday, as the Orange County Registrar of Voters continues counting thousands of ballots that were dropped off or mailed on or just before Tuesday’s election.

The office of mayor and four council seats were on the ballot. The council races in districts 1 and 3 appeared decisive, with councilwomen Arianna Barrios (District 1) and Kathy Tavoularis (District 3) holding comfortable leads over their respective opponents in reelection bids.

The District 4 race was a bit closer. Orange County Water District Director Denis Bilodeau was leading two opponents, small business owner Chris Horton and assistant manager John Newman, by a little more than 1,000 votes after Friday’s vote count update. And in District 6, also a three-person contest, the race was tighter still, with roughly 500 votes between leader John Gyllenhammer, a regional director, and principal planner Adrienne Gladson; supply chain senior director Brian Harrington was a distant third.

The mayor’s race was closest of all, with about 260 votes between Mayor Mark Murphy and his challenger, real estate broker Dan Slater.

Slater this week said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the narrow lead initial vote counts put him in, crediting his stances on issues that matter most to voters resonated with them, including on topics such as homelessness and safety.

“I think our message was received well and heard by the voters, so that’s why I think we’re doing so well in a year where it’s much more difficult to challenge an incumbent,” Slater said.

Murphy could not be reached for comment.

On Friday evening, about 306,000 ballots countywide remained to be processed. The Orange County Registrar of Voters will continue counting ballots and posting updates at 5 p.m. every weekday until finished.

Staff Writer Tess Sheets contributed to this report.

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