Kinsey, Furst Ready For Election Night

Everything was pretty quiet at the Elections Office in the Marin County Civic Center on Tuesday afternoon, a lull before the end of a hard-fought contest.

Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey was in his office at the Civic Center following a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning. Kinsey was clearly focused on the work before him, but he took a few minutes to reflect on his re-election campaign and the night to come.

"I think the campaign went well," Kinsey said. "There are no knots in my stomach."

His challenger, Corte Madera Vice-Mayor Diane Furst, planned spend Tuesday rallying last-minute support for her bid to win the District 4 seat Kinsey has held for 16 years.

"It's been an exciting campaign, but I think I'm glad it's coming to an end," Furst said Monday. "We'll see how it goes."

"I'd like to thank Diane for stepping up," Kinsey said about Furst's decision to run for the Supervisor seat. "I think it's been a cleaner race than some in the past and a good race. I like campaigns, it gives me a chance to get my voice out to the public to explain what's going on.

Furst said she hoped her campaign helped "change the dialogue" around the county a bit about what's important. She pointed out topics that became lightning rods during the campaign: pension reform, transparency in government and environmental protection.

"There have been some important issues raised during the campaign and we'll continue to work on them," Kinsey said.

The Registrar of Voters received 35,000 ballots before Tuesday and several more were dropped off on Election Day morning. Polls are open until 8 p.m.