Ferndale Council: Brent Chase Moves Into Second Place; School Bond Measure E Remains Close

FERNDALE, Humboldt County — November 4, 2026. The two-seat Ferndale City Council contest has changed standings as more election-night ballots arrived. Brent Chase passed Stephen Avis for second place in the final overnight batch, while the city’s school bond measure remained close to its required approval threshold.

Ferndale Council: lead changed

According to the last election-night Humboldt County tally reported by Redheaded Blackbelt, Jennifer Fisk-Becker led with 296 votes. Chase moved to 159 votes, ahead of Avis on 140. Earlier reports had Avis in second place. With two seats available, the margin for the second position is 19 votes in this snapshot.

School district Measure E

Ferndale Unified School District’s Measure E, a school facilities bond, had 370 yes votes and 305 no votes, giving it 54.81% yes in Humboldt’s last overnight report. This is just below the measure’s reported 55% supermajority threshold. The count must be certified before any adoption or defeat is declared.

Fire district Measure F

The separate Ferndale Fire Protection District special-tax Measure F had 425 yes and 191 no votes, about 68.99% support in Humboldt’s overnight count. School facilities and fire services are different ballot jurisdictions with different rules; percentages should not be conflated.

The Humboldt County Office of Elections will continue to count eligible ballots and certify the results. Council candidate rankings and both measures remain unofficial.

Source snapshot: Nov. 4 at 12:53 a.m. local reporting; no final winners declared.

YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER NEEDS YOU

Help this community newspaper grow

Your support helps build coverage for the people and places this local newspaper serves.

Donate once by card ↗

Help Ferndale News grow Help strengthen reporting on Ferndale: community voices, important decisions and local life.

Support Ferndale News

Choose how to support Ferndale News:

Credit / Debit Card via Stripe

Choose an amount from $1. One-time support through the publisher's LINKERNO Stripe account.

Continue with PayPal Continue with Zelle

Zelle payments go to Vitaly Ataev Troshin. Please verify the recipient in your bank before sending. Availability depends on your bank.

Optional reader support. When possible, add “Ferndale News” to the payment note. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible. Support does not influence editorial decisions.

Optional support through the publisher. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible and never buy editorial influence.

Ferndale News — Your Community Newspaper

Have a correction, news tip, local announcement, or story to submit? Contact our editorial team. All submissions are reviewed before publication.