Incumbents Horn and Roberts in the lead with 47% of the votes tallied

SAN DIEGO - Both incumbents vying to hold onto their seats on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors appear to have secured reelection tonight.

With 41 percent of the precincts counted, Supervisor Ron Roberts had 58.3 percent of the vote to American Red Cross spokesman Stephen Whitburn's 41.7 percent in the county's District 4.

With 47 percent of the precincts tallied in the county's District 5, Supervisor Bill Horn had 54.3 percent of the vote, compared to opponent Steve Gronke's 45.7 percent of the vote. Gronke is a member of the Vista City Council.

Horn and Roberts -- who sit on the board with Greg Cox, Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price -- are the first supervisors in 12 years to be forced into a runoff election. The board has remained unchanged since 1995.

Both incumbents point to the fiscal discipline exhibited by the board and county administrators, nothing that while San Diego County has reduced spending and laid off employees during the economic downturn, the cuts have not been as severe as those made by other government bodies.