Reynolds’ lead shrinks, but vote tally near certification

The close race between Joe Reynolds and Jim Hawkes for county assessor became even closer Friday after another 4,058 ballots were counted by the county elections staffers Friday afternoon. Reynolds, who led by 252 votes after the election night count, now leads by 152 ballots.

Hawkes, chief appraiser on the assessor’s staff, picked up the 100 votes in the added count Friday. The elections staff now has only about 600 more votes to tally when the last count is made before the Nov. 25 certification date for the election.

The Reynolds-Hawkes race is believed to be the closest between two candidat...