RIPON – Leo Zuber was pleased with the early election results Tuesday for the Ripon City Council race.

The retired superintendent of the Ripon Unified School District was the second leading vote-getter for three available seats, trailing incumbent Mayor Elden ‘Red’ Nutt by about 259 votes.

Nutt tallied 2,301 compared to that of Zuber’s 2,042.

“It’s nice where we’re at (in the second spot),” said Zuber, who spent most of the evening keeping close tabs on the election during a get-together held at the home of Mike Fisher.

The third seat up for grabs was a tight race involving Jake Parks, Scott Lindsay and incumbent Garry Krebbs.

Parks, who is the co-founder of Jake’s Coffee, Tea and Sandwiches, had 1,785 votes.

Lindsay recently retired from the Ripon Police Department while pulling in 1,611 votes.

Krebbs, who is currently Ripon’s vice mayor, racked up 1,496 votes.

Charlie Gay, a fellow incumbent, collected 1,349 votes.

Robbie Orlando, who is involved in youth sports, had 819 votes.

If those numbers hold up, Nutt would be the only one of the three incumbents to have a successful re-election campaign.

He’s served on the council for six years. Nutt, who is a retired police chief – he worked for the Ripon Police Department for 26 years, from 1964 to 1990 – has called Ripon his home for the past 49 years and prides himself on being open, honest and with no hidden agendas while listing public safety and fiscal responsibility among his priorities.

Zuber has 20 years of experience with the Ripon Chamber of Commerce. He first came here in 1979 as a school principal and has been a resident of Ripon for the past 34 years.

“I cherish this town and everything it has to offer,” Zuber recently said. “I want to preserve and protect that (if elected).”