Poll workers in Friendly Valley, where the only item on the ballot was the Sulphur Springs school board, await the rush that hadn’t come by 7 p.m.

With the absentee and election-day votes tabulated, it appears all incumbents will hold onto their school and water board seats except in the Sulphur Springs Union School District, where challenger Ken Chase has ousted incumbent Michael Hogan.

Up for grabs Tuesday were three seats each on the Sulphur Springs, Saugus and Newhall school boards, as well as the Newhall County Water District.

In Saugus, incumbent Doug Bryce keeps his seat by a razor-thin margin of 19.43 percent (1,678 votes) over challenger Chris Trunkey, who came in with 18.86 percent (1.629 votes).

Saugus arguably saw the hardest-fought campaign, as Bryce, along with Judy Umeck and Paul De La Cerda, sought another term following a turbulent year in which the board vacated the seat of school board member Stephen S. Winkler.

Winkler’s seat wasn’t up for election Tuesday, but his presence was felt in the campaign. Two years earlier, Winkler ousted longtime board member Rose Diaz, who blamed herself for a lack of aggressive campaigning. This year’s slate of Saugus incumbents got the message and campaigned hard. The effort appears to have paid off for them.

Umeck and De La Cerda keep their seats, as do incumbents Christy Smith, Phil Ellis and Brian Walters in Newhall.

In Sulphur Springs, challenger Chase finished in first place, ahead of appointed incumbent Lori MacDonald and longtime trustee Kerry Clegg, who return to the board.

In the Newhall County Water District, newcomer Carl Puckett finished just 42 votes behind second-termer Kathy Colley, who keeps her seat along with Maria Gutzeit and B.J. Atkins, who finished first and second, respectively.