Proposition 1 was clinging to a narrow lead on the heels of Tuesday’s election night returns, with “yes” votes outnumbering “no” votes by only 141.

Following Wednesday’s count — with another 1,557 ballots tabulated — that lead had jumped to 330 votes, clinching what would appear to be the renewal of the Land Bank’s 1 percent tax on local real estate sales, its principal source of funding, for another 12 years.

According to San Juan County Elections, roughly 700 ballots remain to be counted. Those ballots will be tabulated and results released Nov. 14.

While Prop. 1 appears headed for approval, results of Nov. 8 election differ greatly from two previous elections involving the Land Bank and its real estate excise tax, known also as REET. In 1990, the year local voters created the publicly owned land conservation agency and its chief funding tool, and again in 1999, the first time the REET went before voters for renewal, support for each measure exceeded 70 percent.

As of Wednesday, “yes” votes for Prop.1 outnumber “no” votes 3,764 to 3,434, about 52.3 percent of 7,337 ballots cast. Voter turnout for the Nov. 8 election is expected to reach 64 percent, with 11,573 voters countywide.

In other contested races…

As of Wednesday, San Juan Island’s Mary Jean Cahail, Maureen See and Gordy Petersen are the top voter-getters in the race for three spots on the Charter Review Commission of District 1, South San Juan.

With 545 votes, Petersen, a former freeholder, the citizen panel that crafted the county’s Home Rule charter, had a lead of nearly 100 votes over George Johnson, former freeholder chairman and the next closest candidate in the eight-person race, who collected 447 votes.

As of Wednesday’s count, Janice Peterson, Ron Zee and Bob Levinson each gained what would appear an insurmountable lead in a nine-way race for the four slots allotted to District 2, North San Juan, on the charter review commission. Neck-and-neck for the fourth and final position, only three votes separate Bill Watson and John Manning, 479 and 476, respectively.

— Scott Rasmussen