Mark Lunn Elections for the Ventura County clerk and recorder’s office are seldom lively, but this year might have been the exception as two East County contenders vetted their personal issues in front of voters, trying to gain an advantage.

Each candidate spent about $200,000 to get their message across, but in the end Mark Lunn, chief of staff for Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy, prevailed with a 7 percent margin against Simi Valley resident Jim Dantona in Tuesday’s election.

As of Wednesday morning, Lunn collected almost 50,000 votes (53 percent) while Dantona finished with 43,400 (46 percent).

The clerk-recorder maintains public records, such as birth certificates, marriage licenses and business permits, and heads up the county’s elections division, which is responsible for fair elections and timely results.

Dantona, 61, is president of Governmental Impact, a legislative consulting firm in Simi Valley. He ran unsuccessfully against Foy in 2006 and lost a bid for state Assembly in 1996.

Lunn, 56, is a former chief for the California Highway Patrol and a member of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission.

“I’m honored to serve, and I’m happy that the voters showed their support for the campaign,” Lunn said.

Lunn is scheduled to take office in January, but he could be appointed sooner if the board of supervisors chooses to do so because interim clerk-recorder James Becker, who replaced Phil Schmit after he retired in 2009, currently occupies the position.

Lunn said his first priority will be to meet with employees in the county clerk’s office to get acquainted with them and to share his expectations.

If appointed early, he also plans to make sure that workers are trained to operate a new set of voting machines, which will count ballots and verify signatures in the November general election.

Lunn said his goal will be to make sure services are delivered as effectively as possible and make sure there’s no possibility of voter fraud.

“Voter fraud is rampant in California, so my assumption is that there is some of that here, and we will look at that. Having a law enforcement background will help me to do this,” he said.

Lunn said he also plans to work with other organizations, such as the real estate industry, to keep vital records secure and eliminate identity theft.

“We want to lead in the effort to get rid of identity theft fraud,” he said.

Dantona, who expressed disappointment about losing, said the race was challenging because few people understand what a county clerk does.

“I hope Lunn will reach out to the whole county to educate people on what the clerk’s office is all about. It’s a pretty important position that oversees elections,” Dantona said.

Concerning campaign tactics, both candidates said they were disheartening.

Dantona said that Lunn initiated the mudslinging when he introduced personal finances as an issue.

Lunn said Dantona ran a campaign of misinformation because he alleged that voting machines in Ventura County have a 50 percent failure rate, which is false.

As far as future political plans go, Dantona said he doesn’t have any right now, but didn’t rule out the possibility that he may run for another post in the future.