Schenk-Jarvis Race Goes Down to Wire in 49th : County: Jacob appears to be victor over Doyle; McCarty-Slater vote close.

Dianne Jacob, who challenged Santee Mayor Jack Doyle in an aggressive and sometimes bitter campaign, appeared headed to an overwhelming victory Tuesday night for one of two seats on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Jacob looked like an easy winner for the District 2 post being vacated by her former boss, retiring board chairman George Bailey. A 17-year member of the Jamul-Dulzura School Board, Jacob clung to the mantle of “fiscal conservative” and accused Doyle of being the opposite.

“It looks great. I feel great,” Jacob said. “I think what the voters have demonstrated in the 2nd District is that I am their clear choice for change in county government. Can a school board member from Jamul be elected county supervisor? The answer is, obviously!”

The outcome of the District 3 race between San Diego City Councilwoman Judy McCarty and Encinitas Councilwoman Pam Slater was still in doubt late Tuesday. At 11 p.m., Slater clung to a slight lead that appeared to be widening.

Sharp differences existed in both races, where the pro-environmental Slater challenged pro-business McCarty, and Doyle challenged Jacob, a seven-year aide to the outgoing Bailey, as if she were part of the status quo.

The McCarty-Slater race was surprisingly tame, compared to the climate of charges and counter-charges in the Doyle-Jacob race, especially near the end.

Although both races were nonpartisan, the latter contest paired a Democrat (Doyle) against a Republican (Jacob) and took on some of the same fierce overtones as the San Diego mayoral race between Susan Golding and Peter Navarro.

In the closing days, as Doyle sought to paint Jacob as the tool of the retiring incumbent, she accused him of conflicts of interest, one being his role in pushing for a city-financed, interest-free loan to a developer that later became one of his main contributors.

Doyle denies that there was ever any conflict and points to an economic resurgence in Santee during his time in office, citing the opening of a new shopping center that includes a Price Club store and a Walmart.

Doyle fired salvos of his own in the closing days, filing a complaint with the San Diego County district attorney and the Fair Political Practices Commission. In it, he charged Jacob and a political consultant with “possible illegal collusion.”

Jacob vehemently denied even the suggestion of any wrongdoing.

Although Doyle spoke of bringing more than 7,000 new jobs to Santee, Jacob sought--and received--the endorsement of the Political Action Committee of the Santee Chamber of Commerce, which accused Doyle of hurting business with a growing bureaucracy and too many regulations.

The McCarty-Slater race focused almost entirely on economic and environmental issues. Slater, who opposed a controversial trash-to-energy plant near her Encinitas home, cited McCarty’s support of a similar project in San Diego during her council term.

McCarty, 52, continued to cite the economy, calling it the county’s--and the country’s--worst problem and saying such agencies as the Board of Supervisors had contributed to deepening stagnation.

“The county has created a climate in which businesses can no longer succeed,” said McCarty, a two-term San Diego councilwoman. “They’ve done it with overregulation and permit fees. We’re constantly getting in the way, inhibiting even the potential for growth.”

McCarty also touted her experience over that of Slater, 44, an Encinitas councilwoman and former mayor. But, faced with an electorate as seemingly hostile to incumbents as it was to new taxation, some questioned whether the experience card would work in anyone’s favor.

McCarty was thought to be the candidate most likely to emulate Golding, whom the winner will replace, in backing a pro-development, pro-business position in a district that runs from Carlsbad to Mission Beach along the coast and east to San Carlos and Rancho Bernardo.

In fact, the pairing thought most likely to change the makeup of the board would have been Doyle and Slater, candidates differing markedly from the positions of Bailey and Golding.

In District 2, home to half a million residents in such places as El Cajon, La Mesa, Poway, Santee, Ramona and Jamul, Jacob was considered the “insider,” although as she continually put it, she saw herself as “the outsider with an insider’s knowledge.”

Times staff writer Alan Abrahamson contributed to this report.