Penn Valley Area Fire Board: Suszko and Jones Lead for Two Higgins Fire Seats

PENN VALLEY AREA, Nevada County — November 4, 2026. Voters in the Higgins Fire Protection District were choosing two directors in the November 3 general election. Chuck Suszko and Bruce Jones held the top two positions in the county’s unofficial election-night count, while Douglas Hitchcock ranked third.

Fire district vote totals

From the Nevada County election results dashboard: Suszko had 1,584 candidate selections (36.50%), Jones 1,444 (33.27%) and Hitchcock 1,312 (30.23%). The gap between second place and third was 132 votes in this reporting batch. The county listed 11 of 11 precincts as reported for the contest.

Why this matters for an unincorporated community

Residents of rural communities often choose fire-protection, water or school district directors rather than a municipal mayor. The elected Higgins Fire directors govern their district’s specific operations and oversight according to its legal mandate; these are not county supervisor seats or town council positions.

Not final: all precincts reporting election-night totals does not necessarily mean all valid mailed and provisional votes have been processed. County officials expect to issue updates on Tuesdays and Fridays until certified results are available.

Primary source: Nevada County, November 3, 2026 General Election; results explicitly marked unofficial.

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