Posted on Thu, Jun. 10, 2010

While a stunned Jim Guthrie tried to figure out why he finished last in Tuesday’s primary election, the two men who defeated him — Mike Zimmerman and Paul Teixeira — prepared to move on to November’s runoff election for 4th District county supervisor.

“I didn’t see that coming at all,” Guthrie — an Arroyo Grande city councilman who was endorsed by some leading San Luis Obispo County politicians — said Wednesday.

Teixeira told The Tribune, “We figured Mike and I were going to be fighting for second place.”

Instead, Zimmerman finished well ahead, and Teixeira came in second in the race to represent the largely South County district on the county Board of Supervisors.

The district includes part of southeastern San Luis Obispo, stretching south through the Edna Valley into Arroyo Grande, Oceano and Nipomo.

Unofficial results showed Zimmerman with 37 percent of votes cast, followed by Teixeira with 32 percent and Guthrie just 154 votes behind him with just under 31 percent.

About 3,000 ballots in the 4th District supervisor’s race remain uncounted, according to County Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald.

She said in theory those votes could change the outcome, but she thinks it unlikely.

Should the order of finish remain unchanged, the result would be what some political observers consider one of the larger local upsets in Tuesday’s elections, alongside former Pismo Beach police Chief Joe Cortez finishing second to San Luis Obispo police Capt. Ian Parkinson and bumping former county supervisor and San Luis Obispo police Sgt. Jerry Lenthall out of the sheriff’s race.

Political leaders, including Arroyo Grande Mayor Tony Ferrara and Supervisor Adam Hill — who represents the rest of South County on the county board — supported Guthrie, who is the general manager of the Spyglass Inn in Shell Beach.

Teixeira has name recognition in Nipomo because of his family’s roots in the area and their longtime community involvement. He is on the board of the Lucia Mar Unified School District — the county’s largest school system — and the county Parks and Recreation Commission. Zimmerman is an attorney in Arroyo Grande.

Zimmerman said the results show South County is generally conservative. Guthrie cited low turnout in Arroyo Grande.

Whatever the reason, Zimmerman and Teixeira began positioning themselves Wednesday for the fall campaign.

Zimmerman said he would continue to press his beliefs that the county government has to live within its means and, as the economy grows, set aside money for rainy days. He also said he would try to hold back regulation that harms businesses.

He said he is interested in what he calls a “benevolence corporation,” a collection of religious leaders of all denominations and their congregations who would take up some of the so-called safety net for the poor and powerless as the government finds itself increasingly unable to pay for aid.

Such a group, he said, could help with In-Home Supportive Services, for example, should lawmakers in Sacramento cut funding for it. The program pays for in-home care and other help for elderly and disabled people.

Zimmerman also alluded to Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Jim Patterson as “extreme environmentalists,” and again questioned a study by the county’s Air Pollution Control District that showed particulate matter being sent to the Nipomo Mesa by off-roaders at the Oceano Dunes state park.

Teixiera also has doubts about the Dunes study and wants more research conducted before the county takes any action.

Teixeira characterized himself as less conservative than Zimmerman, whom he called a “nice guy,” and more interested in attacking community problems.

In particular, he said, the county needs to work with officials in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County to find ways to fight gangs.

Water is another serious problem the county needs to face, he said.

As to the sitting Board of Supervisors, Teixeira said “I’m a people person; I can get along with anybody.”

Guthrie said he is not endorsing anyone in the November election.

Whoever wins this race will replace Supervisor Katcho Achadjian, who is finishing his third term.

Achadjian won the Republican nomination in the 33rd state Assembly District and will face Democrat Hilda Zacarias — a Santa Maria city councilwoman — and Libertarian Paul Polson in November.