Farmer closes in on final Cambria CSD board seat

Challenger Harry Farmer appeared poised to claim a seat on the Cambria Community Services District board early this week, as he expanded his lead over incumbent board President Gail Robinette to 34 votes with just 57 left to be counted.

That means Robinette would need to be named on 46 of the 57 remaining ballots (or 81 percent) to retain her seat — if Farmer were named on the other 11 and no voters selected both candidates.

Robinette held a 14-vote lead on election night, but Farmer has gained ground steadily since then, leading after subsequent counts by 19 and 24 votes.

The latest count concluded shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. Counting was scheduled to resume at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23, and the results must be certified by Dec. 6.

Farmer, a 30-year Cambria resident who works as a gardener, astrologer and volunteer disc jockey, is making his second run a board seat, having finished fourth in a competitive 2010 race.

Robinette joined the board in 2011, when she was appointed to fill out the remaining year of Frank DeMicco’s term. She was elected to a four-year term the following year and has served as president for the past two years.

Farmer was one of four challengers on a ballot that also included incumbents Amanda Rice and Greg Sanders, both of whom have clinched seats on the board. Rice, who won the highest number of votes when she was first elected to the board in 2012, duplicated that feat this year. As of Friday’s count, she had received 1,636 votes (18.8 percent), slightly more than the 1,619 votes she received in the previous election.

Sanders, an appointed incumbent in his second stint on the board, had 1,539 votes (17.7 percent), followed by Farmer at 1,420 (16.3 percent) and Robinette at 1,386 (15.9 percent). As of Friday, Robinette had received 157 votes fewer than she garnered in 2012, when she was the No. 2 vote-getter behind Rice.

Challengers Dewayne Lee at 1,173 (13.5 percent) and Tom Kirkey at 1,041 (12 percent) were mathematically eliminated in Friday’s counting. Jeff Walters rounded out the field with 369 votes or 4.2 percent, while write-in candidates have received 139 votes or 1.6 percent. Steve Kniffen was the only official write-in candidate.

All of the 57 ballots remaining to be counted were mail-in ballots.

Other races

Meanwhile, all votes had been counted in the race for three seats on the San Simeon Community Services District board, with incumbent Alan Fields finishing on top with 71 votes or 31.3 percent. Challenger Mary M. McGuire, with 59 votes (24.3 percent), and incumbent Daniel Williams, with 56 votes or 23.1 percent, also gained board seats.

Incumbent Leroy Price will relinquish his seat after placing fourth with 51 votes or 21 percent.

The Cambria Community Healthcare District and Coast Unified School District races had already been decided before Friday’s count.

▪  Incumbent Barbara Bronson Gray and challenger Shirley Bianchi, a former county supervisor, have been elected to the healthcare district board after defeating incumbent President Kristi Jenkins and Jerry Wood. Bronson Gray remained the top vote-getter after Friday’s count with 2,188 votes or 36.8 percent. A total of 62 ballots remained to be counted for the district.

▪  Appointed incumbent Tiffany Silva will join challengers Dennis Rightmer and Samuel Shalhoub on the Coast Unified board. The three campaigned together and defeated challengers Eileen Roach and Eric Endersby for three four-year seats on the board. Appointed incumbent Lee McFarland claimed a two-year seat by gaining more votes than challenger Elizabeth Weatherly, who had withdrawn from the race. Silva remained the top vote-getter Friday with 2,593 votes, or 24.4 percent, with 222 votes still to be counted for the district.

▪  In Cayucos, Val Wright was the top vote-getter in the race for two seats on the Cayucos Elementary School District board, picking up 822 votes, or 36.7 percent. Susan Brownwell wrapped up the second seat with 599 votes or 26.8 percent. She led third-pace finisher Sherri Peckhoon Sim by 189 votes with 137 left to count. Steve Geil was fourth with 390 votes or 17.4 percent.

▪  The race for Cayucos Fire Protection District director still had 152 votes left to count Friday. Steve Beightler had clinched one of two available seats with 947 votes or 42.5 percent. Cheryl Conway, at 583 votes or 26.2 percent, led Christopher Pope (23.9 percent) by 50 votes for the second seat as of Friday.

This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Farmer closes in on final Cambria CSD board seat."