Andy Pease, Aaron Gomez win in SLO council race; Marx re-elected mayor

The San Luis Obispo City Council will have two newcomers in Aaron Gomez and Andy Pease, while incumbent mayor Jan Marx retained her seat against challenger Heidi Harmon, according to the unofficial election result.

With all precincts reporting, the unofficial vote showed Pease leading the council race with 27.2 percent of the vote and Gomez finished second with 24.2 percent of the ballots cast.

Trailing them were Mila Vujovich-La Barre at 17.3 percent, Mike Clark at 14.8 percent, Brett Strickland at 8.9 percent and Christopher Lopez at 7.2 percent.

In the mayor’s race, Marx topped Harmon with a 52.5 percent of the vote compared with Harmon’s 47.1 percent. All results are unofficial until the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office certifies the ballots.

The race centered on issues including: relieving an impacted housing market, managing the city’s water supply and reassessing the controversial rental housing inspection program. Two candidates contested mayorship and six candidates vied for two seats on the council.

Marx was the race’s only incumbent, facing Harmon, a Bernie Sanders’ supporter and Democratic national delegate. Marx raised $21,347 to Harmon’s $15,250, as of Oct. 22. Marx is also a Democrat.

In housing discussions, Harmon advocated for Cal Poly to significantly increase its on-campus residences, while Marx opposed sprawl development beyond the urban reserve line, supporting infill.

Council candidate Vujovich-La Barre recommended a tiered moratorium “until the availability of water can be verified” with Mike Clark suggesting taking a prudent look at proposed existing projects to analyze water usage.

Gomez called for smart growth to house more city workers, saying the city’s water portfolio is the most secure in the county. Pease called for a “mix of housing options” to increase housing affordability.

Christopher D. Lopez, Brett Strickland and Harmon supported an outright repeal of the controversial rental housing inspection program. Clark, Pease, Vujovich-La Barre, Gomez, and Marx supported revamping the law in some form.

Gomez topped all council competitors by raising $18,664 while Pease collected $17,727.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Andy Pease, Aaron Gomez win in SLO council race; Marx re-elected mayor."