Peschong and Arnold poised for victory as Hill widens lead in latest SLO County results
With fewer than 5,000 ballots left to count in San Luis Obispo County, the most recent election report from the county Clerk-Recorder reveals several clear results in the March primary election.
Supervisor Adam Hill maintains a slight lead over challenger Stacy Korsgaden at the end of ballot counting Monday — reaffirming speculation that returns from provisional and vote-by-mail ballots would likely lean left.
Hill’s lead is widening in the District 3 race for county Board of Supervisors. With 528 more votes than opponent Stacy Korsgaden, he has 51% of the South County vote. With only 817 ballots left to count, another flip seems unlikely.
Supervisor Debbie Arnold appears to have been re-elected to four more years, according to the unofficial count. With 1,442 more votes than Democratic challenger Ellen Beraud, Arnold now has 53.6% (10,747) to Beraud’s 46.4% (9,305) in the District 5 race.
Only 1,427 District 5 ballots are left to count as of Monday night, according to the county elections office.
In the District 1 race, Supervisor John Peschong dominated over challenger Stephanie Shakofsky with two-thirds of the vote. A vineyard-owner and newcomer to the county, Shakofsky ran on a platform of good governance reforms. She has 34% of the vote (6,160) as of Monday night, and with only 616 ballots left to count, she cannot win.
A fire tax in Oceano is poised to fall just short of passing with the necessary two-thirds support. As of Monday night, 1,231 of counted ballots voted “yes” (65.7%), and 642 residents voted “no” (34.3%).
There are 74 ballots from Oceano left to count, according to the reports. If all of those ballots voted on the measure, more than 65 of them need to have voted “yes” for the tax to pass.
Final results for the election could take up to three weeks past election night to be confirmed. Ballots left to count include about 1,600 vote-by-mail ballots and 3,100 provisional ballots.
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 7:21 PM.
