Karen Dean, Harry Farmer hold leads in Cambria CSD race: ‘I’m humbly grateful’
With final unofficial election night results, board president Harry Farmer and challenger Karen Dean retained firm leads in the race to fill seats on the Cambria Community Services District board of directors.
North Coast voters also decided who will serve on the boards of the Cambria Community Healthcare District and Cayucos Sanitary District. Even as more votes were added to the totals by 11 p.m., the initial candidate ranking by vote hadn’t changed.
Cambria CSD board
In the Cambria Community Services District race, incumbents Farmer and David Pierson and challengers Dean and Tom Gray ran to fill three seats on the board of directors.
For decades, the small, oceanfront town has sought a solution to its pervasive shortage of water. It remained an overriding issue in the 2020 election.
A water reclamation project, the Sustainable Water Facility, was designed to help alleviate that shortage, but the original plan for disposing of leftover brine from the process didn’t work.
The district is in the midst of completing studies that regulatory agencies have required before it will consider issuing the plant a permit that would allow the district to operate the plant “at will,” rather than only during declared water shortages, a limit written into the plant’s current emergency permit.
All four candidates have said they want to continue pursuing the permanent permit, but their ideas differ on how to use the plant if that permit is granted, among other aspects of the project.
In election results at 11 p.m. Tuesday, Farmer and Dean were the top vote getters, with 30.4% and 27.4% of votes, respectively. They stayed ahead of Gray (22.1%) and Pierson (19.9%).
Reached by phone Tuesday night, Farmer said of his apparent win, “I have a real sense of gratitude to have gotten this much support from the community ... after barely getting elected four years ago. This says a lot about this community and what they value and what they want for the future of the town.”
Farmer, who often emphasizes the importance of protecting the environment, added, “This is a major shift. I think this year, there were real issues that people were really concerned about that maybe they weren’t as concerned about two or four years ago.”
“Those issues were reflected in how they voted” in this election, he said.
As Dean headed out Wednesday morning to collect lawn signs from supporters “and say thank you,” she echoed the gratitude Farmer had expressed.
“I’m humbly grateful,” she said, and “I will do my very best for the community as a whole as a director on the board of the CCSD.”
She opined that the CCSD campaign “focused mainly on growth, water, and the use going forward” of the water treatment plant. “Cambria has spoken their opinions on these issues by the overwhelming number of votes that Harry and I received, especially the record-breaking votes for Harry.”
Throughout the campaign, both Dean and Farmer indicated caution about how extensively the plant should be used, preferring to utilize the expensive technology only when absolutely necessary, rather than to spur growth in the community.
Dean added a cautionary election note, however, one that resonates across the local, state and national political spectrum. “I don’t know how many ballots are left to count from Cambria, so I don’t think we know what the actual final outcome will be until that is all done.”
Gray said via email Wednesday that ““I look forward to working with Harry and Karen, along with the other two board members, Donn Howell and Cindy Steidel, to meet Cambria’s need for wildfire safety, water security, fiscally responsible government and preservation of Cambria’s special character. I continue to believe that Cambrians can find common ground if they are serious about solving problems.”
Pierson, who as of Tuesday night, lagged behind Gray by about 150 votes, said the next afternoon, ““Congratulations to Harry, Karen, and Tom; I know they will do their best to serve our community. I enjoyed my time on the board and feel we made significant progress during my term. I plan to continue to serve the community in anyway I can including on-going efforts with the Fire Safe Focus Group.”
A total of 3,398 votes had been counted as of 10 p.m., 75.54% of the CSD’s voting population.
Cambria Community Healthcare District
In the Cambria Community Healthcare District race, three women sought two seats on the board of directors.
Nurse practitioner Cesilia “Cece” Lomeli, a challenger in the race, has for about seven years led the Cambria clinic of Community Health Centers. She led the race all night, winding up with 45.6% of the votes counted in the unofficial final total.
Thursday, Lomeli thanked “everyone who supported me. I feel very good, very blessed that they believe in me, that I can do a good job with the healthcare district. I’ll do my best for them and the district.” She said she’s also grateful that “people talk to me all the time about their concerns and questions. I hope I can bring that awareness of the community’s feelings to the district.”
Senior healthcare manager Cecilia Montalvo, an appointed incumbent, gleaned the night’s second highest tally in the race with 28.2% of the votes.
On Wednesday, Montalvo said in an email interview, “I am really honored to have the opportunity to continue to serve. At this time with so many important health issues in our community (e.g. COVID-19, access to primary care) there is much to be done. i look forward to working with my colleagues to address these challenges.”
College healthcare instructor Kristi Jenkins, a former board member, came in third with 26.1%.
On Wednesday, she thanked those who voted for her.
“Even though I was not awarded a position on the CCHD board, I appreciate the opportunity to run,” Jenkins wrote in an email. “The campaign process was, of course, very different due to the pandemic. However the candidates were offered the opportunity to answer questions concerning their positions by the Cambrian.”
She added that, “I believe the overwhelming support for Cece Lomeli sends a message that the residents of the district stand in favor of our local Community Health Center clinic and the services they have continued to provide, especially during this pandemic. Cece has my support also.”
A total of 3,746 votes had been counted late Tuesday night, 74.79% of the healthcare district’s voting population.
Cayucos Sanitary District
The Cayucos Sanitary District broke away from its longtime sewage treatment partner, Morro Bay, in 2015, although the small town’s wastewater is currently being treated at the aging Morro Bay plant.
Now Cayucos is building its own water reclamation facility, and voters were asked to select from three candidates to help continue that effort and guide the district.
Those candidates include two incumbents — board president and licensed contractor Robert Enns, and paralegal and governmental trainer advocate Hannah Miller — and challenger John “J.P.” Drayer, an educator and business owner. In his campaign, Drayer cited various operational changes he’d like to see the district make.
Miller continued to lead the pack at 11 p.m. Tuesday with 44.4% of the vote, followed by Enns (40.2%) and Drayer (15.3%).
A total of 1,445 votes had been counted by then, 70.25% of the sanitary district’s voting population.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:33 PM.
