Latest on local races + More under 40 coverage? + Checking in: This week in Outspoken
It is Tuesday, Nov. 10, and this is the Outspoken newsletter.
Wow, what a week.
No matter what candidate you voted for, last week was a long one for us Tribune reporters, and we know for you too, as we all anxiously awaited the results of the nail-biter presidential election.
Then came Saturday’s announcement that former Vice President Joe Biden had secured enough Electoral College votes to win the presidency, prompting massive dance party celebrations across the country (including San Luis Obispo County) as well as protests (again, also in SLO County).
In the midst of all this, though, we do have a question for you:
How are you feeling?
Some people are jubilant. Some markedly less so. So we wanted to reach out to you, young SLO County, to find out how you feel about the results. What does a Biden win mean to you and your communities? What to you want to see next?
You can share your thoughts with us by sending a quick email to Kaytlyn at kleslie@thetribunenews.com. Or hit her up on Twitter (@kaytyleslie) if that’s more your speed. Just make sure to use #Outspoken.
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Meanwhile, it’s been an even longer week at the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, where election workers are working as fast as possible to count the potentially record-breaking 161,000 votes cast this election.
As of Monday evening, 4,927 ballots are still to be counted, but a number of local races appear to be too close to call. You can check out our rundown of the latest numbers below.
Here’s our promise to you, Outspoken followers: We’ll follow this one to the end, reporting right up to the final results being certified — even if it means writing while guzzling our turkey dinners on Thanksgiving.
Now go and catch up on some much-needed sleep or whatever else you neglected during this wild election season. Here’s to people waiting at least a few weeks before they start announcing their bids for 2022.
— Kaytlyn and Cassandra
Who’s winning, who’s behind?
The Clerk-Recorder’s Office concluded its second post-Election Night count Monday, and many of the local races have clear winners, while others are still running too-close-to-call.
Here are some of the highlights:
- No surprises here: San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon will get her third term at the helm of the city, leading SLO’s first all-woman council.
- Paso Robles’ first district election wasn’t exactly a nail-biter. With only one candidate in District 3 and technical incumbent Fred Strong annihilating the single competitor for the District 4 seat, the Paso Robles City Council is far from being shook up by its new district format. But there’s some evidence that could change over future elections. We’ll have to stay tuned.
- Grover Beach had a huge number of seats up for election this year — four out of the five spots on the council, including mayor, were up. While the two incumbents running both easily secured their spots, two new faces will be joining the South County city’s board, as well.
- Pismo Beach has 118 votes left to count — but only 51 separate two incumbent councilmembers who are competing for one of two seats (congrats go to Scott Newton for securing the first). So who will it be: Guthrie or Howell? The anticipation!!!
- Hey, big spender: Sales taxes are probably going up in five local cities after majority of voters approved 1% increases as those cities struggle to address the COVID-19 economy.
Want more Outspoken?
We hope that the information we’ve provided has been helpful, but we know there is so much more that we can do.
The issues you told us about don’t disappear with the election of mayors or city council members. We still want to dive deeper into affordable housing, diversity, broadband internet, child care and so many other topics you all raised this summer.
As we look at the end of election season, and the hard work ahead, we want to get your opinions: Do you want more reporting focused on SLO County’s under 40 residents? What would you like to see?
Share your thoughts with us at the Google form here.
Thanks for voting, SLO County!
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This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 9:30 AM.
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