Bruce Jones has almost caught Bruce Gibson in race for District 2 SLO County supervisor
The San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office released another ballot count update on Nov. 23, showing that incumbent Bruce Gibson’s lead has almost disappeared in the District 2 supervisor race.
Elections workers added 18,400 ballots to the total and now have tallied 110,096 total ballots, pushing voter participation up to about 60.4%.
That leaves about 9,540 ballots remaining to be counted. SLO County will finalize its official results by Dec. 8, the deadline for certifying the election.
Here are the latest unofficial totals so far:
Bruce Gibson loses most of his lead in District 2 Supervisor Race
The battle of the Bruces is coming to a dramatic finish, with the two candidates now separated by only 37 votes.
Gibson is still ahead, but not by much. On Wednesday, he lost 744 points of last week’s lead, while challenger Dr. Bruce Jones won 59.6% of the 3,844 ballots counted on Wednesday.
Gibson lost 744 votes of last week’s lead, and the two candidates are now separated by a razor-thin margin.
As of Wednesday, Gibson had 11,319 votes, or 50.08%, while Jones had 11,282 votes, or 49.92%.
With about 2,000 ballots remaining in District 2, the race is up for grabs, although if Jones maintains the margin of the last count, he will overtake Gibson..
Erica Stewart wins race for SLO mayor
The Nov. 23 update showed Mayor Erica A. Stewart easily won a new term with 71.4% of the vote.
Her three challengers trailed far behind, with Richard Orcutt at 14.1%, Jeffrey Specht at 13% and Donald Hedrick at 1.6%.
Two seats are open on the San Luis Obispo City Council, and Michelle Shoresman and Emily Francis are poised to win them with 35.6% and 32.3% of the vote, respectively.
Joe Benson followed with 19% and James Papp with 13.1%.
Measure C-22 on track to pass
San Luis Coastal Unified School District voters had the opportunity to weigh in on Measure C-22, a bond measure that would tack on $49 in property taxes per $100,000 of the assessed value of residents’ homes. The funding would be used to update school infrastructure, such as leaky roofs and outdated athletic facilities.
As of Wednesday, 62.9% of voters had cast their ballots in favor of the measure, with 37.1% voting against it. The measure needs 55% approval to pass.
Carla Wixom positioned to win Morro Bay mayor race
In Morro Bay, business owner Carla Wixom has locked up the mayor’s race with 59.2% of the vote to Mayor John Headding’s 40.8%. Wixom’s lead is 995 votes.
Meanwhile, five candidates are competing for two open seats on the Morro Bay City Council. Zara Landrum led the race with 25.1% of the vote, followed by Cyndee Edwards with 21.6%, Sarah Smith Robinson with 20.6%, Casey Cordes with 18.3% and Dave Duringer with 14.3%.
Edwards’ lead for the final seat is only 92 votes.
Measure B-22, which would create a tax to fund harbor infrastructure improvements, suffered a resounding defeat, with 64.5% of voters against and only 35.5% in favor.
Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin wins another term
Mayor Steve Martin has locked up a new term with 54.5% of the vote as of Wednesday. His challenger, Michael Rivera, followed with 45.5%, a difference of 902 votes.
So far, 58.8% of voters have said “yes” to to Measure F-22, which would raise the city’s transient occupancy tax in Paso Robles from 10% to 11%, and 41.2% voted “no.”
Incumbents cruising to reelection in Atascadero
Two four-year seats are up for election on the Atascadero City Council.
As of Wednesday, Heather Newsom and Susan Funk maintained their leads with 43.8% and 42.5% of the vote, respectively.
Bret Heinemann trailed with 13.7%.
Arroyo Grande Mayor Caren Ray Russom wins reelection
Arroyo Grande Mayor Caren Ray Russom will retain her seat thanks to a commanding lead over challengers Gaea Powell and Dale T. Hanson as of Nov. 23.
Russom had secured 63.6% of the vote by Wednesday, while Powell trailed behind at 26.5% and Hanson was at almost 10%.
James Robert Guthrie led the race for the District 4 City Council seat with 64.2% of the vote. Ben Franco followed with 35.9%.
Kathleen Secrest ran unchallenged for the District 1 seat.
Arroyo Grande voters looked likely to reject Measure D-22, which would raise the city’s sales tax by 1 percentage point. As of Wednesday, 53.6% of voters opposed the measure, while 46.4% supported it. The measure needs a simple majority to pass.
Karen Bright positioned to win Grover Beach mayor
On Nov. 23, Karen Bright held a 276-vote advantage in the race for Grover Beach mayor with 53.8% of the vote to 46.2% for Stacy Korsgaden.
For the District 2 City Council seat, Daniel Rushing led with 60.2% of the vote to Ron Arnoldsen’s 39.8%.
Reiss and Inman on their way to Pismo Beach City Council
Two seats are open on the Pismo Beach City Council.
As of Nov. 23, Mary Ann Reiss and Stacy Inman were leading the race with 27.8% and 24.4% of the vote, respectively.
Kevin Carl Kreowski trailed in third with 21%, Erik Howell followed with 18.6% and Debora Ann Lossing brought up the rear with 8.2%.
Updates for key Cambria races
Debra Scott led the Cambria Community Services District director race with 40% of the vote, and Michael Thomas followed with 36.9%. Jim Bahringer trailed in third place with 23.1%.
As of Nov. 23, Measure G-22, which would raise $8.5 million from added property taxes to replace the aging headquarters of the Cambria Community Healthcare District, was going down to defeat. It needs a two-thirds vote to pass and currently has 61.1% in favor and 38.9% opposed it.
District 30 and 37 State Assembly races
Democrat Dawn Addis has secured the District 30 State Assembly seat with 62% of the vote. Republican Vicki Norhden followed with 38%.
Addis also led in SLO County, where she picked up 54.2% to Norhden’s 45.8% of the vote.
Democrat Gregg Hart won the District 37 race with 58.5% of the vote.
Republican Mike Stoker garnered 41.5% of the vote. Hart actually trailed in SLO County, however, with 47.3% of the vote to Stoker’s 52.7%.
District 19 and 24 congressional races
Two congressional seats representing the Central Coast were up for grabs, and the two Democratic incumbents have won reelection, according to the Associated Press.
In the latest vote total, Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta won the District 19 seat with 69.8% of the votes, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Republican Jeff Gorman followed with 30.2%.
In District 24, Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal won with 61.1% of the vote, while Republican Brad Allen trailed with 38.9%.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 3:47 PM.
